debt collectors

First, you can't be put in jail for owing a debt -- it must be something else, such as renting a car and not returning it.  Do you know of any debts you owe?  Have you received a letter from a debt collector advising you of your right to demand verification of the debt?If you choose to call the person back (which I would recommend), DO NOT PROVIDE ANY PERSONAL INFORMATION other than what the person already knows.  Before any discussion, make sure you get (a) the name of the person you are talking to, (b) the name of the company he or she represents, (c) the ADDRESS of the company, (d) the phone number for the company, (e) a description of exactly what they claim is owed, including account number and amount.  Take notes of every detail, but do not record the call unless you advise the other person that the call is being recorded at the beginning (which should be part of the recording) and ask permission to continue.  If the debt is not immediatly familiar, tell them you need to do some research and hang up.  Then do an internet search for the company.If the debt is more than 5 years old, it may be past the Statute of Limitations.  If the caller threatens you with jail, or losing your home, or taking your stuff, then the caller may have violated either Federal or Florida debt collection laws (or both), and you might be able to sue them and recover up to $1,000 statutory damages (with attorney's fees paid by the other side).  If you have an attorney and the attorney writes a letter to the collector, then the collector will only be able to contact the attorney and not you. You may want to send the collector a letter demanding that the collector send you verification of the debt -- under Federal law, assuming that this is a consumer debt and the collector is not the original creditor, the collector cannot call you again until this verification is sent to you.  If you do not feel you owe the debt, you can instruct the debt collector to no longer contact you -- there are only a few exceptions when they can contact you, but in general that should stop the collection calls.  If you are called again, find an attorney who handles Debt Collection Harassment cases to sue the collector.