Changing with times: US creditors can now DM loan defaulters

As the world is shifting to various social media platforms, debt collectors too have the chance to hop on the technology train now. Debt collectors can now contact their consumers through social media platforms and text messages.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has now allowed all creditors to directly message Americans who have loans. So, now, the US creditors are legally allowed to slide into DMs.

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This change was approved last year under the Donald Trump administration. Supporters of this rule have argued that this is simply a modification of the rule created in the 1970s. They also believe that this change was needed to keep up with the changing times as the law was drafted in 1977 when social media platforms did not exist and text messages were not regular.

However, the critics are arguing that this might not be the best way to reach out to the Americans as there is a possibility that messages can be lost online.

Critics also argue that this can be an invasion of privacy and can also give birth to new and deadly scams.

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Under the rule approved by the CFPB, creditors are allowed to directly and personally contact defaulters through text messages and direct messages. However, the debt collectors are not allowed to post anything on the public pages of the defaulters.

Another interesting thing under this rule is that consumers can opt out of getting these messages. Creditors, in general, are not bound to take permission to contact people. In addition to this, there is also no set limit to how many messages can be sent to the defaulters.