77% of all Americans owe some debt, totaling about 15 trillion dollars. For some people, it's easy to lose track of whether you completely re-paid the debt, especially if you've filed for bankruptcy. Scammers are banking on this to happen. KRPS's Fred Fletcher-Fierro has more.
Roughly 254 million Americans owe some form of debt: college loans, a car payment, or a credit card. However, only a few of us check our credit scores annually.
According to LendingTree.com, a quarter of Gen Zers don't know how to check their credit scores, compared to the average of 12% across all respondents. Scammers posing as debt collectors hope their phone call will be profitable. Pamela Hernandez of the Better Business Bureau in Springfield, Missouri, tells us how the scam works.
"A scammer calls and says they work for a loan company, a law firm, or even a government agency and claim to be collecting on an overdue payment, and they take advantage that we're busy and we're not keeping track of everything to get you to act before you have a chance to think."
If you receive such a call, Pamela recommends asking the debt collector to provide an official "validation notice" of the debt in writing. It's required by law. For 89 9 KRPS News, I'm Fred Fletcher-Fierro
