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A multitude of new commercials advertising companies that offer tax debt relief have been appearing on many television stations during all hours of the day.  These commercials claim that these companies will be able to dramatically reduce the amount of money that a person will have to pay to settle a state or federal tax debt, even if the debt is years old.  In many cases, the claims that are made in these commercials seem too to be true and people have good reasons to be wary of the promises made in these commercials.

Promises Of Access To Tax Professionals
Although there are thousands of professionals whose business is to advocate for lower tax bills on behalf of their clients, in many cases the “professionals” that are working for these companies have had brief training and very little experience in actually negotiating with the IRS for tax relief.  Instead of providing the legal and financial tools needed to lower the tax bill by any significant amount, these firms are attempting to secure an Offer In Compromise (OIC) which is a settlement agreement between a taxpayer and the IRS for accounts that the IRS agents believe may be uncollectible any other way.  The IRS issuing an OIC for a tax debt is a long shot for most taxpayers.

Promises Of Settling For Pennies On The Dollar
Many of the commercials for tax debt relief that appear on television show individuals that had thousands of dollars in tax debt but settled their accounts for little or nothing at all.  In reality, this is extremely unlikely.  If the IRS determines that you have the means to pay the amount of your tax debt, they will use every means at their disposal to collect the entire amount of the debt.  This can include liens against your property, wage garnishment, and other actions to collect the money before it ever enters your hands.  The IRS can afford to wait to collect the entire amount of the tax debt and will often choose that collecting the entire amount over a number of years will be more beneficial than settling for a lower amount today.

Claims Of Effectiveness
Many of these commercials claim that the tax professionals at these companies can succeed where others have failed and get you the results that you desire.  These companies charge upfront fees of hundred or thousands of dollars for the employees of the company to take a look at your tax debt situation and often charge more fees for the work that they are claiming to perform on your behalf.  In most cases, the only way that the IRS is going to reduce your tax debt is if there is no possibility of you being able to repay the full amount of your tax debt anytime in the future.  Hiring a tax professional from one of these companies for hundreds of dollars is not a good way to prove to the IRS that you do not have enough money to pay your tax debt.

Experts estimate that cases of identity theft can cost consumers hundreds of millions of dollars annually and the damage doesn’t stop with the loss of the person’s money.  People that have become victims of identity theft also must deal with trying to remove the fraudulent accounts and charges from their credit record and take steps to prevent the theft of their personal information in the future.  It can take years for a person to repair the damage from a single instance of identity theft, which is why it is so important for a person to know the correct way to report cases of identity theft.

The First Step
The first step in reporting cases of identity theft is to review your credit report for any unauthorized accounts that may have been opened in your name.  Although you may realize that you have exposed your personal information and made it easily available to identity thieves, you will never know the total extent of the damage that the thieves have caused without obtaining a copy of your credit report.  The credit report will list all of the accounts that have been opened in a person’s name, making it easy for the person to determine which companies they need to call to close fraudulent accounts.

There is a government-authorized website that will allow a person to obtain one credit report from each of the three main credit reporting bureaus for free each year.  That website is AnnualCreditReport.com and the free credit reports can be obtained by typing your information into the online form and verifying your information to the program.  Within a short period of time, you will be able to view your current credit report online or can have a hard copy of your credit report mailed directly to your home.

The Second Step
The second step in correctly reporting cases of identity theft is to report the identity theft to your local law enforcement agency so that there is a criminal record of the theft.  Although it may be difficult for law enforcement to find a criminal based on a single instance of identity theft, most identity thieves steal information from a number of different people, increasing the chances that they will be caught.  Having an open criminal case that contains all of the information about the identity theft and the accounts that were opened in your name will help in the prosecution of the criminal when the criminal is caught.   

The Third Step
The third step that should be taken with cases of identity theft is to alert the credit bureaus that your personal information has been compromised.  The credit bureaus can remove the fraudulent accounts from your credit report so that the fraudulent accounts do not hurt your credit score.  The credit bureaus can also help you monitor your accounts in the future to make sure that no other accounts are opened in your name by the identity thieves.  Following these three steps as soon as you believe your personal information has been compromised can help you regain your financial security more quickly and limit the amount of damage that can be caused by cases of identity theft.

As people across the nation find that they are deeply in debt, they begin to search for a simple and easy solution to their financial problems.  In many cases, this means that the person will contact credit counseling companies that promise to eliminate their debt and give them a clean slate to start fresh.  In recent years, some of these companies have become very good at taking advantage of people in difficult financial situations, causing many people to become more deeply mired in debt and owing more money than they did before contacting the credit counseling company.

There are some indicators that will tell you whether the credit counseling company can really help you or whether the company is basically a scam to steal the money that the person has left.  By keeping these things in mind, the risk of being taken advantage of by a bad credit counseling company will be greatly reduced.

