[§480D-3]  Prohibited practices.  It
shall be a prohibited practice for any debt collector to engage in any of the
following practices while collecting a consumer debt:



(1)  To threaten the use of violence or other criminal
means to cause harm to the physical person, reputation, or property of any
person;



(2)  To falsely accuse or threaten to falsely accuse
any person of fraud or any other criminal conduct;



(3)  To make false accusations or threaten to make
false accusations, to another person, including any credit reporting agency,
that a debt has not been paid;



(4)  To threaten that nonpayment of a debt will result
in the arrest of any person;



(5)  To threaten to turn over the collection of the
debt to a person who will engage in practices prohibited by this section;



(6)  To threaten to sell or assign the debt with
statements that, or implying that, the sale or assignment will cause the debtor
to lose a defense or legal right as a result of the sale or assignment;



(7)  To use profane or obscene language that is
intended to abuse the hearer or reader;



(8)  To disclose, publish, or communicate any false
and material information relating to the indebtedness;



(9)  To represent that an existing obligation may be
increased by attorney's fees, investigation fees, service fees, and other fees
or charges when in fact the fees or charges may not legally be added to the
existing obligations;



(10)  To seek or obtain any statement or acknowledgment
that the debt was incurred for necessities of life when in fact the debt was
not so incurred; or



(11)  To collect or attempt to collect any interest,
charge, fee, or expense incidental to the debt unless the additions are
authorized by the agreement or by law. [L 1987, c 191, pt of §2]