A question we get a lot of lately is how to scam debt collectors know your social security number and date of birth? While I don't have a clear answer but I do have a hypothesis. I believe that many of these scam debt collection companies are connected to legitimate debt collectors. They either run shadow debt collection companies that are set up to scam people out of money and information or they are run by former employees or people with connections to these debt collection companies that have access to people's records and credit reports. The only other plausible explanation is that there is a black market for purchasing personal identification and credit information about everyday consumers. While this is a very plausible explanation in our practice we have seen some connections between scam debt collectors and legitimate ones. If you are contacted by a debt collector that has your personal information do not confirm that information. The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act requires debt collectors to send you a debt validation letter within 5 days of first contact. Tell them to send you the debt validation in writing and you will review. At that point contact Florida Consumer Lawyers and we will help.