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MIDDLETOWN — Like the dead rising from the grave, so does so-called zombie debt. A consumer may think it's dead, but it keeps coming back to haunt.

"Zombie debt is a phrase to describe all debt that a consumer had forgotten about or never even owed that comes back to haunt them," said Joseph Mauro, spokesman for the U.S. Consumer Protection Attorney office.

In some cases, consumers are tormented about unauthorized transactions made by identity thieves more than a decade ago, he said.

Why are collectors able to raise these debts from the dead, despite federal statutes barring such collecting?

"It is an initiative that really needs some attention. In Butler County, I am starting to see more and more people coming in here with this problem," said Don Gardner, counselor for Neighborhood Housing Services.

"In many cases, this debt is really stonewalling a person's ability to buy a home and hurting their credit for no reason."

Many banks sell debt for pennies on the dollar. For example, a creditor may sell a credit-card debt worth $10,000 to a collection agency for only $100.

Then, the agency will aggressively pursue collection. Anything sent as payment by scared consumers is considered profit, Mauro said.

"What I generally do if people come in here asking for help with this issue is tell them to file a police report because what is going on is illegal," Gardner said. "Then I have them contact Attorney General Marc Dann's Consumer Affairs Division and file a complaint against the collector."

Victims of zombie debt should never pay the collector.

"It's not legally collectible. They know that. Most collectors harass people because they don't know there are steps they can take to stop it. They sit back and take whatever is dished to them," Gardner said.

"It takes dedication and persistence to get through this. People are not going to get the collectors off their back overnight, not when there is money to be made," Gardner said.

Financial analysts predict more than $100 billion in zombie debt will be bought and sold on the open market in 2008.