Your Rights in Dealing with a Debt Collector

What are your rights in dealing with a collection agency?


Answer #1

According to the act, a collection agency must submit to you in writing who the original creditor was, the original creditors contact information (if account was sold who owns the account now), and the amount owed. After you request this information, they must send the information to you via letter. You also have rights that state the collection agency must not threaten you in any way. If they do, you can prosecute.

Answer #2

You have rights, but you are still responsible for your debts. If you refuse to pay the debt, whether you think you have a valid reason or not, the collection agency has a right to get a judgment and garnish your wages or bank accounts. Having had something repossessed does not mean that it was "taken care of." It was your responsibility to make sure your name was cleared rather than just assuming that it was. If the furniture had decreased in value from normal wear and tear, it is very likely that you owed more on it than it was worth at the time it was repossessed.

It is wonderful that you are trying to get your life back together, but that means nothing to the collection agency and it does not release you from your financial responsibilities. Most collection agencies train their employees in collection laws and they know what they're doing. Nobody likes a bill collector, but we all know that they're necessary.

Answer #3

Each state has a statute of limitations (SOL) for debts incurred. If your debt is outside the SOL then you are not legally required to pay it. Period. A debt outside the SOL is an affirmative defense in a lawsuit.

Properly trained and well-mannered debt collectors (DC) are the exception, not the rule. Verbal abuse may be recorded, in most cases, with one-party consent, and used against the collection agency in a suit alleging violations of the FDCPA.

Rights are retained in writing only. Do not settle for telephonic exchanges, decisions, or promises. Some states, particularly Ohio, have more severe rules regarding violations of the FDCPA.

Do not ignore the DC or the dunning letters. Some DCs follow the law, but your are responsible to ensure any contact with a DC is lawful. If they violate your rights, they sure won't sue themselves over it.

When dealing with collections agencies, make sure you are familiar with the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) and the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), at minimum.
Here are some points.

Who is a debt collector?

A DC is any person, other than the creditor, who regularly collects debts owed to others. This also includes attorneys who collect debts on a regular basis.

How may a debt collector contact you?

A DC may contact you in person, by mail, telephone, telegram, or Fax. However, a debt collector may not contact you at unreasonable times or places, such as before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m, unless you agree. A debt collector also may not contact you at work if the collector knows that your employer disapproves. Further, they cannot call you at home if you have written them and told them not to do so.

Can you stop a DC from contacting you?

You can stop a collector from contacting you by writing a letter to the collection agency telling them to stop. Once the agency receives your letter, they may not contact you again except to say there will be no further contact. The agency may notify you if the DC or the creditor intends to take some specific action. In the early stages of validation, there is no reason to prevent all contact. Written communication is the safest and preferred method. They put their claims in writing, and you respond.

Can a DC contact anyone else about your debt?

If you have an attorney, the DC may not contact anyone other than your attorney. If you do not have an attorney, a collector may contact other people, but only to find out where you live and work. Collectors usually are prohibited from contacting such permissible third parties more than once. In most cases, the DC may not tell anyone other than you and your attorney that you owe money.

What must the DC tell you about the debt?

Within five days after you are first contacted, the collector must send you a written notice telling you the amount of money you owe; the name of the creditor to whom you owe the money; and what action to take if you believe you do not owe the money.

Can a debt collector continue to contact you if you believe you do not owe money?

A collector may not contact you if, within 30 days after you are first contacted, you send the collection agency a letter stating you do not owe money (demand for validation). However, a collector can renew collection activities if you are sent proof of the debt, such as a copy of a bill for the amount owed.

What is a validation?

It is a demand that the DC produce competent legal evidence you owe the alleged amount. A certified copy of a signed contract is an example. You may demand a validation at any time after you have been contacted by the DC. You are not limited to the initial 30 day window.

What types of debt collection practices are prohibited?

Harassment

Debt collectors may not harass, oppress, or abuse anyone. For example, debt collectors may not:

1) Use threats of violence or harm against the person, property, or reputation;

2) Publish a list of consumers who refuse to pay their debts (except to a credit bureau);

3) Use obscene or profane language;

4) Repeatedly use the telephone to annoy someone;

5) Telephone people without identifying themselves;

6) Advertise your debt.

False Statements

Debt collectors may not use any false statements when collecting a debt. For example, debt collectors may not:

1) Falsely imply that they are attorneys or government representatives;

2) Falsely imply that you have committed a crime;

3) Falsely represent that they operate or work for a credit bureau;

4) Misrepresent the amount of your debt;

5) Misrepresent the involvement of an attorney in collecting a debt;

6) Indicate that papers being sent to you are legal forms when they are not;

7) Indicate that papers being sent to you are not legal forms when they are.

Debt collectors also may not state that:

1) You will be arrested if you do not pay your debt;

2) They will seize, garnish, attach, or sell your property or wages, unless the collection agency or Creditor intends to do so, and it is legal to do so;

3) Actions, such as a lawsuit, will be taken against you, which legally may not be taken, or which they do not intend to take.

