Each week we bring you 10 of our most favorite stories from around the industry.

Week of October 3, 2010

1. Interactive Intelligence Acquires Latitude Software

(tradingmarkets.com, 10/08/10)

Interactive Intelligence, a provider of unified IP business communications solutions, has acquired Global Software Services, doing business as Latitude Software, a privately held provider of debt collection software and services.”

2. Jackson man sentenced in identity thefts

(clarionledger.com, 10/07/10)

A Jackson debt collector was sentenced today to five years and nine months in prison for stealing the identities of people with the same name.”

3. Movie Review: Breathless

(montrealgazette.com, 10/08/10)

Everything he does is violent: he slaps up women and calls them bitch (and worse), he beats his dad, he smacks his little nephew, and, oh, yes, as a professional debt collector, he attacks people in their homes so they’ll pay up.”

4. Disguised Debt Collectors Using Scary Social Media Tricks

(foxbusiness.com, 10/07/10)

Guess who’s viewing your online profile? If an image of the person you met at a friend’s party last week comes to mind you better guess again.”

5. Debt collector sued after calling consumer’s mom and dad

(louisianarecord.com, 10/07/10)

A debt collector is facing a lawsuit after a collection agent called the consumer’s parents and discussed the consumer’s debt.”

6. FDIC: Monterey County Bank agrees to $3 million settlement

(thecalifornian.com, 10/05/10)

A federal banking regulator announced today that Monterey County Bank has agreed to pay more than $3 million as part of a settlement stemming from allegations of deceptive banking practices.”

7. Report says Michigan among states that jail those who can’t pay debts

(detnews.com, 10/05/10)

Long banned in the United States, debtors prisons are returning in the form of debt-collection practices that send poor defendants to jail for not paying legal fees, according to two reports released Tuesday. Michigan was one of the states jailing people to poor to pay court and jail costs — even though the state constitution explicitly forbids the practice.”

8. FTC Proposes Policy Statement Clarifying How to Collect Decedents’ Debts

(docuticker.com, 10/05/10)

The Federal Trade Commission is seeking public comment on a proposed policy statement clarifying when the FTC will take action under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) and the FTC Act against companies trying to collect the debts of deceased consumers.”

9. Are local courts overstepping by helping bill collectors apply the screws?

(crosscut.com, 10/04/10)

The practice of suddenly jailing people who have failed to comply with collection requests comes close to violating a ban on imprisonment for debt. Judicial watchdogs are taking note and getting some relief, but many people desperately in debt are still helpless.”

10. State wins $23M from debt collector

(Chicago Sun Times, 10/04/10)

A Cook County judge ordered the law firm of Friedman & Wexler and its lawyers Mitchell Wexler and Norman Wexler to pay the damages as a result of a lawsuit the Illinois Student Assistance Commission filed in 2006.”

• CAN-SPAM Act
• Electronic Funds Transfer Act (EFTA)
• Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), FTC Staff Opinion Letters on the FDCPA, FTC Staff Commentary on the FDCPA
• Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA)
• Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA)
• Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA)
• Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)
• PCI-DSS
• Red Flags Rule
• Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA)
• Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA)
• Truth in Lending Act (TILA)
• U.S. Bankruptcy Code

Protecting private information is a big concern for every customer today. After all, identity theft continues to grow in scale and security breaches are becoming more common.

So, what does your unorganized and cluttered office have to do with it? Everything.

Although it is over 4 years old, when discussing this issue I like to refer folks to a CSO Online article, “The Clean Desk Test: What’s Wrong With This Picture?”

The neat thing about this article is that it provides a picture of a messy office containing 20 potential violations and asks you to spot them. It then provides an answer key along with suggested policies and procedures for each violation.

So, take the test yourself and find out if you truly do have 20/20 vision.

Gary Jensen
Editor collector mentor