Ways To Spot A Credit Repair Scam
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- What's your credit score? To some that three digit number can be more like a dirty word. If you want to improve your score consumer reporter Jim Donovan warns, be careful. Scammers can not only steal your information, but may also turn you into a crook.
From buying a car to buying a home, lenders can see your decisions in a credit report. And some scammers see an opportunity.
According to the Federal Trade Commission there are a few easy ways to spot a credit repair scam:
-If the company asks for payment before they render any services.
-If they ask that you do not contact the credit reporting agencies directly.
-If they suggest giving false information when applying for a mortgage or a loan.
Another troubling trend among credit repair scammers, the promise of an entirely new credit identity, which can unwittingly land a consumer in trouble with the law.
You can spot these scams when a service suggests abandoning a social security number as a primary source of identification.
And instead using a new number they assign and call a CPN for credit privacy number or credit profile number.
In many cases these numbers are stolen social security numbers, often from children which is why they have a clean credit slate.
And that can turn a consumer into an unknowing identity thief despite their good financial intentions.
The Federal Trade Commission has lots of information and advice on how to avoid being ripped off in a credit repair scam.
