By: Sarah Horner
March 4, 2009
Many people are very naïve when it comes to consumer finance. In order to make sure you don’t fall victim, I have laid out a few popular consumer finance scams that everyone should be aware of. Some very popular scams include advanced fee loan scams, Credit repair scams and for those of us still in school, Scholarship and Educational finance scams.
Advances fee loans apply to credit lenders targeting those people who do not have the best credit, promising loans or credit cards to people regardless of their credit history. After they call to get these credit cards or loans a fraudulent telemarketer usually tells them they must pay a fee in advanced, after they do they are usually referred to yet another company and never receive any sort of credit.
Many credit repair schemes tell people they can help to fix their poor credit history by challenging credit reports by using a technique called a "file segregation". A file segregation is when you apply for an employer information number (EIN) from the IRS, which has the same number of digits as a social security number, and use it to build fresh credit. Little do people know, this is a felony.
The last scam applies more readily to us students. They are scholarship and educational financial scams. There are many companies, mostly online that say they will help students find scholarship. However, students must pay to use these websites and although they are required a full guarantee if students cannot find financial aid. The companies then provide students with a list of scholarships, which they could have found for free and the money back guarantee has so many restrictions and limitations students have no chance of ever receiving any money back.
References:
http://www.ftc.gov/reports/Fraud/finance.shtm
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