FORT MYERS, Fla. - Are collection agencies after you? The economy has a lot of people falling behind. Now collection agencies are getting more aggressive in trying to get their money. Some of their tactics are downright nasty and in some cases illegal.

Falling behind on your bills is embarrassing for most people. That's what some collection agencies count on when they call to try and get you to pay up. But you should know, no matter how much you owe there are laws to protect you from being harassed.

"It seems as the economy gets worse there are a lot more debt collectors getting into the game and they're taking rather what I would say illegal tactics in most cases," said bankruptcy attorney Carmen Dellutri.

He says he's filing more suits over harassment by debt collectors.

He says there are state and federal laws that are supposed to keep their behavior in check.

"Where we prosecute per se is where the debt collectors have gone way beyond the call of duty and their conduct is egregious, so horrifying, that it would shock the conscious of anyone on the jury," Dellutri told CALL FOR ACTION.

To give you an example, CALL FOR ACTION pulled some of the most recent cases filed in federal court.

One pending case claims that when the plaintiff didn't pay her cell phone bill on time--the collector threatened to report the phone stolen and have her arrested.

Another alleges the debt collector called the victim's co-workers and told them the victim had a number of lawsuits pending against him. That was a lie.

In another case the debt collector repeatedly called the person at all hours using abusive and profane language.

"I tell my clients look for what I call the smell test. If somebody is trying to collect a debt and you owe the money. I'm OK with that because they're allowed to try and collect their debts. But when they cross the line or do something that doesn't pass the smell test that's when you need to call an attorney," said Dellutri.

So here's what you should know about laws about debt collection.

Debt collectors cannot threaten violence, publish a list of names of people who don't pay their debts, use obscene or profane language or use the phone to annoy you.

That means here in Florida they cannot call you after 9p.m. or before 8 a.m.

They cannot lie that they are attorneys, falsely claim you've committed a crime, misrepresent the amount you owe, or threaten to arrest you.

You can tell them that you do not want to be contacted by phone, that you want all correspondence in the mail.

It's actually a smart idea, especially if the debt is not yours, so you have a record.