Illegal Charges To The Account

Some of the companies that offer credit counseling services tell their customers that charges, interest payments, or fees that have been charged to their account are illegal or that there are flaws in the credit agreement that make the entire debt amount illegal for collection.  With all of the lawyers that companies that extend credit hire to work for their firms, the chance of this actually happening would be slim to none and even if there was a small mistake in the credit agreement, it would not invalidate the purchases that have been charged on the account. 

A credit counseling company may offer to contact the creditor on the person’s behalf and, after time has passed, the company will tell the person that the creditor is discharging the debt or a lawsuit against the creditor has been filed on their behalf.  People that rely on these statements often find that their debt has increased due to finance charges and late payment fees.  The person may even be sued by the creditor for the balance of the account.

New Credit Profile

Some credit counseling companies may offer to eliminate the total amount of debt by creating a new credit profile for the person so the person can start accumulating fresh with a new credit history.  This process is accomplished by creating a fake social security number and creating a new credit profile under the person’s name and linked to the new social security number.  This is illegal and, if you are caught using this social security number and credit profile, you could be prosecuted and could be facing felony charges of fraud and identity theft that could result in going to prison for years. 

Although there are many credit counseling companies that can help a person reduce the amount that they owe, choosing a bad credit counseling company can lead to increased debt, being sued for large amounts of money, or even facing criminal charges.  The best solution is to do some research on the company you are thinking about doing business with to make sure that they are reputable and being on the lookout for any of these credit counseling scams.

People across the country are finding that they have used their credit unwisely and owe creditors a great amount of money that is increasing every day because of the interest charged to the account.  As they search for a solution to their financial problems, many people contact credit counseling companies that promise to repair their credit and give them a clean slate to start fresh.  Over the last several years, companies that scam people have become experts at taking advantage of people in difficult financial situations, but there are some clues that will tell you whether the company can really help you or whether the company is out to steal the money that you have left. 

By keeping these warning signs in mind, you will reduce the risk of being taken advantage of by a dishonest credit counseling company.

Telling You That There Are Invalid Clauses In The Credit Agreement

Some credit counseling services say their customers have charges, interest payments, or fees on their credit account that cannot be collected legally by the credit card company.  They may also tell the customer that there are clauses in their credit agreement that are not legally valid and that can work in their favor to make the entire total of the credit account illegal for collection.  In nearly all of these cases, the information that the company is giving the customer is incorrect and the total amount of the account is collectible under the laws of every state.

The way that this scam works is that the company will charge the customer a fee, often hundreds of dollars, for contacting the credit card company on behalf of the customer and alerting them that the debt is uncollectible.  After some time has gone by, the company will tell the customer that the creditor is discharging the debt or that they have filed a lawsuit against the creditor, which will require the payment of another fee.  People that fall for this scam will find themselves owing their creditors a significantly larger amount due to finance charges and late payment fees.  They may also find themselves sued by the creditor for the entire balance of the account for nonpayment. 

Offering To Create A New Credit Profile

Some credit counseling companies are offering to create a new credit profile for the person, wiping the slate clean so people with not have anything negative on their credit history and can apply for credit without being turned down.  This is typically accomplished by creating a fake social security number for the person and creating a new credit profile under their name with the new social security number.  This is illegal and if you are caught using this social security number, you could be prosecuted and sent to jail charge with a criminal felony and fraud charges. 

Although there are some credit counseling companies that can help a person reduce the amount of debt they are facing, many of the promises that are made by some of these companies make can lead to being sued by creditors, having criminal charges brought against the person, and spiraling deeper into debt.  The best solution is to contact one of the many government agencies offering free financial planning and following the advice that they give you, allowing you to repair your credit in a safe and legal way.

In recent years, the number of commercial scams that are on television have dramatically increased and are taking advantage of more individuals than ever before.  It is hard to know which debt relief scams are masquerading as a legitimate business and which companies you should be suspicious of when it comes to debt relief.  While it may be difficult for most individuals to spot that a debt relief commercial is a scam, there are several things that you can look for to determine whether the program may be operated as a scam.

Unbelievable Results
There are several things that an individual should look for when trying to determine whether or not a debt relief commercial is a scam.  One of the easiest things to spot is the commercial promises unbelievable results in a very short period of time.  In reality, it is nearly impossible to make a large amount of debt disappear in a short amount of time or to work out a program with your debtors where you are only paying pennies on the dollar to pay off your debt.

Difficult To Understand Information
Scam artists set their sights on people that are not sure about the way the financial world works, using commercial scams that lure the individuals in and convinces them to give money or access to their personal and financial information.  This allows the scam artist to steal the individual’s identity or their money without having to do a great deal of work.  It is very important to check the claims that the commercial makes against what is actually possible when it comes to debt relief to see if the claims made on the commercial are can be done or are legal before deciding to send money to enter the debt relief program.

