The phone rang in the Dixon house, and the voice on the other end of the line informed me our mortgage was way behind, but there was help. Just then, my wife walked in the room. I lowered the receiver, covered the microphone on the phone and asked, “Did we miss the mortgage payment?”

Let’s just say I was lucky not to be on the couch that night. The mortgage was not late. The scam artist was playing the debt-collector dialing-for-dollars numbers game. He knew a certain percentage of the population is behind on the mortgage and susceptible to big promises of false help and hope. As you’re about to read, that’s just one of many ploys. Fortunately for us, hanging up the phone ended the scheme.

According to a 2010 report, the Federal Trade Commission received 119,364 complaints about third-party and in-house debt collectors last year, up from 104,766 in 2008. While complaints can be about any number of issues, trying to collect on a debt the consumer doesn’t owe is common. In a recent example, the FTC reached a million-dollar settlement with Credit Bureau Collection Services over accusations that the collection agency violated federal law by inaccurately reporting credit information and pressing consumers to pay debts they often did not owe.

If you’re receiving calls for a debt you don’t owe, it could be a case of mistaken identity or a case of zombie debt (you paid the original debt off but it wasn’t recorded as paid). Or you could have become a victim of identity theft. In our case, the “debt collector” was an identity thief trying to get me to divulge personal financial information such as Social Security, bank and credit card numbers.

If you’re being pursued for a debt you don’t think you owe, Better Business Bureau recommends taking the following five steps:

1. Request written proof of the debt. By law, a debt collection agency must provide you with a validation notice. Once you have the name and contact information for the agency, confirm it is a legitimate debt collector with the BBB at www.bbb.org.

2. Correct any errors. After confirming you do not owe the debt, write a detailed letter to the legitimate collection agency including copies of pertinent documents that back your case. The FTC provides additional information on how to report errors at www.ftc.gov.

3. Weed out fraud and errors. Check your credit report with the three major credit reporting bureaus at www.annualcreditreport.com.

4. Tell them to stop contacting you. After confirming you do not owe the debt in question, you may cease all contact from the debt collection company by sending a letter via certified mail to the debt collector advising it to cease contact.

5. File a complaint with the FTC. If a debt collector violates the law, notify both the FTC and the BBB.

Similar Posts:

• Consumers can Fight Back Against Debt Collectors
• Not Your Debt? How to End Collection Calls
• What Collectors Can’t Do to You
• How to Respond to Debt Collector Calls
• Debt Collector Etiquette