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Newest scam: Have you received a call saying you owed past debt?

September 9, 2009 – 5:24 pm

The latest scam to take the nation by storm has phony debt collectors contacting consumers and trying to collect past debt. The problem is that the consumer has already paid off the debt many years ago. This new breed of scammers has detailed access to people, including past debts and credit reports, that they use to convince victims they still owe money. The scammers pose as lawyers and threaten legal action is the debt isn’t paid promptly. They normally identify their company as the “Financial Accountability Association” or the “Federal Legislation of Unsecured Loans.”

What separates this scam from most is the alarming amount of detail the scammer possess on their potential victims. It’s so much that the Better Business Bureau is concerned that a major data breach has happened that no one has reported. Businesses aren’t required to announce data breaches although most are upfront about it and offer compensation by signing victims up for preventative services like LifeLock. The BBB thinks they have identified the source of the leak — payday loan companies.

If you have used payday loan companies in the past be on the look out for these pressure methods. The scammers will usually have your driver’s license number, social security, bank account number and previous places of employment. They’ll threaten to have you arrested within the hour unless you provide them with payment info — usually in the form of a credit card or bank account number — immediately over the phone. Never do this.

Be aware, be wary, be ready.

Tags: bbb, better business bureau, debt, debt collection, debt collectors, federal legislation of unsecured loans, financial accountabillity association, scam