Debt collectors can now send you social media friend requests and messages

A new wrinkle in the world of debt collection is that collectors now have the go-ahead to send emails and text messages, send friend requests, and send direct messages to someone owing money. They can even use this attempt as evidence that they tried to resolve the debt before taking you to court. There are limits to what can be done legally, and bankruptcy protection still puts to stop to all of this.

The new debt collection rules preserve some privacy and transparency: anyone reaching out in these new ways still has to identify as a debt collector up front, and it’s not okay to post anything public about the debt collection. If you receive a message from a debt collector on instagram or another social media site, or in a text message or email, then replying with a request to stop contacting you in that way is supposed to make them stop.

Another change in the new rules is that debt collectors are now limited in how often they may call you to harass you about the money owed.: they can’t call you more then seven times a week.

What hasn’t changed is the bankruptcy protection stops all attempts to collect a debt. No more calls, no more collection letters, and definitely no friend requests or DMs. That’s in effect from the moment a bankruptcy case is filed, and usually remains in force until those debts are discharged. Once a debt is discharged, there should never be another harassing text message again. There are serious penalties for breaking these rules, and I have gotten money out of debt collectors for my clients when that mistake was made.

I am a licensed New York attorney who practices in the northern and southern district bankruptcy courts. I am available to answer questions about bankruptcy.