I found the great article from the internet that might help you to safe your bank account from being stolen. The title is never give your back account information to a debt collector. I made a little change for the title but I put the complete contain on it. Please read this article taken from the credit dot com and learn from it.
If you’re dealing with a debt collector, you should think twice before you give them your bank account information. By providing this information you’ll give the debt collector direct access to your bank account! Find out what Gerri Detweiler advises for one unsuspecting consumer that may have learned the lesson a little too late.
Q: I received a call from a debt collector because I stopped paying a gym membership. While we were talking, she said that they could set a payment plan. She also asked me for my bank’s name. I gave it to her, but I did not what to pay for that at all. She also said she had my routing number and she needed a check number – which I did not give her. I am worried because I think they are going to start taking money from my bank account. Should I call them back and tell them that do not want to make a payment and cancel my bank account?
A: In my book Stop Debt Collectors: How to Protect Your Rights and Resolve Your Debts, which I co-wrote with Mary Reed and attorney John Ventura, we recommended that you never give your bank account information to a debt collector. At this point, I am not sure whether the debt collector will try to take payment from your bank account, but if they do, it may be a matter of your word against theirs.
If you did not authorize payment from your account to the debt collector, I would recommend you talk with your bank immediately and find out whether you need to close the account to protect it.
If you owe this debt, and it’s not too old (outside the statute of limitations) you do need to negotiate a settlement with the debt collector so you can resolve it and move on. Figure out what you can afford to pay and discuss a lump sum settlement. If you can’t afford to pay anything right now, then tell the collector you will contact them in a month to update them on your status. Keep in mind they may sue you to collect, but whether they actually will depends on the amount of the debt and whether they believe they can collect if they do win their lawsuit. By Gerri Detweiler