Debt collectors may not:

1) Give false credit information about you to anyone;

2) Send you anything that looks like an official document from a court or government agency when it is not;

3) Use a false name.

Unfair Practices

Debt collectors may not engage in unfair practices when they try to collect a debt. For example, collectors may not:

1) Collect any amount greater than your debt, unless allowed by law;

2) Deposit a post-dated check prematurely;

3) Make you accept collect calls or pay for telegrams;

4) Take or threaten to take your property unless this can be done legally; 5) Contact you by postcard.

You have rights. But only YOU can assert them.

Patrick L. Baird

Private Investigator

FREE Military Links

Military Links

Military Links Manual Records Searches

http://www.archives.gov/st-louis/index.html



APO/FPO Locator

http://freebizadsweb.com/apofpolist.asp



Garnishment Info

http://www.dod.mil/dfas/militarypay/garnishment.html



Verify Active Duty

https://www.dmdc.osd.mil/scra/owa/home



More to follow!



Patrick L. Baird

Private Investigator

Ask the Private Investigator

This question has come up a few times; I have a question unrelated to the daily blog, how can I post the question?

The answer is simple. You may go to the bottom of this post or ANY post and click on the "comments" at the bottom of the page. Example:

posted by Patrick Baird at 7:08 AM Comments

A new screen will be displayed and you may post your question, comment or opinion. You may post with your identity or anonymously.

If I do not know the answer I will research the topic and even ask other private investigators for their feedback. Most answers will be posted within two business days.

I look forward to your questions and comments.

Thank you,

Patrick L. Baird
Private Investigator

Postal Inspector Audits

We've heard of audits by the IRS and the DMV, but the "Postal Inspector"? The following scenario is from a PI in California;

Usually most attorneys I work for have their own process servers (I wont serve them unless they money is right.) But when I do serve them, I'll only do so when its part of a case I'm already working, and when its being billed at my hourly rates.

Two weeks ago I submitted a postal form request at an undisclosed post office, in hopes to discern the witnesses forwarding address. As they usually do, they made a photo copy of my PI license and my postal form. They then advised they would mail the results back to me (they were very busy.)

I just received a phone call from a U.S. Postal Inspector. He advised me they did a "random audit," and he investigating my request to see if I was following protocol. He advised me that he suspected I was not being truthful. He advised he could not confirm that an actual court case was actually pending, as my form stated.

He then asked me to repeat the case number, court and names of all the parties involved. When I did so, he realized he read the case number wrong. Evidently my penmanship was not very legible, plus I abbreviated the lengthy parties names involved.

Thankfully I was being honest and truthful on my form. I should hope if any of you get audited, that you will pass with flying colors. Its not cheap to defend yourself, if the prosecutor is the US Attorneys office.

Be careful,

Patrick L. Baird
Private Investigator

Tracking a Persons Location Using Their Cell Phone

Private Investigators would LOVE to have the ability to track someones every move. The technology is there and available, if you are a government official!! Big brother wins again, law enforcement does not even have this capability without a subpoena.

Double Standard

A federal court in Massachusetts has ruled that the government doesn't need probable cause to obtain a warrant allowing it to use a person's cell phone to track his past movements.

According to the ruling by the U.S. District Court in Massachusetts, law enforcement officials only need to show the information is "relevant to an ongoing investigation."

The decision stems from an appeal by the government of a magistrate judge's ruling that required members of law enforcement to show probable cause before they could be issued a warrant to gain access to an individual's past movements from cell phone providers. Cell phone companies can track a customer's movements by identifying the cell tower or towers through which his calls were handled....

"The idea is that the government is using this information, that most people don't know their cell phone transmits, in order to track you, and they are arguing for an extremely low standard under this complicated statutory regime," Granick said. "Most people probably consider this information to be very private -- where you travel and where you've been. So the concern is for something so invasive, the government should have to demonstrate that it's information that they really need."

Good Read,

Patrick L. Baird
Private Investigator

Free Nationwide Listing of Courthouse Web Sites

Nationwide Links to Courthouses

This has to be one of the best pages I have ever bookmarked! This site maintained by the National Center for State Courts has links to virtually every Federal, State and County courthouse in the county.

Here is an example of one of the links:

Texas:
Office of Court Administration
Supreme Court
Court of Criminal Appeals
Court of Appeals
District Courts
Constitutional County Courts
Probate Courts
Fort Bend County Courts at Law
Justice of the Peace Courts
Municipal Courts
Clerks of the Texas Courts
Texas Judicial Web Server
Court Structure Chart

Click on the link and it will take you to the State Directory and a link to the precise office you need, wow - very nice!!

Enjoy,

Patrick L. Baird

Private Investigator

Free Reverse Phone Number Lookup

FREE Service Uncovers Unlisted Phone Number Information

Learn how to find names to almost 87% unlisted phone numbers and almost 27% of cell phone numbers at absolutely no cost with free reverse phone number lookup.

