Debt Reduction Advice | Debt Reduction Advice

The BBB or the Better Business Bureau has issued serious warning to consumers regarding a new scam involving phony debt collectors that possess a significant amount of private information about their victims.

The fraudulent activities appear to be very widespread, cover multiple states. According the information provided by the BBB, the supposed-collectors tell the victim they’ve defaulted on a loan and say they are preparing legal action. The scam artists often claim to be lawyers working for the Federal Legislation of Unsecured Loans or the Financial Accountability Association.

As part of the process, the victim is provided with the option to wire money or give out account information in order to make electronic payment before the issue ends up in court. In some instances, the victims may receive a series of abusive telephone calls, all within a few hours.

Information like Social Security numbers, employment info, home address, old bank account numbers have been obtained by the fake debt collectors and lend to their credibility. All of this opens up the victim to additional acts of identity theft.

The Better Business Bureau has already reported the scam to the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Federal Trade Commission. Still, many consumers are potentially at risk.

People who do receive such calls are instructed to avoid giving any information that could verify important personal information. The collector should be required to produce written proof of the debt. After the call, you can take some additional steps.

First, you should record a fraud alert on your credit file with all of the major credit bureaus, Experian, Equifax and Transunion. This will prepare you in case they use sensitive info like your Social Security number for fraudulent purposes.

When you issue a fraud alert, you will receive a current copy of your credit report. Be sure that you take the time to read it carefully and look for any item that does not belong to you.

Should there be any new accounts or inquiries where you’ve requested credit, then it is advisable to contact a law enforcement agency or file a police report.

Then you should report the fraud directly to the Better Business Bureau as well as the Federal Trade Commission.