The Financial Anarchist’s Cookbook

Some of Steven Katz’s tips for driving creditors crazy.

Celine Nadeau

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READ ALSO: “Credit terrorist” Steven Katz says you shouldn’t feel guilty about sticking it to Wall Street.

TAPE EVERYTHING. Record your calls with collection agents (if it’s legal in your state). When they say, “We can seize your car to repay a credit card bill,” you’ve caught them in a violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. Sue, and you could collect up to $1,000 plus damages.

GET IT IN WRITING. Under federal law, if debt collectors can’t provide written proof of a debt on request, they can’t collect it. If they try to collect anyway, sue them.

MAKE THEM BLEED. If you get sued, fight back. Countersue for something like loss of consortium (i.e. being too distressed to have sex with your spouse). Drive up creditors’ legal costs to the point where it’s cheaper to settle—or just leave you alone.

FLOOD THE SYSTEM. Hide from creditors by seeding their databases with bad data. Apply for 20 credit cards a month using different addresses.

MOVE YOUR MONEY. Transfer your assets to an out-of-state bank account, or buy money orders or traveler’s checks, which are harder to track down.

BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY!

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BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY!

“Lying.” “Disgusting.” “Scum.” “Slime.” “Corrupt.” “Enemy of the people.” Donald Trump has always made clear what he thinks of journalists. And it’s plain now that his administration intends to do everything it can to stop journalists from reporting things they don’t like—which is most things that are true.

No one gets to tell Mother Jones what to publish or not publish, because no one owns our fiercely independent newsroom. But that also means we need to directly raise the resources it takes to keep our journalism alive. There’s only one way for that to happen, and it’s readers like you stepping up. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

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