• No Gimmicks
• No Credit Card Needed
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This FREE reverse phone number lookup search works on virtually EVERY land line phone number in the United States and even some wireless numbers.

Find out the name and address of almost any land line phone number instantly. Updated real time reverse phone searches ensure you receive the most current name and address information available.

Over twenty-four (Yes 24) databases with one search giving you the most comprehensive and reliable data ever. Save time, unlike any other web site our shopping cart stores up to 20 reverse phone number look up requests at the same time. Your first five "5" searches every day are Free.

FREE reverse phone number lookup uncovers the truth about almost any;

• unlisted phone numbers
• unpublished phone numbers
• blocked phone numbers
• private party phone numbers
• and almost 27% of cell phone numbers too

Good Luck,

Patrick L. Baird

Private Investigator

Overcome the Language Barrier

You know it has happened to you; You call someone and they do not speak English. Some people simply do not speak English, others are playing a game and don't want to talk with you. This is an important contact that may break your case, do you just quit?

No need to quit, there is an answer, for a fee you can hire an interpreter that speaks 170 languages, that's right 170 languages!!

The Language Line:

First... although the terms language interpretation and translation are often used interchangeably, by strict definition, interpretation refers to the spoken language, and translation (as in Document Translation) to the written language.

In over-the-phone interpretation, Language Line Services interpreters listen to your limited English speaking (LEP) customer, analyze the message and accurately convey its original meaning to you or your staff member.

Professionally trained and tested Language Line Services interpreters do not interpret word-for-word, but meaning-for-meaning. This is why you might notice that non-English conversations can seem to take longer. Many English concepts that are communicated in one or two words can take several phrases to accurately describe in another language, and vice versa.
For you and your customer...

This means that each time you call Language Line Services, for any of our 170 languages, you can expect a professional interpreter with these skills and qualities:

• Proficiency in both languages
• General knowledge and intimate familiarity with both cultures
• Ability to express thoughts clearly and concisely in both languages
• General knowledge of the subject to be interpreted
• Excellent note-taking technique
• Memory enhancement skills
• Flexible Interpretation Services to Suit Your Unique Needs...
  

Enjoy,

Patrick L. Baird

Private Investigator

Health Care Provider Background Check

You can use these reports to research your existing doctor. The Credential History Reports are valuable tools to verify the history, training and education of your health care provider. To begin the search on a doctor, all you need is the last name and state of practice. Once you submit your search, you will receive a list of doctors that match your search criteria. This list includes name and address. This service is free.

In addition, you may select a doctor from the list and purchase a Credential History Report. This report may contain (if available) license related actions and items (all 50 states) including disciplinary actions, sanctions, consent orders, consent agreements, dismissals, non-disciplinary communications, advisory letters, and other info. This service is $9.95.

Health Pulse Credential History Reports contains information on Medical Doctors (MDs) and Doctors of Osteopathy (DOs).Reports may contain:

• Name -- Doctor's name as reported by the sources.
• Phone Number/Fax Number -- Doctor's business phone and/or fax number as reported by the sources.
• Address -- Doctor's business address as reported by the sources.
• County -- Doctor's county as reported by the sources. Area of Practice -- This indicates specialty area of practice as designated by the physician.
• Education/Graduation Year -- Medical School from which the Physician graduated along with the year of graduation.
• Residencies -- Indicates residencies, internships, or fellowships where the physician received training.
• Government -- Information from government sources such as registration with the Drug Enforcement Administration.
• Gender -- Indicates whether the physician is male or female.
• Credentials -- Doctor's credentials as reported by the sources.
• Year of Birth -- Doctor's year of birth as reported by the sources.

Nearly 100,000 sanctions and disciplinary actions exist for health care providers throughout the country. Before entrusting your health and your family's health to a health care provider, confirm the provider you selected has an active license and clean credential history.

Patrick L. Baird

Private Investigator

NCISS NEEDS YOUR DONATION

Here’s The Straight Scoop
By Eddy McClain

The Legislative situation is pretty scary right now. If Congress makes the wrong move, the investigation landscape will be forever changed to the detriment of our profession, and the clients we serve. At risk is the function and fairness of the civil and criminal justice system. That may sound melodramatic; regrettably it’s true.

NCISS is trying hard to stop legislation which would make it a federal crime to buy or sell a Social Security Number. That simplistic sounding action, which sounds so palatable to legislators, would eliminate credit header access and cripple the data bases who utilize the SSN identifier.

We need to replenish funds to pay for professional lobbying. By sticking together and donating what we can afford, the collective result will be substantial and enough. No amount is too small. If every investigator donated the equivalent of one hour’s billing the result would be enough to pay our bills. Many will send more than that which helps make up for the ones who don’t think it is their problem. That’s the way it is.

To help, send your checks payable to “NCISS Legislative Fund”, 7501 Sparrows Point Blvd., Baltimore, Maryland 21219.

