Debt collectors using Facebook, Twitter to track you down

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - If you're behind on your bills, you might want to be careful about who you accept as your Facebook friend.

Many bill collectors are using social media to keep tabs on those who owe them money.

So how are debt companies getting people to befriend them?

According to several online blogs, creditors are going as far as to disguise themselves with fake names. They bank on the fact that most people don't research every friend request they receive, usually assuming it's a friend of a friend.

"These creditors have a job to do. They're going to try to get information about you."
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This tactic of using social media is a practice that attorney Jeffrey Harrington says is completely legal.

"If you've made it public, if you've put that out there to the world, there's no problem with confidentiality."

Harrington says collectors can find information about a person's job, verify an insurance claim and much more just by 'friending' them on Facebook.

Facebook user, Chris Kuzmenko is careful about who he accepts as a Facebook friend. But, if a debt collector were to contact him on the social networking site, Kuzmenko says, he wouldn't mind.

"If they were to send me an email or private message via Facebook, I wouldn't be offended. I'd actually prefer that over a phone call."

According to an article on post-gazette.com, some companies find borrowers' social media accounts through public search engines like Pipl.com.

Although the information is public, debt collectors don't have free reign when it comes to your profile.

Harrington says collections agencies need to be careful about publicizing your information.

"If they were to post something to my wall I'd be upset. Whether I owe money for my student loans, a house, I don't want the world knowing about my personal financial situation. That's nobody's business but my own," said Kuzmenko.

The bottom line is be careful what you post.

"They know what you look like on paper, but that's paper. Maybe you have pictures on your Facebook site that paints a different story," said Harrington.