Be careful
if you see advertisements like these: "Need to repair
your credit?" "Overdue bills? Want to own your own
home? Debt consolidation? NO PROBLEM -- CASH LOANS GUARANTEED!"
Ads like these often signal "scams."
Con-artists
know how to hook people when they are vulnerable, and a consumer
with a poor credit rating can be vulnerable to questionable
credit schemes for cars, houses or credit cards. Advance fee
loan scams tend to target unemployed persons, people with
poor credit, and businesses trying to stay afloat. Loan and
credit repair schemes just add insult to injury!
Advance
fee loan broker scams typically work like this: The company
offers you a loan but first you must pay an "advance"
of $50 to $500 for so-called "processing" or "application"
fees. After you send the money, you never hear from the company
again. You don't get a loan and you don't get a refund. You've
been cheated. The same result is typical for most schemes
that offer to "repair your credit" for an up-front
fee.
Requiring
a fee to be paid in advance of providing a loan or credit
card violates state law. The vast majority of lenders are
legitimate professionals, but fraudulent operators will take
your money and give you nothing in return. And credit repair
scams generally offer you either bad advice, or give you information
you can get elsewhere for free.
| How
to protect yourself against loan broker or credit repair
schemes: |