Your name, not the amount of the donation, will be acknowledged on the NCISS News, THE REPORT and in email communiqués. When you send your donation, please let me know by sending an email to mcclained@aol.com.

Our thanks to all who sent faxes to Congress opposing HR 948 and HR 3046. And a special thanks to those fifty or so NCISS members from all over the country who traveled to Washington D.C. earlier this month to lobby against these bills. There is no doubt our visits helped, but we are not out of the woods. If by some miracle these bills or their equivalent do not pass this session, they will be back next year. It is an ongoing battle to get our position known and understood.

Thanks for your help.

Debt Collectors Seek Cellphone, E-mail Access

The debt collection industry urged the U.S. government on Wednesday to lift a decades old ban against using e-mail accounts or cellphone numbers to contact consumers who have fallen behind in their payments.

As more Americans drop home telephone land lines and rely on cellphones, debt collectors are finding it harder to reach delinquent account holders and the industry potentially faces higher losses, industry executives said at a forum sponsored by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission.

"If we can't contact somebody, that's a big problem," said Robert DiGennaro, chief executive officer of Austin, Texas- based debt collection company Collins Financial Services Inc.

Debt collection firms are third parties that have bought a variety of unpaid debt and bills such as student loans and credit card and medical bills.

Collectors are allowed to call consumers at work and home between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m., but are prohibited by law from contacting them on their cell phones or by e-mail.

But contacts through e-mails and cellphones are not off limits if they are included in the fine print of the terms of the original contract of the debt product such as credit cards.

"Today, we find that less than half of our accounts have land lines," DiGennaro said.

The other half are using cellphones, e-mails, and instant and text messaging products.

The FTC held the forum to examine changes during the three decades since Congress passed a law to ensure that debt collectors do not harass consumers.

FTC officials at the event gave no indication of whether they support changes in the law. FTC officials did not have an immediate comment.

While technology has erected barriers in the industry's ability to contact people, experts at the forum said it has also helped the industry become more efficient in automating calls and sending paper mail notices.

There are about 4,600 active collection firms with a total of 152,000 employees, according to the Federal Reserve.

In 2005, the industry recovered about $40 billion in debt and also generated revenues of $11.4 billion, said Fed economist Robert Hunt. The recovery rate on the face value of debt amounted to about 16 percent and the median profit per account after expenses was about $2, he said.

"It's pretty clear that the way to make money in this business is to collect on lots and lots of accounts," Hunt said.

The need to collect on as many accounts as possible has contributed to an increasing number of complaints with the FTC, said Jean Ann Fox, director of consumer protection at the Consumer Federation of America.

Older delinquent accounts sometimes get sold two or three times to different collection firms, which causes confusion and prompts complaints to the FTC, Fox said.

"They say, 'who did I originally owe?'," she said, adding that sometimes neither the consumer nor the collection firm has complete records of the transaction.

Yesterday is Gone - Tomorrow Never Comes - Today is All We Have,


Patrick L. Baird
Private Investigator

Expert Witness Protocol

Here are a few pointers that will make you a professional expert witness and a hit with your client.

1. Don't volunteer anything! Respond thoughtfully to the question that is asked but keep it brief AND answer only what is asked. That applies to your client as well as to the cross-examination. If your client wants more, he will guide you with his questions.

2. Respect....for the court, the judge, the opposing counsel and for yourself.

3. Have confidence in your testimony. Remember that you are there to talk only about what you know to be the truth to the best of your knowledge...nothing else. You're not going to be asked to give a speech, sing or dance. That will inspire self confidence and goes a long way to help with the "jitters."

4. Do not....let me repeat that....do not... take your investigative file to court. Anything you have in your hand on the stand, and sometimes anything you bring to the courtroom, can be admitted into evidence at the request of opposing counsel. That will not make your client happy, since you will be, in essence, revealing part of his "attorney work product." In short, your client does not want the other side to have your notes. If a bunch of dates are involved or something else that would otherwise require handwritten notes, ask your client about this before trial. My answer on the stand to such questions is, "I would have to look at the file to give you the exact date, (name, time, address, etc.")

5. Talk to your client before trial. Let him guide you with regard to any special circumstances that may come up in advance.

6. Do not be combative. It is the lawyer's job to get you riled and make you look like an unprofessional witness...see rule no. 2.

7. Finally, what may seem the most obvious....Tell the truth. I know you are not going to lie, but there may be the temptation to "touch-up" the truth, just a little to make yourself or your client look better. Don't do it. You may not get caught, but in the end, your client will know you lied to the court and will always wonder, in future dealings, if you are lying to him. Your honor and integrity are not for sale.

Yesterday is gone - Tomorrow never comes - Today is all we have!

Patrick L. Baird

Private Investigator

FTC Workshop Concerning Social Security Number Access

On December 10 and 11, 2007, the Federal Trade Commission will host a public workshop, “Security in Numbers: SSNs and ID Theft,” to explore the uses of Social Security numbers in the private sector and the role of SSNs in identity theft.

