Bill Collectors Now Chasing Dead Debtors

Debt collectors are dunning the dead, seeking payment from deceased debtors or their next-of-kin by using sophisticated databases that scan probate court records and other information sources as a way to bolster revenues in depressing economic times, according to news reports. The New York Times is reporting that though many banks may need a bailout and some homeowners can't make their mortgage payments, the departed are definitely paying down their part of the debt. Post-mortem harassment is the latest trend in debt collecting, and one of the thriving parts of the reviled industry. In Minneapolis, Minn., teams of debt agents...