@rcade You might be surprised at how much fear and ignorance play into this.
But here’s the fun part: at least in the US, each call like that is worth possibly $1,000 to the person called. #FDCPA #DebtCollectors

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Second, the gold it will cost you in time and money. Any information you give them, they WILL use against you to collect more money than you might otherwise pay. And every minute you spend on the phone is, at best, a minute wasted.
So remember: silence is golden.
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You might think talking to debt collectors can help solve the problem, but it doesn't. It costs you two types of gold:
First, the gold that is your peace of mind. You'll never end a call with a debt collector, in a good mood.
Silence is golden.
And when you talk to debt collectors, you're giving up gold.
So many people tell us stories of the conversations they have with debt collectors on the phone.
Never once have they gotten to a happy ending.
It's always frustration, confusion, anger, and hopelessness.
And that's not even counting the information the debt collector is gathering on the call.
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They have to tell you all these things within five days of their first contact with you.
If they don't, that's a violation, and it's leverage you can use for Total Victory against any debt collector.
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1. How much you owe
2. Who you owe it to
3. That they will ASSUME the debt to be "valid" unless you dispute it within 30 days
4. That you have the right to send a written demand for "verification" of the debt or a copy of the judgment against you
5. That you have the right to send a written demand for the name and address of the original creditor
If one link breaks, the whole chain fails.
That's why leaving out just one of these can wreck a debt collector's day.
There are five things EVERY debt collector must tell you when they start contacting you about a debt:
Debt collectors write us checks.
Here are just three of the reasons we've sued debt collectors in the last 30 days:
1. Reporting a falsely-inflated balance on our client's credit report
2. Trying to collect a debt that was paid when due
3. Calling our client 58 times after he sent a "do not contact" letter
All of these actions are illegal.
And when debt collectors break the law, they write us checks.
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You're the mighty zebra, chasing down the cowardly lion.
Just like the picture on this post.
When you're ready to be the hunter, instead of the hunted, when it comes to debt collection, talk to us.
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But the reality is, they are vulnerable, exposed, and afraid.
It's you they fear.
But only if you know your rights.
It's why they keep a "litigious debtor database"—they're afraid of consumers who sue them back, and run from those people.
What's a lion afraid of?
In the wild, the lion is the predator, hunting down its prey.
Everything else is afraid of the lion.
And that's what debt collectors want you to think about them—big, bad, fierce, strong, courageous, and deadly.
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In most cases, the debt collector will end up owing you money instead of the other way around.
If a debt collector is trying to take your money, and you'd rather take theirs, give us a call.
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So first, we look at those 53 possible violations.
Next, we help you examine your own records to find out where the debt collector is lying or otherwise violating your rights.
Then once we've found something in your records that matches one or more of the 53 violations, we prepare a suit, or countersuit, against the debt collector.
When a debt collector is trying to take your money, here's how we turn that into them GIVING you money instead:
We use their weaknesses against them.
Every debt collector has to obey federal law (and some state laws) while they're trying to take your money. There are 53 different ways, under federal law alone, that a debt collector might break the law.
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→ If you have the slightest doubt about the trustworthiness of a "debt collection," talk to a lawyer right away.
→ Trust your gut. If it feels wrong, it probably is wrong.
Stay safe out there!
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→ Keep your data private. They can't use what they don't know.
→ Never make payments over the phone to people who call you out of the blue.
→ Never give personal information to someone who calls you.
→ Don't answer phone calls or text messages from numbers you don't know.
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Scams like this are a symptom of data breaches and general privacy loss.
When criminals get access to your credit data, they can use that information to impersonate real debt collectors, prey on fear, and steal money that they don't have a right to collect.
Unfortunately, there's no real remedy for this, but there are a few things you can do:
Real debt collectors are bad enough.
But when actual criminals impersonate debt collectors to scam money out of people, that's the worst.
• "Process servers" who call, threatening to show up at your workplace, demanding payment over the phone.
• Text messages from unknown sources.
• Callers demanding payment for debt over a decade old.
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That's where we come in.
We not only help you spot when debt collectors stumble into one of the 53 different debt-collections violations listed by federal law, we help you figure out how to use that violation to get everything you need.
And you don't have to wait seven years to do it.
Were you just waiting around and want something better? Let us know.
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But there are better, faster ways that not only get you in the clear without all the suspense, they might even make you money.
All you need is leverage.
Catch a debt collector breaking the law, and you've got most of the leverage you need. Now you just have to know how to use it.