This workshop continues the work of the President’s Identity Theft Task Force, and, in particular, its recommendation to explore ways to reduce unnecessary uses of the SSN. The workshop will provide a forum for public-sector, private-sector, and consumer representatives to discuss the various uses of SSNs by the private sector, the necessity of those uses, alternatives available, the challenges faced by the private sector in moving away from using SSNs, and how SSNs are obtained and used by identity thieves.

The workshop will be free and open to the public.
More details are available at http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/workshops/ssn/index.shtml

Be Involved & Informed!

Patrick L. Baird
Private Investigator

Employment Search

As investigators we are increasingly asked to locate assets, perform an employment search or verify employment. Locating assets such as, real-estate, vehicles, and associated business is easy and can be done with a Simple Background Check. Locating bank accounts and employment searches are difficult to say the least.

With laws concerning bank account searches (Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act), this type of investigation is only asking for trouble unless you hire a professional that knows and abides by the numerous Federal and State laws that govern this practice (more on this in a future blog).

One of the highest requested and performed search in the industry is the Employment Locate Search. This is a search where we are asked to locate an ACTIVE employer typically to satisfy a judgement or child support debt. While this is a popular search the process is very tedious and time consuming. There simply is not one source for all of this information, The IRS and State government agencies will not share their data with the public sector.

The Work Number

The Work Number is the largest provider of automated employment and income verifications in the U.S. Over 1,000 employers contract with The Work Number to provide verifications, including well over half of the Fortune 500.

The Work Number allows employees to provide proof of their employment or income anytime of the day, every day of the year – anytime they need to. No more need for faxing, mailing, or phone-calling that slows down the closing of loans or other employee business that requires a verification of employment.

Over 50,000 entities have established accounts with The Work Number to perform verifications. These entities include 6,000 social service agencies, including HUD, Social Service Administration, and public agencies in all 50 states. Over 50,000 commercial entities, including some of the largest mortgage lenders in the U.S., contract with The Work Number to receive verifications.

The biggest problem with The Work Number? You MUST already know who the employer is! Essentially this service is nothing more than a Employment Verification Source and they must have a contract in place with the person's employer in order to verify their information.

The Solution

There is only ONE way to perform a successful Employment Search, that is hire a professional. The rates for locating employment range from $125 to $200 for locating ACTIVE employment. Normally there is a minimum or no hit fee of $25 retained by the investigator for their efforts if there is no active employment found.

Here is a couple of links that will direct you to a professional that can help you with this project:

• PhoneBust.com
• BestPeopleSearch.com

Have Fun and Stay Safe,

Patrick L. Baird
Private Investigator

Free VIN Search / Decoding

Vehicle Identification Numbers (VIN), can be decoded for FREE on a number of sites. If you have the VIN, you can decode this in the Vehicle Make, Model & Year. I have listed a few popular sites for your files.

Here is a list of sites that offer VIN decoding for FREE, some of them also offer (for a fee) additional information such as state of registration and possibly a history of maintenance or if the vehicle was involved in any accidents that resulted in an insurance claim being filed.

• http://www.carfax.com/
• http://www.autocheck.com/
• http://www.vinpower.com/index.aspx
• http://www.vehicleidentificationnumber.com/

The sites above will not help you with personal or owner information about the vehicle, however, depending on your situation you may get detailed information about the vehicle including owner / lien holder information at the following sites:

• Search by Licence Plate / Tag
• Search By VIN
• National Vin Search

Have Fun and Stay Safe.

Patrick L. Baird

Private Investigator

View Historic Versions of Websites

I had a case recently where we needed to prove that a website owner had offered services or had plagiarized and placed copy written material on a competitors website. When the demand was served on the competitor he claimed that the accusations were false and referred to his current website as proof.

Upon further review it would seem that the competitor was correct, when reviewing his current website information all of the plagiarized content was not found. We obviously knew that the competitor, after being served with our demand, had simply removed the questionable content.

How could we determine that the competitor had in fact plagiarized my clients information and blatantly listed copy written material on their website? The answer was simple, there is a little known tool on the web that allows you to enter a URL and the tool will return exactly what the website looked like in the past. The tool is called "The Wayback Machine".

What is the Internet Archive Wayback Machine?

The Internet Archive Wayback Machine is a service that allows people to visit archived versions of Web sites. Visitors to the Wayback Machine can type in a URL, select a date range, and then begin surfing on an archived version of the Web. Imagine surfing circa 1999 and looking at all the Y2K hype, or revisiting an older version of your favorite Web site. The Internet Archive Wayback Machine can make all of this possible.

The original idea for the Internet Archive Wayback Machine began in 1996, when the Internet Archive first began archiving the web. Now, five years later, with over 100 terabytes and a dozen web crawls completed, the Internet Archive has made the Internet Archive Wayback Machine available to the public. The Internet Archive has relied on donations of web crawls, technology, and expertise from Alexa Internet and others. The Internet Archive Wayback Machine is owned and operated by the Internet Archive.

