Two Illegal Tactics Bill Collectors Use to Terrify You Into Paying
Can they arrest you for not paying a bill? Bill collectors are now outsourced globally just like any other customer service. And since they are not in the United States, they are ignoring standard American bill collection laws, procedure, and protections.
What are your greatest fears about bill collectors? There are two illegal tactics and one terrifying collection tactic that no one wants to deal with. They are someone:
- Calling your relatives about your debt
- Calling your boss about your finances
- Threatening you with arrest if you don’t pay, and involving your relatives.
The last is the terrifying bill collection tactic some offshore collectors are now doing. One client who filed bankruptcy has been receiving repeated calls from a collector who will not identify himself, nor the company he is collecting for. He has repeatedly told her the sheriff will arrest her the same afternoon for not paying the bill. He also says that if she does not pay, her mother and sister will be subpoenaed to testify against her. He ignores requests to provide verification of the debt as required by American law. He has her name, address, date of birth, and even her social security number.
Although we do not know the creditor he is calling for, the amount of the debt corresponds closely to an online payday loan her husband took out before filing bankruptcy. That may be why he has her personal identification information.
There are two possibilities here. First, he is actually collecting for a real creditor. I highly doubt this possibility because saying they will arrest you for not paying a bill violates the Fair Debt Collection Practices Law, the bankruptcy automatic stay, and the bankruptcy discharge injunction. The second and most likely possibility is that the whole thing is a scam. I say this because the way they he is collecting would subject both him and the company he is working for to serious civil liability if he could be found out. Just a plain, simple crook out to steal from you.
This scammer is looking for the quick hit. The phone number he calls from does not correspond with any real address. I have communicated with a number of bankruptcy attorneys nationwide, and they all report their clients are getting the same kind of calls for bills that have been long discharged.
The bottom line is be very careful about the information you put out about yourself online, and if you get a collection call from someone saying he will arrest you for not paying a bill, especially for a bill you know you no longer owe, be smart, and ignore the caller. He is just trying to use a terrifying bill collection tactic to scam you out of your money.
[thanks to Bill Balena and Esparta via CC]
Mexican Drug Gangs Kidnapping Computer Hackers & Programmers
The fact that the Internet is not controlled or policed has brought on some interesting ways criminals have taken advantage of the situation online. The Mexican drug cartel has found a way to make money on the internet in addition to their wealth from dealing in illegal drugs. They are now kidnapping hackers and literally forcing them to hack into people’s individual accounts at large banks. The hackers are then told to keep the money and then deliver the money to specified drug dealers.
The hackers have been getting into online banking accounts like checking accounts, savings accounts, and more. These hacking attacks are taking place in the world’s biggest banks in the United States, Russia and Europe on a daily basis. It is believed that if the drug dealers find that there is a profit to be gained in the abuse of cyber criminals then we’ll be seeing these “hacker kidnappings” much more often.
Dmitry Bestuzhev, of the Russian antivirus company Kaspersky Lab, says, “In many cases cyber-crime is not punished at all, despite all the efforts.So, it’s another source of income for drug dealers. Kidnapped (hackers) have to keep the money stolen from online banking, from credit cards and then pass it to drug dealers. Despite all the security efforts, it’s quite difficult to ensure that the user is protected, because the security on the user’s side depends on the user. I strongly believe that if drug dealers see (money) in abusing kidnapped cyber-criminals, they will keep following the same line.”
Banks always tout their safety but is it really safe? Larger banks tend to use very sophisticated equipment that has tight security, perhaps safer than using a smaller bank. The smaller banks that can’t afford the most cutting edge security hardware and software generally use security equipment that is more cost effective.
In order to keep your online banking secure you should see to it that you have the very best in anti-virus software and anti-malware programs installed on your computer. In addition, now with the advent of mobile devices like smartphones and tablets you can do your online banking on the go. This may be convenient but communication through a mobile device can be picked up off of insecure wifi networks and your personal information can be at risk. Another reason not use a mobile device for your online banking is that the device is small and can easily be lost. If you do your online banking using this mobile device and your password is stored inside the device app, the finder now has all the information he or she needs to your identify and your bank account.
Your account can also be easily accessed when you make purchases online. There should be a good security system in place when you buy online – always make sure the website is displaying the lock symbol with an encryption notice – often the URL will start with https instead of http. If there is not a good security system in place by the website then your debit or credit card information is at risk.
Rupert Murdoch Phone Hacking Scandal: News of the World Shutting Down
Rupert Murdoch, the 80 year old Australian-American whose full name is Keith Rupert Murdoch, is said to be the most influential man in the world. As the CEO and Chairman of News Corporation, he is considered one of the world’s most powerful people with a financial worth of 6.3 billion dollars (USD).
He started his path to wealth with one very small newspaper in Adelaide, then went on to start different publications in Australia. He expanded his News Corporation to the United Kingdom, the Asian market, and the United States. In the United States, in 1986, he began the Fox Broadcasting Company.
Murdoch claims that the rumors of his empire crumbling is all lies and that he is not losing his grip on his media empire. He is the center of a phone hacking scandal that took place originally in the United Kingdom where Murdoch’s employees were involved in hacking into voice mails. In the United States they were alleged to have bribed law enforcement officials to obtain telephone numbers of families of the victims of the 9/11 terrorist tragedy.
In the United Kingdom, Murdoch apologized for the scandal that involved two of his top executives. The apology was written as a full page ad in the Wall Street Journal. He further claimed that the apology and fixing the mistakes are only the first steps. Another apology that was not signed by Murdoch offered to cooperate with the police. Chris Bryant, a British lawmaker and one who campaigns against media abuse, has stated that he feels a public relations consultant told Murdoch what to write in his apology and that it sounds more like a confession than an apology. He doubts the public will accept the apology.
This telephone hacking scandal has placed the British police under pressure for accepting money and other bribes for illegal actions. Telephone hacking was reported to the police as far back as the year 2005 but nothing was done about it. In fact, Wallis, a man that was arrested in the telephone hacking incident, was hired by the police as a consultant for a wage of 24,000 pounds for working two days a week.
The News of the World newspaper, which is owned by Murdoch and which is now closed, was said to have hacked into thousands of telephones including that of a thirteen year old girl that had been murdered. Murdoch apologized to the parents of the little girl which was akin to a confession that the News of the World had indeed hacked into the voicemails of the murdered girl. This caused Murdoch to shut the paper down.
James Murdoch, Rupert Murdoch’s successor and son, had taken over the operations in Europe of the News Corporation just when the telephone hacking scandal was beginning. James and Rupert will face a tough questioning by Britain’s Parliament.
