Although an oldie, apparently still a goodie. Enjoying a boost in popularity as of late, the fake debt collector scam still fools unknowing victims.

First, you will receive a phone call from a telephone number that will not be recognizable. At times, it will seem legitimate, but ultimately, not familiar. When you get the call, the person calling will tell you that they are a bill collector with so and so debt collection company, and that this is an attempt to collect debt. At times, the phonies have been known to claim that they are working in addition to a local lawyer to get your delinquent account settled. The conman will tell you that you have accumulated a large amount of debt from a previous account. Typically, the crooks will tell you that you potentially owe them thousands, but if you are willing to settle, they will “settle: for, oh say, five hundred dollars. And could you wire the money via Western Union?

An interesting hint of ingenuity on the part of the scam artists is that a good amount of times these calls will arrive on a late Friday evening, or afternoon. When they call at these times, any government offices that you may report this to will be shut and closed for the weekend.

On numerous occasions the phony debt collectors will be calling from outside of the United States. An example of this was a scam that made recent news involving a call center in India. Utilizing services in order to mask their numbers, call centers located outside of the country may even choose a number from an area code nearby to where you live.

If you have gotten a call from a bill collector that you feel might be a scheme, it is important to be vigilant. Ask your debt collector for a written statement of your debt. If they won’t provide you with written proof, don’t fork out any money to this suspicious agency. If you feel as though you may have been victimized by a phony bill collector scam, it is necessary to file a report with the Attorney General’s office in your state. It is important to collect as much information as you can to provide more details in your complaint.

Rapid Recovery Solution is a credit debt collection agency.

U.S. Bankruptcy Code imposes something called an automatic stay the moment that a petition for bankruptcy is filed. The automatic stay will usually halt the commencement, enforcement or appeal of actions and judgments against a debtor from the creditors they owe money to that are attempting to collect these debts incurred prior to the bankruptcy petition. In addition, the automatic stay protects property of the bankruptcy estate itself from collection actions and proceedings.

Any action that a creditor might take that violates the automatic stay will be voided out. Any violation of the stay might cause the violating party to have damages assessed to them. But, like every complicated law, there are exceptions. A creditor might be allowed to take their collateral if they obtain permission from the court first. They will get this by filing a motion for relief from the automatic stay.

The court will either grant the motion or provide security to the creditor, ensuring that the value of their collateral won’t decrease during the stay. Without the protection provided by the automatic stay creditors could hypothetically race to the courthouse in order to try to collect from a debtor. If this happened, and let’s say that a debtor’s business was simply facing just a temporary crunch, it might not survive a “run” by creditors when their business could otherwise be salvaged. A run may also result in waste and it might be unfair to similar creditors that are owed money too.

There are three kinds of avoidance actions, and all of these are intended to limit the risk of the legal system prompting the downfall of a financially unstable debtor who hasn’t yet declared bankruptcy. The bankruptcy system will generally reward creditors who continue extending financing to debtors and will discourage creditors from ramping up their debt collection efforts.

Despite the seemingly simple nature of these rules, a couple of exceptions exist in the context of each category of avoidance action.

Mallory McGuinness works for a debt collection company. She also does articles on business, finance, consumer spending, and collection agencies.