Some of my readers have already alerted me to the fact that bill collectors are, as a recent MSNBC article states, "trolling" Facebook and other social network sites. I am connected to a number of people on Facebook, but am extremely careful when accepting friend requests. This is one of the reasons for that. If people do not send me specific reasons for why they wish to friend me, or have a number of valid connections, then I refuse to connect with them.
I am curious about this newish trend. Have any of you have been tracked down by one of your student lenders via Facebook?
Related Links
"Abusive Phone Calls Wanted! Looking For The Worst Stories," AEM, April 19, 2011
"Debt Collectors Must Tread Lightly On Social Media," Orlando Sentinel, April 17, 2011
"In Your Words: A grandson's anguish," AEM, June 4, 2010
4 comments:
I personally have not been contacted this way (I am still in IBR, not defaulted), but it makes you think twice about accepting friend requests and possibly making you want to clean out your friends list.
Oh, absolutely. I've had people 'infiltrate' my page for political reasons. That has made me careful as well.
When I called my lender to set up deferrment they asked if they could get in touch by phone. I don't have a landline, only cellphone. I told them reply to me by mail or e-mail. Three days later I receive a letter saying they sold my contract, so now the chances are greater that i won't be able to defer before the payments due.
It almost certainly violates Facebook's terms-of-service. If they abuse it chronically, it could even be actionable or even criminal cyber-stalking.
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