If you take a loan from a company, you will want to be regular with the repayments not just because defaulting would hit your credit score hard but also you would not want to be hounded by a debt collector and embarrassed in front of others. In fact, the very thought of a debt collector knocking at your door is enough for many people to consider not to ever take a loan. With many willful defaulters becoming very inventive about hiding from debt collectors, many debt collectors are trying out everything, including trolling the social media accounts of the defaulters to access them and shame them into paying up.

Fake Social Media Profiles by Debt Collectors

Don’t be in a rush to accept a friend request on your favorite social media account from an unknown person. It could very well be a debt collector who’s trying to access you by creating a fake online profile. Once you accept the friend request, he will be able to access your account and know exactly what you have been doing and who your connections are and leverage them to create pressure on you to pay up. Despite being denounced by everybody as being extremely unethical, more and more debt collectors are resorting to this technique.

Debt Collectors Access Your Personal Information

By accessing your social media account, debt collectors can know every little bit of information about you, which they are not necessarily entitled to such as your date of birth, your residential address, where you work and information about your employment, where you are dining or holidaying, who your friends are, and more. Armed with this kind of details, it becomes very easy for them to hound you till such time the account is squared off. Read 2018 debt reviews to find out which loan companies have the most complaints about loan collection harassment.

Your Loan Default Status Is Broadcasted to All Your Online Connections

One of the most unethical practices by debt collection agents, which have also attracted a lot of negative publicity, is their action of broadcasting your delinquent status to all your online connections. A very personal matter, that could have so many reasons for occurring, is as a result of this unscrupulous action known to many others potentially damaging your goodwill and reputation.

Conclusion

The advent of social media is relatively recent; harassment by using it remains a grey area. The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) that protects customers was enacted in 1978 and only covers snail mail and landlines, however, even the use of social media must follow the spirit of the law. Debt collectors can only contact customers with their permission and cannot disturb you at work or at home. Debt collectors cannot contact customers using false pretenses, abuse or threaten them. They are specifically prohibited from publishing the personal and financial information of the customer online, including on the social media. Debt collectors are also specifically prohibited from contacting third parties regarding your debt or doing anything with an intention to embarrass you.