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A federal law that prohibits certain debt collection practices, including harassing, abusing, or lying to debtors, contacting third parties about a debt (except in limited circumstances), and contacting debtors at work or at inconvenient hours. The FDCPA applies only to debt collectors who work for collection agencies, not those who work for the original creditor. But when collecting its own debts, a creditor must comply with the FDCPA if it uses a different name that implies a third party is attempting to collect the debt.