Debt collector profits soar with people flush and easy to find
Always ask for proof of the debt before paying.  If they can't provide proof, you can contest it on your credit report and you don't have to pay.<p>I keep having debt collectors call me for a fake debt.  I've been an AT&T customer for 25 years.  About a decade ago I upgraded my broadband, and instead of upgrading my account they closed my old one and opened a new one.  I got a final bill on the old one and that was that.<p>About two years later I got a debt collector trying to collect on the old account.  At first I thought it might be legit, maybe I missed the final bill.  So I asked for a copy of the records.  They stopped calling.<p>A couple years later a new debt collector called on the same debt.  Again I asked for proof, again they stopped calling.<p>I think my name was finally deleted from the spreadsheets they pass around, but who knows.  Maybe one day someone will call again.