The Internet Archive Wayback Machine contains almost 2 petabytes of data and is currently growing at a rate of 20 terabytes per month. This eclipses the amount of text contained in the world's largest libraries, including the Library of Congress.

Have Fun and Stay Safe,

Patrick L. Baird
Private Investigator

FREE Toll Free & Long Distance Carrier Information

Following the theme of yesterdays blog, I have found a couple other valuable tools you may use on a land line phone:

• To find out who the long distance carrier is on any land line phone, dial 1-700-555-4141 from the line and a automated voice will tell you the long distance carrier on the account.
• If you need to subpoena phone records for a client and need to find out the carrier of a toll free number (800, 866, 877, etc), call 1-800-337-4194 and enter the 10 digit toll free number, you will hear an automated voice detail the name of the carrier.

These are both FREE services! More to come.

Enjoy!

Patrick L. Baird

Private Investigator

Obtain the Phone Number from ANY Land Line Phone

Handy Trick:

Have you ever been in a situation where you need the phone number for the location your at? Maybe the number for a payphone, or the number at a hotel, motel etc?

Call 1-800-444-4444 from any land line phone and a recording will tell you the number you are calling from.

Free and Easy - Just the way life should be!

Enjoy,

Patrick L. Baird
Private Investigator

Days Numbered for SSN Access

THE NATIONAL VOICE OF THE PRIVATE INVESTIGATION & SECURITY INDUSTRIES NATIONAL COUNCIL OF INVESTIGATION & SECURITY SERVICES INC.

RE: "SSN's in the Private Sector—Comment, Project No. PO75414"

The National Council of Investigation and Security Services is an association of professional private investigators and firms providing security services throughout the United States. We appreciate the opportunity to assist the Identity Theft Task Force to develop a comprehensive record on the private sector use of Social Security numbers.

Investigators play a vital role in the American legal system serving the courts, businesses, non profits and attorneys. A primary function of investigators is to obtain accurate, verifiable information on which courts can rely. Our members must be able to demonstrate that the John Smith who has been identified as a potential witness is the correct John Smith who can provide relevant information. If we expect the courts to make fair judgments, they must have accurate facts from all sides. The SSN is a critical element to help investigators authenticate an individual's identity.

Courts often require attorneys to include Social Security numbers on legal documents. In many jurisdictions judges will not issue judgment collection orders without correct Social Security numbers.

Because a Social Security number is assigned to only one individual,it is unique among identifiers. It stays with that individual when he or she moves or marries. It does not change. No other single piece of information is as useful. Lexis-Nexis has testified that there are 43,000 Robert Jones in the United States. Clearly many share the same birth date. There is no valid substitute for the SSN because no other identifier is as universally used. The SSN is invaluable for identifying and locating women whose names have changed due to marriage or divorce.

Private investigators do not "collect" Social Security numbers. The SSN is useful for investigators only to the extent that it helps locate or correctly identify an individual or record. We do this by examining documents and using commercial databases that link SSN's,names, locations and other data. On occasion it is necessary to include an SSN with other identifiers in order to demonstrate to the court that the identification is correct.

The question has been raised as to whether the SSN is in such widespread use that it should not be used as an authenticator. It should not be the sole source for authentication. Licensed investigators use it as one part of an accurate identification, not the sole source of information. And it is most often a pointer,assisting us to go to the right public record, courthouse or address to verify information.

The commercial databases we utilize are developed through many sources, including public records and "credit headers", the non-credit section of reports that provide identification and address information.

Investigators do not have access to the central criminal history database that law enforcement officials do, so it is essential to have addresses when seeking information about prior convictions. With prior address data, investigators know which courthouse records to search. Without the address, we may not even know in which states to look. This information is important for more than pre-employment purposes. In both civil and criminal trials, attorneys need to know the backgrounds of witnesses and potential witnesses. It is particularly important to be able to conduct background investigations of expert witnesses to verify their credentials and locate previous testimony.

Legislation now being considered in Congress (HR 948, HR 3046) would deny investigators and others access to Social Security numbers and in all likelihood limit access to databases that we use to locate witnesses. In California, database searches led directly to witnesses who recanted testimony and helped free a man wrongly imprisoned for twenty years. Without the ability to use the database,it is highly unlikely these witnesses would have been located and justice would not have been served.

Cost of Losing Use of the SSN

The absence of an exception for private investigators would deny a critical tool to persons accused of crime. This is particularly important for indigent defendants because of the small expense budgets available to public defenders and appointed counsels. A cost effective way to locate witnesses is required. They don't have the resources of the state. The lack of such an exception raises an obvious due process issue where the police have access to a database not available to defendants. Even worse, every legislative vehicle restricting access to personal data includes an exception for law enforcement. Although law enforcement authorities certainly should have access to such information, denying it to the defense would clearly raise fifth ,sixth, and fourteenth amendment issues relating to rights to counsel,examination of witnesses and due process.

