Credit > Credit and Loan Scams |
The Advance-fee loan scam. You receive an offer in the mail for an unsecured personal loan with no questions asked. All you have to do to receive your big fat $50,000 loan check is mail the lender a small deposit, about $250.00. But don't wait too long to receive your check, because if it sounds too good to be true, it is. The scam was to get you to send $250.00. The company will stay in operation only long enough to collect hundreds of $250 checks and then disappear before the authorities can catch up with them. You should never have to pay an upfront fee to obtain a loan. In fact, it's illegal for lenders to ask for one. The pre-approved, unsecured credit card. Another version of the scam above uses the promise of an unsecured credit card as bait. The victim must send in X amount of money in exchange for a credit card that usually comes with an unbelievably generous credit line. Sometimes these bogus companies adopt names that are very similar to legitimate credit card companies in hopes of confusing their potential victims. How do you know such offers are a scam? An obvious clue is the unbelievably high credit limit despite the fact that you have a modest income and bad credit rating. "Guaranteed credit card". The advertisement guarantees that you will be approved for one or more credit cards. All you must do is send in a check for $79.95. What you will receive for your $79.95 is not a credit card, but rather, a list of names and phone numbers of companies who issue credit cards to people with bad or no credit. However, you don't have to pay anyone for information about credit card companies since it is easily gathered on the Internet free of charge. A simple search on the Yahoo! search engine for "secured credit cards" or "unsecured credit cards" would net you a wealth of links to dozens of resources. "We now own your loan". Do you have a mortgage, auto or student loan? If so, take precautions if a letter should arrive in your mailbox some day that states your loan has been transferred to the X Company, and you should send all future checks to them. It is not unusual for a loan to be sold to another company; however, it is a common procedure for the company currently servicing your loan to send you a letter telling you it has been sold to the X Company, who will now be servicing it. Because loans are often transferred, scammers have realized they have an opportunity to earn some quick cash by sending people bogus letters. If your current creditor didn't notify you that your loan was transferred, make sure the new company requesting your payment is legitimate before you mail them a check. New credit identity. Have you received a spam e-mail from someone claiming they can show you how to establish a new credit file? In exchange for sending them X amount of money, they will send you information showing you how to do it. What they will send you is information about how you can establish a new credit identity by applying for an employee identification number (EIN) and using that nine digit number to apply for credit instead of your social security number. Not only will it not work (lenders are not that stupid), it is illegal to try and obtain credit in this manner and you could face possible fraud charges. Shady Salesman. Have you ever been told orally by a salesman that X was included in the package, yet the written contract states something contrary or omits it altogether? If so, the salesman might be scamming you. There is something lawyers refer to as the "parole evidence rule". Simply put, it means that the written contract takes precedence over the spoken word. Whenever a mortgage lender, car salesman or anyone with whom you are dealing tells you one thing that is contrary to what is stated in the written contract, you should be concerned about their honesty. While it could be a legitimate oversight, there is the chance the salesman knows that he can say anything he wants, make any promise to you orally that he thinks will make the sell, since if the matter ever came before a judge, he could deny he ever promised you that. Since the two of you disagree about the contract, the court would likely follow the terms, fees and conditions stated in the written, dated and signed contract. This is why attorneys are always telling you to get everything in writing. Credit Kit -- Improve credit rating and reduce monthly bills by $200+ Debt Kit -- Settle unsecured debts for less than half of amount owed |
Credit & Loan Scams |
Credit > Credit and Loan Scams |
