Credit Card Debt Scams
Scams are bad enough by themselves, but what’s worse is that there are people who take advantage of those burdened with credit card debt. People with debt are in a desperate position, that’s why they are easy targets for scam artists. The common modus for these scammers is to promise instant and quick relief from debt and an extra line of credit. But there is no such a thing. Rising from debt would take a lot of hard work and patience; it will not happen in a few weeks or months. People like to take the easy way out, and that’s why these scams always find a victim. But with proper information, you can protect yourself from these scams.
Debt mitigation is not bad or necessarily a scam. But it is when the company or party that offers that service promises you lowered rates and reduced debt in a matter of weeks or months. These companies would even sweeten the offer by giving a money-back guarantee. The truth is, it’s easier said than done. Creditors don’t normally lower rates or offer credit card debt reduction that easily. And if they do, you can certainly do it yourself by addressing the credit card company directly. The sad truth is these “debt mitigation” companies don’t deliver as promised, and getting your money back is almost impossible.
Another scam is the promise of assured credit card approval for those with bad credit or credit card debt. The catch is you would need to pay an advance fee to the company before you receive your card. But once you’ve made the payment, you won’t hear from the company that offered the card again. Since those with bad credit would have difficulty getting a card approved, assured approval sounds like a good deal, and thus gets victimized.
You should also watch out for those claiming that they can get rid of some of your debts from your credit history. What these companies do is challenge all or most of your credit card debts with the credit card companies and credit reporting agencies. Those debts that are valid for investigation then gets cleared temporarily from your score while waiting investigation results. The scammers would then show this cleaned out report as your new credit score or balance. But of course, that score won’t stay that way since most, if not all, of your debt are legitimate debts incurred by you. When you find that out, you’ve already paid the company money for their supposed “services”.
These are just a few examples. And there are lots more since these scam artists tend to get more creative as time passes. Just remember that anything that promises a quick fix should be treated with a lot of skepticism, or just ignore them completely to be safe. You know of the adage: “If it’s too good to be true, then it probably is.” So be smart and responsible. Work on your credit card debt slowly but surely. It’s much better than having a debt on your hands while also being had by a scam.