The Credit Professional Fall 2015 | Page 19

continued from page 18 updating guidelines to meet today’s standards but, in researching, there wasn't anything more recent than 2009. Mostly this is based on common sense—since there have been recent law suits based on social media and the debtor feeling violated. people will get smarter about what they post online, while others will continue to think it’s just for their “friends”. Anything put out on the internet is there forever, even if deleted. As a final thought, stay aware of the ever changing landscape Most people haven’t read the and any new regulations. privacy statements of these Consult with your risk media outlets and therefore a assessment person and lot of pertinent info is left determine if collecting using public—such as what they look social media tools is right like; age; date of birth; photos for you. of vehicles; employment info; links to other social media outlets; and status updates About the author: that may include when and Reagan Merchant joined SWBC where they shop, new jobs, in April 2007, after graduating major purchases such as from the University of the homes, and income. This is Incarnate Word (San Antonio considered public information TX) with an MBA in and can be used in International Business. your collections. Starting as an Account Manager There are major news outlets for the Collateral Protection publishing articles about what product, she opted to move to collection professionals are Atlanta GA with the company. doing and how they’re doing it, Shortly, she returned to San i.e. using social media. Some Antonio to pursue a larger territory of South Texas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas, supporting two sales reps. Quickly she started selling additional products and was managing many relationships within the territory. In 2009, she was awarded the Team Player award from SWBC Financial Institutions Group. By 2012, she was on her own in the Oklahoma market. In 2014, she was promoted to Account Vice President within the small to mid-tier sales team. She now covers Texas, Oklahoma, Tennessee & Mississippi. She is a member of Insurance Women of San Antonio. She is currently the President of the OK Credit Union Collections Association based in Oklahoma City. Reference notes: Note 1: as defined by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Note 2: http://newsroom.fb.com/company-info/ Note 3: http://www.nhregister.com/general-news/20150324/1-arrested-after-facebook-helps-police-investigate-orange-bankrobbery Note 4: http://www.myfoxdetroil.com/story/24923898/facebook-photos-help-police-nab-serial-bank-robber Note 5: http:www.galvnews.com/news/free/article_64cec958-cb8a-11e4-95a8-3bae3f6367e9.html Note 6: http://files.consumerfinance.gov/f/201309_cfpb_social media_guidance.pdf Note 7: http://www.pinow.com/articles/344/social-media-expert-offers-skip-tracing-tips-for-private-investgators The Credit Professional 19 October 2015