Atlanta ‘tops cities' with most debt collection calls in US
According to the report by NumberBarn, which analyzed new data from the Federal Trade Commission on debt collection calls, Atlanta was ranked No. 1 among major U.S. metros.
In 2025, Atlanta residents have already reported 6,446 debt collection complaints to the FTC.
[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]
NumberBarn said that was due to 104 of every 100,000 people getting debt collection calls.
'That's more than any other major metropolitan area in the country,' NumberBarn said.
TRENDING STORIES:
Squatters leave DeKalb County home days after Channel 2 Action News confronted them
Amazon opening sorting center in west Georgia, bringing 1,000 jobs
Governor's office said it will start issuing special tax refund checks this week
The company's analysis of more than one million FTC complaints found that there's been a 'sharp national spike' in complaint calls, which it said is a reflection of national trends for rising consumer debt and financial stress.
State-by-state, "Georgia leads the nation in debt collection calls per capita, with 80.8 reports per 100,000 residents in Q1 2025."
The report said Georgia as a state reported 8,754 debt collection calls, meaning Atlanta accounted for nearly 74% of all reported calls in the state.
NumberBarn said Atlanta highest for per capita debt collection call reports, followed by Dallas, Miami, Houston, and Memphis.
As for specifics, here's how NumberBarn broke it down for Atlanta and Georgia:
Atlanta ranks No. 1 for debt collection calls per 100,000 people
The average Georgian has $60,440 in debt
Debt collection calls were up more than 150% compared to 2024
Millennials were the most likely to report debt collection calls
[SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Fox News
5 hours ago
- Fox News
FTC firings take spotlight in Trump's fight to erase independence of agencies
The Supreme Court has temporarily allowed President Donald Trump to fire numerous Democrat-appointed members of independent agencies, but one case still moving through the legal system carries the greatest implications yet for a president's authority to do that. In Slaughter v. Trump, a Biden-appointed member of the Federal Trade Commission has vowed to fight what she calls her "illegal firing," setting up a possible scenario in which the case lands before the Supreme Court. The case would pose the most direct question yet to the justices about where they stand on Humphrey's Executor v. United States, the nearly century-old decision regarding a president's power over independent regulatory agencies. John Shu, a constitutional law expert who served in both Bush administrations, told Fox News Digital he thinks the high court is likely to side with the president if and when the case arrives there. "I think it's unlikely that Humphrey's Executor survives the Supreme Court, at least in its current form," Shu said, adding he anticipates the landmark decision will be overturned or "severely narrowed." Humphrey's Executor centered on President Franklin D. Roosevelt's decision to fire an FTC commissioner with whom he disagreed politically. The case marked the first instance of the Supreme Court limiting a president's removal power by ruling that Roosevelt overstepped his authority. The court found that presidents could not dismiss FTC commissioners without a reason, such as malfeasance, before their seven-year terms ended, as outlined by Congress in the FTC Act. However, the FTC's functions, which largely center on combating anticompetitive business practices, have expanded in the 90 years since Humphrey's Executor. "The Federal Trade Commission of 1935 is a lot different than the Federal Trade Commission today," Shu said. He noted that today's FTC can open investigations, issue subpoenas, bring lawsuits, impose financial penalties and more. The FTC now has executive, quasi-legislative and quasi-judicial functions, Shu said. If the Supreme Court's decision to temporarily allow two labor board members' firings is any indication, the high court stands ready to make the FTC less independent and more accountable to Trump. In a 6-3 order, the Supreme Court cited the "considerable executive power" that the National Labor Relations Board and Merit Systems Protection Board have, saying a president "may remove without cause executive officers who exercise that power on his behalf." The order did not mention Humphrey's Executor, but that and other moves indicate the Supreme Court has been chipping away at the 90-year-old ruling and is open to reversing it. The case of Rebecca Slaughter and Alvaro Bedoya gets closest to the heart of Humphrey's Executor. Slaughter enjoyed a short-lived victory when a federal judge in