If you are the victim of a third-party debt collector’s use of harassment or abusive or deceptive tactics, you should take a series of steps to preserve all relevant facts that will be necessary to support a lawsuit under the FDCPA. You should keep a record of all the communications made by the debt collectors, such as phone calls, online chats, documentation sent via mail or e-mail, names of the people involved or even timestamps of phone calls. However, keep in mind that some states restrict the recording of phone conversations without the other party’s consent. If you live in a state that makes it illegal to record phone conversations without the other party’s consent, you should write down the details of the conversation as soon as you hang up the phone, such as the time of the call, the name of the person you spoke to, and what exactly was said.