The Better Business Bureau and the FCC are warning consumers about telephone calls from phony debt collectors. In the past couple of months, there has been an outbreak of telemarketing calls from phony debt collectors attempting to solicit private information for the purposes of identity theft.
Government agencies such as the FCC or FTC have reported an increase in consumer complaints about fraudulent telephone calls and identity theft. You can visit either the FCC or the FTC’s official website to obtain up to date information about the techniques used by these fraudulent callers by clicking on the press release section of each website. Additionally, the Better Business Bureau has a wealth of information about how to avoid becoming a victim of identity theft.
One recommendation is to ask the caller to call them back and then perform a lookup of the telephone number of the caller. That way you can review what others have said about the caller to help you confirm if they are a true agency or not.
When you receive a call from a debt collector, be sure to ask the caller for their name, business name, address and telephone number so that you can call them back after you verify the legitimacy of their business.
Do not provide any personal information or financial information such as bank account numbers, social security numbers or other information over the telephone. Rarely is this information required by a legit debt collector.
Don’t fall victim to identity theft, do your homework the next time you get a suspicious telephone call make sure that you know whose calling you before you provide any personal details, financial information or other personal information that can be used to steal your identity.
Did you get a call from a telemarketer or some other spam caller? Then be sure to find out who calls you at EveryCall.us, a free service to lookup spam callers and report telemarketers. Blackberry owners can download Call Control, the best blacklist application for Blackberry to block spam callers quickly and easily.