North Carolina AG says public needs to be on lookout for phony debt collectors

In a recent statement, North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper said that the public needed to be on the lookout for criminals posing as debt collectors. The AG said that his office was releasing the warning after the North Carolina Consumer Protection Division reported a higher-than-normal number of complaints on the issue. The Association of Cards and Collection Professionals reports that the scam artists try to intimidate those they target by telling them that they are with an official agency. "It appears the individuals behind the calls are located overseas," the industry group stated. "They obtain consumers personal information and use it to attempt to coerce consumers into paying money for debts they do not actually owe. Investigators are trying to determine how the scammers get consumers’ personal information." Residents in other states have been dealing with similar fake debt collectors trying to take their hard-earned money. Last year, the Missouri Attorney General partnered with the ACA to hand out similar warnings.