August 16, 2010

By:  Yelena Ruderman, J.D.

Skip tracing is a technique usually employed by debt collection agencies to track down debtors and it forms an integral part of debt recovery.  Skip tracing is done by collecting as much information as possible about the subject.  This can be accomplished by calling or visiting former neighbors, employers or other known contacts to ask about the subject, sometimes under false or misleading pretenses.

With the increase in cell phones, the corresponding decrease in landline phones has resulted in the phonebook of publicly listed numbers shrinking.  Consequently, contacting people who share the same last name with the customer being located, or “SNLs,” has become a less common step in the skip trace process.  Consumers, however, should be aware that this technique is still used by skip trace professionals today.

Of course, people with common names (i.e. Smith, Jones), especially those in metropolitan areas, are more prone to receiving such calls.  Consumers should know that people with the same last names as them are used to gather a variety of personal information, including phone number and employment information.  People related to a consumer who owes a debt and share the same last name should be careful not to volunteer information that can help determine the collectability of the account.

While contacting people with same last names to locate consumers is not as prevalent as it once was, it is still a practice widely used today.  Collection agencies are allowed to use skip tracing programs.  However, who they contact, how frequently and/or what they say to that individual may be called into question under the FDCPA.  The FDCPA clearly states that a debt collector may not use any false, deceptive, or misleading representation or means in connection with the collection of any debt.  Therefore, calling someone with the same last name as the debtor and pretending to be an old friend, acquaintance, or distant relative to track down the debtor or gather more information is in violation of the FDCPA.  Such violations are not uncommon and consumers should be aware of them.