So, you get home from a hard day of work (or while at work, you’re hardly working).  You decide to pass the time by logging onto Facebook and updating your life to your friends.  You have recently moved into a new apartment and you post your new address.  You also obtained a new cellular number so you also post your new number so you won’t be lonely.  And because changes happen in threes, you also decide to get a new job; you’re proud of your accomplishment so you post your new employer’s name and website (I know this happening all at once is highly unlikely - stick with me here, though).  The next thing you know, you check your snailmailbox and received a letter from a collection agency,  as you sit it down on the Counter your cellular phone starts ringing and the Caller ID reads “private” or “blocked number”.  Confused, you decide to check your e-mail and you have three new posts on your “wall” from Joe P. from XYZ agency and a co-worker has written you as well informing you that you’ve been received several calls today while you were away from the office from a Joe P. from XYZ Agency. *Insert Cheesy Horror Movie Music Here*

We frequently get calls from clients whom are curious how a debt collector was able to locate them.  In addition to skip tracing consumers using skip tracing programs (See Megan F.’s blog earlier today) we’ve discovered that debt collectors are also using social networking sites to gain information about debtors.  As soon as you are done reading this post, and every other post on my blog of course, log on to your Facebook and Myspace accounts and make sure your profiles are set to Private.  If they are set to public, everyone, including the debt collectors who harass, can read about you, learn about you, and find new ways to harass you.  Keep private information private.  Do not “friend” anyone that you do not know.  Playing it safe on Social Networking websites will go a long way.

Jeffrey S. Hyslip