Hey, Joe America. You goofed. You made an honest error and added
something that you should have subtracted. You bounced a check.
We've all done it.
You rightfully need to make the check good, and it's also reasonable
for the bank to charge you an overdraft handling fee. And it should
end there, right?
Wrong. In some areas prosecutors are now turning bounced checks over
to "check-diversion" companies. private for-profit debt collection
businesses. And, Joe, be warned -- some of these check-diversion
joints are engaging in deceptive collection practices.
Representatives poor on the verbal threats, literally scaring some
people into paying way more than they owe.
Worse yet, it can affect people who have never bounced a check in
their lives. How's that, you ask?
Since identity theft is the fastest growing fraud, people who have
had their identities compromised can have bounced checks on their
records -- even for bank accounts they never opened! The check may
have been bounced on an account that the fraudster who stole their
identity opened. Yup. It happens all the time. And it gets way worse
when the debt collection company starts making threatening phone
calls.
A few hints to protect yourself:
1. Don't bounce checks
2. Balance your checkbook monthly and monitor your bank accounts
online weekly, if not more often.
3. Either get overdraft protection or keep extra money in your
account to cover any errors you might make.