| Volume 132 Number 2 |
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The People’s Lawyer’s Tip of the Day
Are over-eager salespeople still calling you? Maybe you forget to sign up for the National Do Not Call List. Click here to keep your name off of their lists, www.donotcall.gov
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Internet fraud again tops the list of scams in 2016
Internet merchandise fraud was once again the top scam reported to the National Consumer League's (NCL) Fraud.org site last year, the fourth year in a row that's happened. In reported complaints, the median financial loss was $600, double the amount in 2015. The most costly internet scam, by far, was the romance scam. That's where a scammer meets a victim on a dating site and slowly builds a relationship before asking for money. The median loss in romance scams last year topped $2,000.
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Your Money
8 things you should always buy with a credit card. Credit cards often get a bad rap. However, advantages to credit cards include the purchase and fraud protection they offer, and the fact that using them allows you to build the credit required for major purchases in the future, like a home or car. There are some situations when it's smarter to choose credit over debit, these include online purchases, flights, items from small vendors, car rentals, hotel rooms, purchases made over the phone, products offering warranties, and big-ticket items. Click here for more.
For the Lawyers
Law firm collecting a debt and enforcing a security interest is subject to FDCPA. The Ninth Circuit reversed the district court’s dismissal for failure to state a cause of action under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. On appeal, the defendants argued for the first time it was merely enforcing a security interest and subject to only § 1692f(6). The rejected the defendants’ argument it was enforcing a security interest. The court stated, “Rather than seeking to enforce an existing security interest or lien, the May Notice sought to collect Mashiri’s overdue assessment fee and to make necessary disclosures that would perfect the HOA’s security interest and permit it to record a lien at a later date.” The court also found the defendants’ interpretation of §1692a(6) incorrect. “As we recently observed “[i]f entities that enforce security interests engage in activities that constitute debt collection, they are debt collectors.” Zakia Mashiri v. Epsten Grinnell & Howell (9th Cir. 2017). Click here for more.