Credit - Barriers and Insulation

Standard measures are those taken to avoid mistreatment from debt collectors and to give them some difficulty in their research efforts. They wish to know everything they can about you, but mostly what they can take if all else fails.

Dodging your creditors isn't what collection avoidance is about. However, using a frontal attack against a superior force is suicide. A flank attack is smart and will often prevent debtors from having to file bankruptcy. Although your best results will likely come from making a deal with creditors, stay in the hills, meeting them on your terms.

The following standard measures are not only good for dealing with collectors on your terms, but they will also protect you from unwanted intrusions, which can take many forms, and by combining them with the right identity theft prevention techniques, it is also good for your overall safety and sanity.

• Get a PO Box. This prevents collectors from knowing your hard address. Bear in mind, however, that the USPS will reveal a true address if a written request indicates that legal papers are to be served on the box holder.

• When you move, don't file a change of address form with the post office, or if you must, list a PO Box or private mailbox. If you get a PO Box, don't list a business name. You can also provide an old hard address, which is illegal but not a hanging offense. Simply claim "negative habit transfer" if caught. ("Oops, I'm sorry! How silly of me.") In many states post offices will simply require two forms of ID when you apply for a box, whereas states such as California will perform a full-on rectal exam, requiring IDs, a rental agreement, and other documents. Sometimes Mail Boxes Etc., The UPS Store, or similar businesses will have less stringent requirements for opening a mailbox.

• Get an unlisted phone number. If you can, get rid of your landline and use a cellular phone.

• When you call collectors, be sure to use caller ID block (start your call by dialing *67) so they can't get your number. Understand that if you are calling a toll-free number, caller ID block doesn't work. In this case, you might want to get the collector's toll number with area code.