Licensed investigators utilize this information for purposes other than locating witnesses. Our members, for example, assist in locating ill-gotten gains. A past president of NCISS was retained by the New York courts in a guardianship proceeding to recover over $300,000 in assets stolen from a ninety-seven year-old retired Army officer by a neighbor caregiver. Through the use of credit headers he was immediately able to determine the identities and locations of the wrongdoer's relatives, properties and eventually the assets that had been taken from the victim. It was the initial header check on the suspect that uncovered a Myrtle Beach, South Carolina address for him.That information developed leads that the victim's assets had been used to purchase real property in South Carolina, expensive automobiles and increased the bank account balances of the subject under the guise that the 97-year-old victim, who was suffering from dementia, had given his life savings as gifts to the suspect. The suspect was to eventually plead guilty and was sentenced to three to nine years in state prison for second-degree grand larceny and ordered to pay $360,000 in restitution to the estate of the victim, who died a month before sentencing of the defendant. This case would not have been solved without the Social Security number verification.

A Texas investigator recently assisted in locating an indigent pregnant woman who was then assisted by a charitable donor. She never would have been located without access to the credit header information as a tool to assist the charitable donor.Investigators also use the data to locate lost heirs, pension beneficiaries who have gone missing and in child support cases.Role of SSN's in Identity Theft and Fraud

The 2007 Identity Fraud Survey Report by Javelin Strategy and Research found that 53 percent of identity fraud was done by someone familiar to the victim and that one is three times as likely to become an ID theft victim from the loss of a wallet than through Internet hacking. Our members are sometimes called upon to help ID theft victims and are familiar with how thefts occur. Our experience is that most such thefts result from the purloining of documents, files, charge slips,credit cards, and wallets from restaurants, stores, trash bins, the mails and private property, phishing or other techniques.

If private investigators are denied access to SSN's and databases which include the SSN, we will be less able to respond to identity theft and other victims of fraud. It is no secret that law enforcement does not have all the resources it needs to fight white collar crime,including identity theft. That crime is difficult to solve and often involves multiple jurisdictions. The result is that few identity thefts are investigated by law enforcement. One high tech crimes taskforce in California is only able to handle one sixth of the ID theft cases it received. Many victims must turn to licensed investigators for assistance. In some instances, when accessing databases,investigators have discovered that the criminal is using multiple SSN's.

Thresholds Limit Law Enforcement Investigation of White Collar Crime

In numerous cases, victims of crime have turned to licensed investigators because the victim's loss is below thresholds set by law enforcement agencies and prosecutors. These thresholds are established because of the substantially limited resources available to police agencies and the necessity to establish priorities. But the result is that victims of non-violent crime must often turn to others for justice. A case under investigation in Virginia illustrates the point. Authorities would not investigate the matter because the client's $75,000 in losses did not meet or exceed the law enforcement agency's minimum threshold to investigate in Fairfax County. Using the SSN, a licensed investigator discovered that a former contractor had two social security numbers, two aliases, drivers' licenses in multiple jurisdictions and her company employee identification number is the same as a deceased individual's social security number in Michigan.

The Commission should survey law enforcement agencies itself to understand the significance of these thresholds. When crime victims cannot turn to authorities for help it would make no sense to limit the ability of licensed private investigators to render necessary assistance.

Here are some other examples of how private investigators have assisted identity theft and other victims of fraud:

In Atlanta, Georgia, an auto dealership asked our investigator to help an applicant who claimed his identity had been stolen. An impostor had stolen this man's social security number and date of birth as well as the identity of four other people. His criminal record included nine felonies in Georgia and other multi-state offenses. The applicant couldn't understand why he had been turned down for several jobs until one potential employer leveled with him and he realized his identity had been stolen. Numerous law enforcement agencies told him they couldn't help him. Our investigator arranged for the applicant to be fingerprinted and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation issued him a certificate stating he was not the same person as the impostor. He then carried the certificate to the three major credit bureaus to clear his name in their files.

An investigation in California found a middle-aged suspect had returned home after years away and stolen his elderly father's identity. He went on a spending spree in Oregon and California and was not called to answer before both his parents passed away. A private investigator was hired by the estate to try to apprehend the thief and obtain restitution. Most of the investigator's leads involved the use of credit header information.

In San Francisco, an investigator reports working a case for a successful business owner who started getting statements in the mail saying he owed tens of thousands of dollars on computers and other purchases, none of which he knew anything about. He found someone had hijacked his identity, opened credit card and store accounts in his name and had even opened a web page mirroring his web page and had an email address similar to his. The San Francisco Police said they would take a report, but would not investigate and suggested he go to the Secret Service. Although losses approached $80,000, the Secret Service said they would not handle the case until at least $100,000 was lost.The victim had a suspicion it was an ex-employee who lived in Salt Lake City and called the investigator. The agency used credit header information to learn that the ex-employee has three names, three or four social security numbers, and three different dates of birth on file.

