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ARTICLE · 09 NOVEMBER 2020

CFPB, FTC, And Others Partner To Target Phantom And Abusive Debt Collection

Ballard Spahr LLP
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On September 29, the CFPB, in partnership with the FTC and numerous federal and state law enforcement agencies, announced a nationwide effort addressing "phantom debt collection" and abusive and threatening debt collection practices.

United StatesFinance and Banking
Jeremy C. Sairsingh
Jeremy C. Sairsingh
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On September 29, the CFPB, in partnership with the FTC and numerous federal and state law enforcement agencies, announced a nationwide effort addressing "phantom debt collection" and abusive and threatening debt collection practices. The initiative has been titled "Operation Corrupt Collector."

Phantom debt collection (also known as fake debt collection) covers a range of practices, including attempts to collect on obligations that consumers never took out or received, as well as efforts to recover loans without authorization from the creditor. The FTC has been active in this space for some time, as evidenced by the CFPB's most recent annual Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) report (which incorporates information from the FTC's annual letter to the CFPB describing its FDCPA activities), but this latest initiative is something of a new area of focus for the CFPB. Both the FTC and CFPB, along with other agencies, share enforcement responsibilities under the

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