profiting from others' misery

This is a particularly galling example of the type of thing we were up against at the Pro Bono Project. People who had nothing to begin with ran up credit card debts in the months following the hurricane - not buying diamonds and furs, but trying to make it to someplace safe and maybe get a square meal. Now these penny-ante debts ($500 - $1500 is the usual amount) have been sold four or five times to people like the sweethearts above, who see the hurricane and its aftermath as an "opportunity." Most of the people who buy debts are interested in one thing: making a profit. They'll do it any way they can, including serving papers on a man literally on his deathbed (who actually dragged himself across the floor to answer the door to these jokers), or making threatening phone calls and swearing at starving and destitute old women.

The good news is that the Pro Bono Project has a variety of methods of sending these charmers packing. It's a slow process, and it won't be truly solved without legislation, but at least we could ease the burden for some clients.

If you own a pitchfork, this would be a good reason to take it into the streets.