The SSN is critical to investigators for conducting other fraud investigations as well. It can be particularly important for matters involving theft of intellectual property, ranging from copyrighted music and motion pictures to design of computer chips.

A Las Vegas, Nevada licensed investigator describes a serious case of identity theft that would not have been revealed without the use of the SSN. A law firm retained him to investigate its office manager/accountant who had aroused suspicion. The investigator cross checked the office manager's W-4 against several 9 digit SSN's derived from credit headers contained in commercial databases. They disclosed a single digit different between the W-4 and the credit bureau headers. He identified and located the real individual whose identity the office manager was using through those same proprietary databases.

Upon interviewing that individual in Phoenix he found out that 10 years earlier, he and many others in Phoenix had been the victim of identity theft by this same perpetrator. The Phoenix interviewee was able to provide him with a 10 year old news clipping that contained a photograph of the office manager who was identified as the swindler who victimized the people in Phoenix and fled. Upon identifying the office manager and coordinating with the FBI, he learned that the office manager was a two time loser who was a fugitive from California.

An attorney contacted one of our members on behalf of the out-of-state children of a local, wealthy and infirm retired couple. The children had been cut off from regular communication by a new caregiver who had moved into the family home. The attorney asked him to investigate the caregiver. He developed the caregiver's SSN, which led to her previous names and information that she had a shaky financial past. She had also been fired from two previous jobs for financial improprieties.The licensed investigator also learned she had moved her boyfriend into the family home. When he conducted a background check on the boy friend he learned that the boyfriend had been charged in another state with elder abuse. He provided the name and SSN of the caregiver and boyfriend to the local police, who assisted in evicting them from the family home. During a search of the family's computer, they discovered someone had been searching the Internet for information on poisons.

Preventing Identity Theft

The Javelin report cited above indicates that there has been a recent drop in ID theft and fraud of 12 percent. There may be some impact from public awareness of the problem, increased enforcement and the enactment of data breach legislation in more than 30 states. NCISS does believe that many instances of ID theft could be prevented by keeping Social Security numbers off identification documents such as drivers' licenses and others that are commonly carried, including student and insurance identification. We also believe that SSN's should not be available to the general public over the Internet. In addition, there should be serious sanctions for the misuse of Social Security numbers by anyone with access to them.

The primary risk of identity theft is that a criminal will open a credit account in an individuals name. Section 326 of the Patriot Act requires financial institutions to confirm the identity of the person opening an account. Effective confirmation of identities by these firms will reduce incidents of fraud over time. But it is also essential that commercial databases continue to have access to SSN's so that financial institutions and other firms extending credit can be assured that the data are accurate.

Saving Jobs

One of our members reported a recent investigation that had profound benefits for many employees. In this case, a local venture capital firm needed to find a shareholder in a company they had made an offer to purchase. If they could not find this final shareholder to sign off on the offer, the company was scheduled to go into bankruptcy and the firm's offer would have been voided. The investigator had the shareholder's name and an old address. By developing the Social Security number of the shareholder, he was able to track him from 2002 forward to his current address and phone number. The client phoned him and he was more than willing to sign off on the venture firm's offer,insuring that the company could be purchased and rebuilt into a viable entity, thereby saving the jobs of a hundred employees.

Appropriate Access to Data

Any restriction on the sale or use of Social Security numbers should provide for appropriate exceptions for critical uses of the data. We suggest the following exceptions to remedy the concerns we've listed above. Similar exceptions exist under the 1994 Drivers Privacy Protection Act (18 USC 2721). These exceptions have proven effective over these many years and are also found in pending data breach legislation, S-1178. We suggest that restrictions on the sale of SSN's not apply to activities:

"to identify or locate missing or abducted persons, witnesses,criminals and fugitives, persons that are or may become parties to litigation, parents delinquent in child support payments, organ and bone marrow donors, pension fund beneficiaries, missing heirs and persons material to due diligence inquiries."

Any restrictions on the use of Social Security numbers will have a substantial impact on American business and the judicial system.Because the SSN has become a universally applied identifier,restrictions on its use will have unintended consequences for society.Although advocates of restricting the use of SSN's have done a good job of identifying the risk of fraud, there has been little focus until now of the impact of proposed solutions. In 1996 Congress enacted amendments to the Fair Credit Reporting Act that resulted in the unintended requirement to provide notice to suspected criminals when they were being investigated in the workplace. It was not remedied until FACTA was enacted in 2003. We are hoping to avoid a similar result when privacy legislation and regulations are adopted.

Take your own experience and turn it into a letter to help save SSN access - I have provided a link for your congress person, this link includes, name, address, phone, fax and email.

We only have a SHORT amount of time to act - Do your part to SAVE this vital tool!

Patrick L. Baird
Private Investigator