Not Only Will Debt Elimination Scams Put You Further In Debt...
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Let's take a look at what some of these debt relief scams involve, and then we'll take a look at some smarter, useful and legal options.
The most prominent debt reduction scam that we have seen, is based on the false premise that the banks and credit institutions are only allowed to lend money, NOT CREDIT. Then they try and back this up by pulling a few out of context quotes from supreme court rulings that make it all sound official. Yeah right. For those of you who remember, there was a similar scam going on a few years back that tried to convince people that income tax was unconstitutional and that you shouldn't pay it. Yeah right.
The people behind these debt elimination scams charge upfront fees that start at around $1,500. I just found one site that is charging a $3,500 fee for up to 5 accounts. More accounts? The price goes up from there.
A variation of this type of debt relief scam involves selling materials and forms that you can fill out and present to your credit card company(s) that legally resolves you of your debts. Of course these companies also promise to offer support through there set of "legal experts".
The truth is, the FBI has begun to request that any credit card companies, banks etc. that receive these phony materials, report the incident, along with the paperwork directly to them. Now your not just dealing with your creditors, you've got the FBI breathing down your neck.
Bottom line?
Stick to the legitimate debt elimination resources that exist. Debt and credit counseling, debt negotiation and, as a last resort bankruptcy. Remember this regarding debt elimination scams. If it walks like a duck... you know the rest.
So where can you find honest, useful, and legal debt help?
Here are a couple of ideas for places to start.
Seek out an honest, reliable, non-profit credit counseling service. The one we recommend can be found here.
If you have serious debt problems, brought on by a hardship such as a loss of your job, and you are considering bankruptcy, then we recommend that you visit a company called Curadebt. They can provide you with a free, no obligation debt reduction plan just for visiting them.
Here are two more debt eliminations scams that we found on the FBI's website:
"Debt or mortgage elimination offers. The perpetrators of these schemes offer to take advantage of "loopholes in the system" that will eliminate your entire mortgage for an up-front fee. Don't believe it. There are no loopholes."
"Fake credit unions. Con-artists place ads in newspapers for non-existent credit unions offering hassle-free loans if you wire them a fee of $1,500. Or they have you fill out a loan application and then steal your personal information."
To learn more about all of your debt elimination options (that are not debt elimination scams) we have prepared an article called Learning About Your Debt Elimination Options which may be of help to you.
More
information from the FBI regarding debt elimination
scams.
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