can a collector find your work phone number?

If they know your employer, they can usually google the company name to get their main phone number; then they call it and ask for you.

Now if they don't know who your employer is ..... there are several ways for them to find it, although it will take some digging on their part:

- If you work for a company that subscribes to Talx/The Work Number, then all they have to do is put your SSN into the Work# database, and it will return your employment verification. (Albeit they have to have an account with the Work#, and their client settings have to allow them to search purely by SSN).
- They might call your friends/relatives/neighbors, and sometimes they can get those people to tell them where you work.
- If you've applied for credit, or if you have other open credit accounts, then those inquiries and tradelines will be on your credit report. Sometimes collectors will call those places, and may be able to get your current employer from them.

Even if they do call you at work they have to stop if you tell them to. I had some scummy payday loan people call me at work. It scared me and felt very intimidating. I found a private place to talk to them and said "Don't you ever call me at work again, do you understand?" and I confirmed what number I could be reached at if they needed to talk to me. They stopped calling at work and by law they are suppose to if you tell them it is not allowed at your work place.

At a former employment, of mine, I was having trouble with PDL's. I asked them to stop calling me at work. They never did stop. I haven't worked at this certain place for almost 3 years now. I hear, from the 'grapevine', that they STILL call.