Don’t Be Fooled By Debt Elimination Scams

If you’re heavily in debt and looking for a way out, it’s quite appealing to hear someone saying they can help you get your debt reduced or canceled. Unfortunately, there are a number of illegal debt reduction and cancellation scams being operated these days, and you can end up owing more money and having a worse credit rating.

Basically, the rule of thumb is that if it is too good to be true, then it just can’t be true. Debt scammers generally use a few particular tricks, including:

• Asserting that the contracts with your creditors are illegal and that they can’t charge you interest on your debts
• Telling you that enrolling in one of their schemes will immediately stop debt collection procedures from your creditors
• Mentioning secret laws that they can use to help eliminate your debt
• Using fake documents (fake discharge certificates, fake trust account statements) to get your creditors to drop your debts
• Claiming they have special relationships with your creditors and will negotiate your debts on your behalf – if you stop paying your debts and instead send them money to them

There is no magic trick to paying off debt – it’s hard work. If someone offers you a miracle cure, think twice, and say no. There are legitimate credit counselors around who can help you find the best way to effectively pay off your debt, but they won’t be using any of these tricks. Be careful, and don’t let your bad debt situation get even worse.

Tags: credit | Debt Management | scams