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Social Media Debt Collection

Social Media Debt Collection

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Mark Cappel
UpdatedJul 22, 2024
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    2 min read
Key Takeaways:
  • Lenders plan to use social media to set interest rates.
  • An online payday lender will use social media to verify new customers.
  • Fair Isaac plans to add social media to its FICO score.

10 Uses of Information Shared on Social Media That May Dismay its Users

People use social media, such as Facebook and Twitter, to keep up with the activities of their friends and family, and to tell friends and family what they are up to. Some columnists claim Facebook is the cause of the decline in class reunion attendance, because why travel to catch up with people if you already know what they are doing?

The information Facebook users share may result in unintended consequences, however. Here are 10 uses of social media that Bills.com found that may give social media users pause about what they post about themselves:

  1. CGI Group plans to release a service where a collection agent enters all known information into CGI’s product, which creates a dossier on the debtor from information found on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Monster.com
  2. Billfloat an online payday lender, says it plans to use social media information to verify the identity of its applicants.
  3. LexisNexis "Accurint for Law Enforcement" gives government agents information about what people do on social networks. This information has been used against users battling for child custody or defending themselves in criminal cases.
  4. Google parses Gmail users’ messages to serve advertisements based on the message's subject matter.
  5. Internal Revenue Service searches social media sites for evidence of taxpayers' income and location.
  6. INS reviews photos on social media sites to determine family relationships and evidence of fake marriages.
  7. HR people routinely review applicants’ online profiles when making a decision to hire a job candidate. A recent survey found that 70% of recruiters admitted to using social media for this purpose.
  8. MovenBank, a proposed online bank, plans to use information it finds on social media sites to determine credit worthiness and the rates it offers for loans and savings accounts.
  9. Fair Isaac Corp. plans to add a social media factor to its oft-used FICO credit score.
  10. Weemba and SoMoLend, two lending start-ups, plan to use a scoring system for lenders to rank borrowers in much the way customers rank sellers on eBay.

If You Have Debt

If you have debt that causes you distress, use the Bills.com Debt Coach for a no-cost, no-nonsense analysis of your debt resolution options.

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Get rid of your debt faster with debt relief

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$1,000$100,000+
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Dealing with debt

Mortgages, credit cards, student loans, personal loans, and auto loans are common types of debts. According to the NY Federal Reserve total household debt as of Q1 2024 was $17.69 trillion. Housing debt totaled $12.82 trillion and non-housing debt was $4.88 trillion.

A significant percentage of people in the US are struggling with monthly payments and about 26% of households in the United States have debt in collections. According to data gathered by Urban.org from a sample of credit reports, the median debt in collections is $1,739. Credit card debt is prevalent and 3% have delinquent or derogatory card debt. The median debt in collections is $422.

Each state has its rate of delinquency and share of debts in collections. For example, in Minnesota credit card delinquency rate was 2%, and the median credit card debt was $453.

While many households can comfortably pay off their debt, it is clear that many people are struggling with debt. Make sure that you analyze your situation and find the best debt payoff solutions to match your situation.

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