What is a Debt Collector?
The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) defines the term "Debt Collector"  to include "…any person who uses any instrumentality of interstate commerce or the mails in any business the principal purpose of which is the collection of any debts, or who regularly collects or attempts to collect, directly or indirectly, debts [...]

Anyone who had a credit card, student loan, car loan or mortgage between 1987 and May 28, 2008 can get six to nine months of access to their credit report and credit score from TransUnion, one of the big three credit reporting agencies.
This access flows from settlement of multiple class action suits against TransUnion for [...]

MSN Money published an interesting article entitled 8 Signs You May Know An Identity Thief.  The article discusses how many people fear identity theft from a stranger when, in fact, studies show that most identity theft victims know the thief in some way.  The article provides an excellent graphic showing this.  In summary, of those [...]

The June 2006 AARP magazine touts an AARP sponsored law recently enacted in Arizona that prevents the theft of one’s identity for a fee.  That sounded a lot like extortion to me.
AARP reports that beginning in September, Arizonans will be able to bar credit-reporting agencies from releasing their personal financial information to a bank or [...]

 A "Consumer Report" is a report that bears upon a consumer’s creditworthiness, credit standing, credit capacity, character, general reputation, personal characteristics, or mode of living.
A consumer report can be transmitted by oral, written or other means of communication.
Information contained in a consumer’s file with a credit reporting agency is not a consumer report until it [...]

Texas Attorney General, Greg Abbott, reached a settlement last month with Universal Underwriters Life Insurance Company who unlawfully withheld insurance premiums from more than 12,000 Texans who paid off their vehicle loans early. 
Under the terms of the settlement, Universal Underwriters agreed to refund insurance premiums worth $2.4 million to Texas policyholders whose loans terminated [...]

A recent Bank Rate story on early mortgage relief plan reports that credit scores are used to determine eligibility for governmental help.  Credit scores are based on the information in credit reports.  However, studies show credit reports are notoriously inaccurate.
The announcement that the government was going to accord decisive effect to credit scores pushed me [...]

Employers may use consumer reports when they hire new employees and when they evaluate employees for promotion, reassignment, and retention provided they comply with the Fair Credit Reporting Act (sections 604, 606, and 615).  A consumer report is any report that contains information about a person’s personal and credit characteristics, character, general reputation, and lifestyle.  [...]

Never lend it to anyone. 
Never sign a blank charge slip. Draw lines through blank spaces on charge slips above the total so that the amount can’t be changed.
Never put your account number on the outside of an envelope or on a postcard.
Always be cautious about disclosing your account number on the telephone unless you [...]

In his article "Student Loan Market Faces Scarce Times" Andy Miofsky discusses the anticipated reduction in the number of lenders that will continue to provide guaranteed student loans.
On the heels of this news comes a report in the Washington Post that Sallie Mae, the largest student loan provider in the country, will begin charging an application [...]