I check a lot of different news sites everyday to stay on top of what’s going on in the credit and collection world, and every now and then, the stars align and you get something that truly makes you shake your head. Today is one of those days. I give you these two headlines:
Millennials Are Scammed Twice As Often As Seniors. Here’s Why.
Scammers Look for Vulnerability, and Find It in Older People
Is one of them right? Are they both right? Are they both wrong?
Aside from the completely opposite takes in each of the headlines, the article about scammers preying on older people did include this interesting industry-related nugget:
… people have no idea that anything is amiss until a collection agency calls to tell them a payment is delinquent. “That’s when they discover that their credit card or Social Security number has been stolen,” said Anna Maria Chavez, executive vice president and chief growth officer at the National Council on Aging.
I’m sure that collectors can become pretty cynical and skeptical thanks to everything they hear from individuals all day, every day. It’s likely that there is nothing that could surprise a veteran collector. But, as this article points out, sometimes, people are telling the truth. And it’s probably better to believe someone at first and then find out the person is lying than to assume the person is lying first only to find out he or she was telling the truth the whole time.