Washington, D.C., found that Trump violated the Constitution and ruled in her favor on July 17. She was able to return to the FTC for a few days, but the Trump administration appealed the decision and, on July 21, the appellate court paused the lower court judge's ruling. Judge Loren AliKhan had said in her summary judgment that Slaughter's case was almost identical to William Humphrey's. "It is not the role of this court to decide the correctness, prudence, or wisdom of the Supreme Court's decisions—even one from ninety years ago," AliKhan, a Biden appointee, wrote. "Whatever the Humphrey's Executor Court may have thought at the time of that decision, this court will not second-guess it now." The lawsuit arose from Trump firing Slaughter and Bedoya, the two Democratic-appointed members of the five-member commission. They alleged that Trump defied Humphrey's Executor by firing them in March without cause in a letter that "nearly word-for-word" mirrored the one Roosevelt sent a century ago. Bedoya has since resigned, but Slaughter is not backing down from a legal fight in which Trump appears to have the upper hand. "Like dozens of other federal agencies, the Federal Trade Commission has been protected from presidential politics for nearly a century," Slaughter said in a statement after she was re-fired. "I'll continue to fight my illegal firing and see this case through, because part of why Congress created independent agencies is to ensure transparency and accountability." Now a three-judge panel comprising two Obama appointees and one Trump appointee is considering a longer-term pause and asked for court filings to be submitted by July 29, meaning the judges could issue their decision soon thereafter.
Business Wire
a day ago
- Business Wire
Austin Capital Bank Debuts Fort Knox High-Security Savings Account To Fight Rampant Bank Fraud
AUSTIN, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Austin Capital Bank ®, a leader in digital banking products serving more than 1 million users nationwide, announced the launch of the Fort Knox ® High-Security Savings Account (HSSA). Built from the ground up with an uncompromising commitment to security, it creates a new industry standard for protecting consumers' life savings in an increasingly vulnerable digital world. The launch of Fort Knox High-Security Savings Account introduces an entirely new category of bank accounts that fundamentally reimagine how banks protect customer assets. Share The Fort Knox HSSA launch coincides with alarming new data from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) showing fraud attempts against banking customers increased by 25% in 2024, with reported total losses reaching a record $12.5 billion. The FTC also says 93% of Americans have been targeted by fraud attempts in the past year, with over 45 million people falling victim and suffering financial loss. The average loss per victim now exceeds $4,000, representing a 34% increase from just two years ago. 'It doesn't matter how convenient your banking is if your money isn't safe—criminals love easy access and fast transfers too,' said Erik Beguin, CEO and founder of Austin Capital Bank. 'Today, we're introducing an entirely new category of bank accounts: the high-security savings account. While traditional banks and payment providers try to balance convenience with security, and achieve neither, the Fort Knox HSSA fundamentally reimagines how banks protect customer assets with a platform and architecture built to prioritize security at every level.' The Fort Knox HSSA integrates cutting-edge account security and first-of-its-kind funds transfer architecture to minimize fraud vulnerabilities, including: Intelligent Closed-Loop™ Protection: Fort Knox HSSA ensures funds can only move between a Fort Knox HSSA account and the account holder's securely linked external bank account. This structure makes it the only platform where fraudsters must defeat at least two independent banks' security measures and prevents unauthorized transfers to random accounts or payment apps that fraudsters typically use to drain accounts. Advanced Security Architecture: Fort Knox HSSA employs a multilayered security system, including passwordless and biometric authentication, proprietary blacklisting of high-risk institutions and apps, and automatic account Lockdown™ that instantly freezes all funds transfers in and out of an account. Customizable Security Controls: Fort Knox HSSA features a multilayered security system, with clearly defined zones protecting both a consumer's money and personal data. Within each zone, users can customize their security protocols using both soft and physical tokens for added protection. Additionally, Fort Knox HSSA prioritizes security by preventing instant withdrawals. All withdrawal requests are held for two business days, allowing customers ample time to review and confirm each transaction. 