Jonno Rattman/NY Times
Millions of Americans owe billions in debt that have been sold to debt collectors. The New York Times published an article by Jake Halpern detailing the shadowy world of debt collectors, adapted from his upcoming book "Bad Paper: Chasing Debt from Wall Street to the Underworld."
From the story:
"From 2006 to 2009, for example, the nation’s top nine debt buyers purchased almost 90 million consumer accounts with more than $140 billion in “face value.” And they bought at a steep discount. On average, they paid just 4.5 cents on the dollar. These debt buyers collect what they can and then sell the remaining accounts to other buyers, and so on. Those who trade in such debt call it “paper.'"