Debt Collection Agency in US Collects friends on Facebook

In the Portland-area, a collection agency has a contest to see who can “collect” the most debtors as friends. The collection agency was wise enough to withhold their identity.

The laws in the US a similar to Australia. In this instance within Portland the the law is the  The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, which says that says debt collectors can’t disclose to a third person that someone owes a debt, or make false, deceptive or misleading representations on social networking sites in an effort to collect a debt.

This is very similar to the Australian laws regarding false, deceptive or misleading conduct. Recently we saw ANZ get into hot water on this very issue.

To reiterate, do not make friends with Debtors on Facebook, or contact any of their friends.