I believe that they can call them, but only to find out how to get in touch with you. They are not allowed to discuss your personal business with anyone.
I too Got a call at my employer from a Mr. Mckay who left a detail message on company voicemail about check fraud what can I do , he's been calling my brother in another i have not had a checking account in several years
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the nation's consumer protection agency, is warning consumers to be on the alert for scam artists posing as debt collectors. It may be hard to tell the difference between a legitimate debt collector and a fake one. Sometimes a fake collector may even have some of your personal information, like a bank account number. A caller may be a fake debt collector if he:
•is seeking payment on a debt for a loan you do not recognize;
•refuses to give you a mailing address or phone number;
•asks you for personal financial or sensitive information; or
•exerts high pressure to try to scare you into paying, such as threatening to have you arrested or to report you to a law enforcement agency.
If you think that a caller may be a fake debt collector:
•Ask the caller for his name, company, street address, and telephone number. Tell the caller that you refuse to discuss any debt until you get a written "validation notice." The notice must include the amount of the debt, the name of the creditor you owe, and your rights under the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.
If a caller refuses to give you all of this information, do not pay! Paying a fake debt collector will not always make them go away. They may make up another debt to try to get more money from you.
•Stop speaking with the caller. If you have the caller's address, send a letter demanding that the caller stop contacting you, and keep a copy for your files. By law, real debt collectors must stop calling you if you ask them to in writing.
•Do not give the caller personal financial or other sensitive information. Never give out or confirm personal financial or other sensitive information like your bank account, credit card, or Social Security number unless you know whom you're dealing with. Scam artists, like fake debt collectors, can use your information to commit identity theft – charging your existing credit cards, opening new credit card, checking, or savings accounts, writing fraudulent checks, or taking out loans in your name.
•Contact your creditor. If the debt is legitimate – but you think the collector may not be – contact your creditor about the calls. Share the information you have about the suspicious calls and find out who, if anyone, the creditor has authorized to collect the debt.
•Report the call. Contact the FTC and your state Attorney General's office with information about suspicious callers. Many states have their own debt collection laws in addition to the federal FDCPA. Your Attorney General's office can help you determine your rights under your state's law.
these people kept contacting me, harassing me basically when I asked for an acct number he MR JENKINS ( MR MCKAY called the day before) stated he couldn't for sake of his client! Told me to fax an acct number to him!! IS HE CRAZY? I called the local police department and called our free legal department at my work!
The same thing happened to me. I took a payday loan few years ago to help me through a rough patch during my divorce. I don't know what happened but for some reason all of the sudden people started to call me about it saying I owe them. I have email records of the conversation I had with the lender and it was settled. I paid it off. I'm trying to get a hold of them to find out if something happened and my name is somewhere out there. Anyways, I asked the guy for his company name he didn't want to give me. I then ask for a written explanation of the debt and amount, he refused it. He started to ask me questions about my ssn, address. I told him I wasn't going to give him anything unless he could produce something in writting. It ended up ugly with him telling me he was sending me to court and yada yada yada. BS.