Portfolio recovery associates

So just got home from the hospital and Dana was greeted with a letter from Portfolio Recovery Associates about a $1000 debt owed to Capital One.

She has never had a credit card, let alone a capital one card. She doesn't currently have a credit score period. Her ex trashed her credit about 10 years ago, and she's had nothing beyond a phone bill in her name since.

Light googling shows thousands of complaints against PRA alleging everything from falsifying credit reports, identity theft, maintaining an A+ payment plan with the BBB, and trying to recover bad debt.

Before I just trash the letter, is there anything fun and or legal to do about it?

We pulled her reports already and they're BLANK, totally blank, with a credit score of "---" so clearly this place is just trying to make a quick buck from an unsuspecting person. I'm not above crossing the blurry grey line of legal and illegal when it comes to debt collectors after my own hassles with them over the years, and I know you guys can be a creative bunch.

Ignoring it is obviously easiest, but would a glitter bomb or say a box of chicken E36 M3 sent to their HQ be crossing a line?

With what you've mentioned above I think a call to your state attorney general office would be in order.   That's bullE36 M3.

Legally, the thing to do is send a debt validation letter that requests proof of the debt via certified mail. After that letter is received they are breaking the law by harassing you until they can prove the debt is hers (which, it sounds like, it isn't).

Debt collectors that falsify debts and use scare tactics to get payment are the scum of the earth, but given their lack of scruples, I would hesitate to escalate the situation in any way. These are not Nigerian scammers, these are American corporations that know how the system works and exploit it to make money. If you're going to respond, do it the right way.