If you decide to respond to a credit repair offer, look for these tell-tale signs of a scam:
- companies that
want you to pay large sums for credit repair services before they provide any services.
- companies that
do not tell you your rights and what you can do for yourself for free.
- companies that tell you you
not to contact a credit reporting company directly.
- companies that suggest that you try to invent a “new”
credit identity — and then, a new credit report — by applying for an Employer Identification Number to use instead
of your Social Security number ofr trying to change your social security number.
- companies that advise you to
dispute all information in your credit report or take any action that seems illegal, {like creating a new credit identity.}
If you follow illegal advice and commit fraud, you may be subject to prosecution.
You could be charged and
prosecuted for mail or wire fraud if you use the mail or telephone to apply for credit and provide false information. It’s
a federal crime to lie on a loan or credit application, to misrepresent your Social Security number, and to obtain an Employer
Identification Number from the Internal Revenue Service under false pretenses.
Under the Credit Repair Organizations
Act, credit repair companies cannot require you to pay until they have completed the services they have promised.
