Effective Ways to Avoid Getting Scammed from a Debt Consolidation Company

Debt consolidation scams are everywhere, particularly on the Internet. Advertisements for fake loans often appear in smaller-market and community newspapers. Desperate in need of cash you respond to one of several ads in the classified advertising sections. Using goodwill of popular financial institutions, they woe consumers by making tall claims that they can help solve your debt problems. But be wary - you could end up in worse debt than when you started.

When you respond to the advertisement, you call a third-party consultant who solicits the application information including social security numbers. During these fraudulent telephone calls, the loan is always approved. A loan package is sent across with a request for bank account information and a request for advance payment. In the US it's against the law to ask for money up front to help obtain a loan. The money must be in your hands for seven days before payment can be requested. The rule applies even if it's a direct loan or through a third party. As an unsuspecting consumer, you never obtain a loan, but are also deceived by loss of your money.

The company will promise to restore your credit worthiness and purport they can remove negative information from your credit reports - all for a fee, of course. In reality, they cannot improve and alter credit reports or profiles by removing bankruptcies, late payments, and other negative information from your credit reports. This is especially true when the information is accurate and current. This fraudulent trap preys consumers who already find themselves in financial difficulty as a result of layoffs, or heavy medical expenses. Debt consolidation scams kick vulnerable people when they are down, exploiting their false hopes of building a better credit history.

Before you contact a debt counselor, do your homework. Research and find out the truth about the debt consolidation industry. If you're indolent, you might entrust your money to somebody you'll never see again. And that's not your only loss; they often request copies of driver's license and Social Security cards. This leaves you vulnerable to identity theft in addition to losing their money.
And the trail is hard to find. The toll-free numbers are outsourced; the credit card used to place the ads is stolen; so are the cell phones. The operations are often slick and highly mobile. They use wireless satellite phones and laptop computers, and wire the money out of the country.

Also watch out for debt-counseling companies which pose that they are non-profit. There are many trustworthy non-profit debt consolidators out there; however, there are also some scams you should watch for. Non-profit debt consolidation scams are often detectable in companies that offer free debt consolidation services. This should not be confused with free analysis or consultation. Any good debt consolidation company will offer a free assessment.

Other common frauds committed by unsolicited debt consolidation companies are failure at making full payments to creditors, making late payments, or not making payments at all. Anything that sounds too good to be true...probably is.