'Nearly every American will be targeted by multiple fraud attempts today—and every day going forward. The criminals are getting faster, smarter and more relentless,' said Beguin. 'The hard truth is that if you haven't been a victim of bank fraud yourself, you know someone who has. The traditional security model—a username, a password and a one-time code—just isn't enough anymore. Criminals have evolved. Banks haven't. We created Fort Knox so Americans can sleep well at night knowing their life savings are protected—and that their money will be there when they need it.' The Fort Knox High-Security Savings Account is available nationwide, exclusively at Built for individuals who prioritize protection, Fort Knox provides uncompromising security and a competitive interest rate—so savings stay safe while they grow. View current interest rates at rates. Fort Knox ® is the world's first high-security banking platform. Built on Austin Capital Bank's proprietary, patent-pending banking platform, Fort Knox fundamentally reimagines how banks protect customer assets through multiple layers of next-generation security and a unique patent-pending system architecture. Fort Knox High-Security Savings is more than just an account with better identity verification and login security; it's an entirely unique platform designed from the ground up to protect consumer funds. Fort Knox's unique protection features include Intelligent Closed-Loop™ Protection, Lockdown™ status, Active Account Cloak™ technology, The Blacklist™ and post-quantum cryptographic encryption. The Fort Knox platform also replaces generic account and routing numbers with account identifiers that are incompatible with any funds transfer or payment system. For consumers who value protecting their savings over instant access, Fort Knox delivers complete confidence in the security of their funds. Learn more at About Austin Capital Bank Austin Capital Bank ® combines an FDIC-insured bank charter with world-class in-house technology development capabilities to solve critical unmet financial needs for consumers and small business owners nationwide. Austin Capital Bank defines community as groups of individuals and small businesses across the country who share common unmet financial needs—then builds the technology and product solutions to meet those needs. The bank's unique approach has led to industry-leading products that serve more than 1 million users nationwide, including CreditStrong ® and industry-first innovations like the Fort Knox High-Security Savings Account. Learn more at Fort Knox ® and CreditStrong ® are registered trademarks of Austin Capital Bank. Lockdown™, Closed-Loop™, Blacklist™ and Cloak™ are trademarks of Austin Capital Bank. Fort Knox ® is a division of Austin Capital Bank, Member FDIC. All Fort Knox bank account deposits are insured by the FDIC to the maximum extent allowable by law. ©2025 Austin Capital Bank. All Rights Reserved.
New York Times
a day ago
- New York Times
Under Siege From Trump and Musk, a Top Liberal Group Falls Into Crisis
Media Matters, a nonprofit group that has played a key role in liberal politics, is struggling to withstand months of legal assaults by President Trump's allies, offering a glimpse of what might be in store for even well-funded targets of his retribution campaigns. The organization, which is funded by some of the Democratic Party's biggest donors, has racked up about $15 million in legal fees over the past 20 months to defend itself against lawsuits by Elon Musk, in addition to investigations by Mr. Trump's Federal Trade Commission and Republican state attorneys general. The group has slashed the size of its staff and scrambled to raise more cash from skittish donors, according to documents and interviews with 11 people familiar with the organization's fight to survive. That might not be enough. Media Matters tried to settle with Mr. Musk by offering concessions, but the sides were far apart and talks fizzled. Even when the group has triumphed in court, Mr. Musk has appealed or filed new cases elsewhere. As a last resort, it has considered shuttering, according to interviews and an internal document. Publicly, the group has said that it has no plans to close, and that it is committed to defending itself as a matter of principle. 'Unlike some major media entities that have recently caved to pressure, we understand that this battle is larger than us,' Angelo Carusone, the president of Media Matters, said in a statement. 'That's why we continue to carry out our mission and fight in court.' Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
