Most of you may not know that this is actually cyber security awareness month. And although awareness of our personal data (our digital fingerprint) should ALWAYS be of major concern to us, we should take a moment to consider fraud will never take a day off!
This means we have to ALWAYS be aware of how we operate in the digital marketplace.
In my line of work as a debt negotiator, I've communicated with clients who receive suspicious calls about a debt they may owe, from a collector who is operating with bad intentions. A lot of people can't keep track of who or what they owe or when they've paid in the past, and that's a problem.
Usually, and unfortunately, those intentions from collectors engaging in fraud succeeds, and clients end up paying for a debt that was never theirs in the first place (it's a terrible situation).
But there are clear signs that you can identify to protect yourself and your financial interests!
Here are some red flags:
*If a collector claims to be from an agency but won't provide the corporate number that matches the one online.
*They become aggressive, hostile, or use profane language.
*If they ask you for your personal banking information without validating the debt (VOD).
*When they threaten legal action if they don't receive immediate payment TODAY!
It's important to note, that although these are clear signs that someone is calling and engaging in fraud, you must still do your due diligence and verify whether or not the debt is in fact yours.
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