Fair Debt Collection: 14.6.6.1 Publicizing Indebtedness; Deceptive Implication That a Collector Is a Credit Bureau
The FDCPA prohibits a debt collector from publicizing consumers’ indebtedness unless done in compliance with the FCRA.440 Also, a debt collector may not use a name that deceptively implies that the collector is a consumer reporting agency, for example, a name with the words “credit bureau.”441 More broadly, it prohibits the use of any “false representation or implication that a debt collector operates or is employed by a consumer reporting agency as defined by [the FCRA].”