WASHINGTON—The CFPB has added a new way for debt collectors to reach consumers—social media. However, debt collectors won’t be able to comment on posts or write up something for the public to see, USA Today reported.
The CFPB said debt collectors can privately message consumers via social media, but must clearly identify themselves and must also include a way for consumers to stop receiving their messages, basically providing a mechanism to opt out.
The changes to integrate modern technological communication methods into the CFPB have been over a year in the making, the report stated. In October 2020, Kathleen Kraninger, director of the CFPB at the time, announced in a blog post that the agency was making upgrades to the capabilities of debt collectors, USA Today noted.
"Advances in technology in particular have transformed how we communicate," Kraninger said in the post. "But debt collectors and consumers have been trapped in a time warp. They have been required to communicate with each other under standards Congress enacted in 1977."
Other than social media, debt collectors also can use phone calls, email, text messages and letters to communicate with consumers.