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Wrongfully accused lady gets $1.2 million from collection agency

Aug 19, 2011 Mike Garretson

Wrongfully accused lady gets $1.2 million from collection agency

Social media and global networks have given companies the opportunity to reach out to hundreds ofmillions of consumers. However, it has also paved the way for cheap debt collection scams, Scambusters reports.

A collection law firm was recently sued for trying to collect debts falsely attributed to a New Mexico resident, according to the Collections&CreditRisk.

 The roots of the case started in 2006 when Lucinda Yazzie was assigned a delinquent credit card by Target National Bank. When the company called to collect the debts, Yazzie told Target she had never opened a card with the company and they mistook her for another person with the same name. The case was initially dropped in 2007. After two years, Target again tried to blame Yazzie, but this time they switched the social security number attributed to the delinquent account with Yazzie's - a federal offense. "They had been on notice that they had been pursuing the wrong person for three years," said Rob Treinen, Yazzie’s attorney. "They just would not stop coming after her."