When people have a serious debt problem they are often desperate for a solution. Unfortunately this has resulted in a lot of companies that run scams to make money off of these desperate people. Not all debt relief programs are scams, some of them can be very helpful. If you have a credit card debt problem you need to be able to recognize a scam so that you can avoid them.
One of the biggest scams is charging people to fix their credit report. This isn’t necessarily a scam because it is important to correct any errors on your credit report. But you have to keep in mind that it doesn’t cost anything to fix errors on your credit report. Now, if a company helps you to find and fix errors then it is certainly reasonable for them to expect to be compensated, but if they tell you there are additional charges they are scamming you. More importantly if your credit is bad because of bills you didn’t pay there is no way that they can fix this. If they tell you they can it’s a scam.
Another common scam is to loan you money to fix your credit card debts. Again there is some legitimacy to this since a consolidation loan can often be a good way to deal with your debt problems. The loan should come from a bank not from the debt relief agency. A common scam is to arrange a loan to pay off your creditors, then instead of using the loan to pay down your debts they take the money and disappear. All of a sudden you find yourself with twice as much debt.
Another scam is to tell you they can fix your credit by getting you a new identity. It should be obvious that this is a scam, yet people still fall for it. It is very illegal to create a false identity in order to improve your credit. If a company asks you to do this you know it is a scam.
The more desperate a person is for a solution to a problem the more likely they are to be the victims of a scam. Since people with credit card debt problems are usually desperate for a solution there is no shortage of scam artists out there. It is important to remember that any legitimate solution will require you to pay off your debts. It is usually possible to arrange a lower payment but there is no way to just make your debt disappear. There is also no way to easily fix your credit report. The old adage that if it sounds too good to be true it probably is applies as much here as anywhere.
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