Lack Of Business Address
Debt relief scams are easy to conduct and are difficult for any government agency to stop because they can be operated from anywhere in the world, including someone’s basement, and reach a large number of people in a short period of time.  As one program is shut down, another one springs up in a different location.  The worst thing about commercial scams is that there are very few legal remedies available if you fall victim to one of these predators.  In most cases, you can make a report about the loss of money or theft of identity but it is rare for anyone to be prosecuted for the crimes.  One reason that there are not a lot of convictions for the crime is because the individuals running the scam are nearly impossible to find. 

The number of commercial scams that have been discovered in the last few years is a small fraction compared to the estimates of the number that has avoided detection.  Debt relief scams can be conducted anywhere that the scam artist desires and still reach people across the country.  As long as there are individuals that will fall for the scam, there are scam artists that are willing to take advantage of the situation.

Identity theft is a very difficult experience because it can take years to repair the damage caused by the theft and there is no way to be sure that the person will not be victimized again.  Knowing how to report identity theft and how to obtain a free credit report can help provide the person that has been victimized with peace of mind after the crime and may even lead to the prosecution of the criminal that has stolen the person’s identity.  The method for reporting identity theft properly is easy to understand and can be accomplished fairly quickly, but it does take time to correct all of the information that has been compromised and solve all of the problems that the identity theft can cause.

Steps For Reporting Identity Theft Properly

If the person reviews their credit report and finds that they have been the victim of identity theft, it is important that they know how to report the identity theft properly to limit their accountability for the charges that have been incurred.  First, the credit card company should be notified that a fraudulent account has been opened.  A request should be made that the company close the account immediately and flag wherever the account has been used to aid law enforcement in finding the criminal that has opened the account. 

Next, a police report should be made of the theft so that law enforcement is aware of the theft and the criminal can be prosecuted with criminal charges once they have been found.  The final step is to contact the credit reporting bureaus to alert them to the identity theft and let them know what accounts are in question so that they can be removed from their credit report and monitored for further action.  Following these steps quickly after the questionable accounts have been found can ensure that these accounts are closed quickly before they can cause more damage to the person’s credit history and credit score.

Why Is Knowing The Proper Method So Important?

Knowing the proper way to report identity theft is important so that the person can regain their identity quickly and limit while minimizing the number of problems caused to the person’s credit history.  The first thing that typically occurs in an identity theft is a credit card obtained using the person’s personal information and many things are charged to the credit card as quickly as possible.  These credit cards are used for a very short time period and then the thief gets rid of the credit card and all of the information associated with the card.  This reduces the likelihood of the criminal being caught with incriminating information and reduces the case against them when they are finally caught. 

Every person should review their credit report on a regular basis to make sure that there is nothing on the credit report to indicate that the person has become a victim of identity theft.  Often, the first indication that a person will have that they have been a victim of identity theft is that they obtain a current credit report and find an account or several different accounts that they do not remember opening.  The person will never receive any statements from the credit accounts that have been opened because the criminal will use a dummy address to prevent the victim from being alerted.  Knowing the proper way to report identity theft allows the person to report anything abnormal on their credit report in a timely fashion to give the law enforcement a better chance of catching the criminal.

People across the country are finding that they are deeply in debt with no way to return to secure financial footing.  As they search for a solution to their financial problems, many people contact debt reduction companies that promise to eliminate their debt and give them a clean slate to start fresh.  In recent years, companies that scam everyday people have become very good at taking advantage of people in seemingly impossible financial situations, but there are some indications that will tell you whether the program being offered can really help you or whether the program is a scam to steal what little money you have left.  By keeping these things in mind, you will reduce the risk of being taken for a ride by an unscrupulous debt reduction company.

Offering A New Credit History Or Credit Score

Some debt reduction companies are offering to reduce a person’s total personal debt by creating a new credit history and credit score for the person, wiping the slate clean so people can start accumulating credit all over again.  What the person does not know is that this process is typically accomplished by creating a fake social security number for the person and creating a new credit profile under their name with the new social security number.  This is illegal and if you are caught using this social security number and credit profile, you could be prosecuted and sent to jail under felony charges. 

Finding Credit Agreement Loopholes And Debt That Cannot Be Collected Legally

Some of the companies that offer debt reduction services lower what they say their customers owe by telling them that charges, interest payments, or fees that have been charged to the person are illegal.  They may also tell the person that there are flaws in their credit agreement that work in their favor to make the entire debt amount illegal for collection. 

The company will offer to contact the company on the person’s behalf and after some time has gone by, will tell the person that the company is discharging the debt or that they have filed a lawsuit on the company on their behalf.  People that believe these statements often find themselves deeper in debt due to finance charges and late payment fees or are sued by the creditor for the balance of the account.  This dramatically reduces their credit score and prevents the person from obtaining any credit account until the person’s credit score has been rebuilt.

Although there are some debt reduction and financial planning programs that can help a person reduce the total amount that they owe to creditors, many of the promises that debt reduction companies make can lead to deeper debt, being sued by creditors for large amounts of money, or even having criminal charges levied against the person.  The best solution is to contact one of the many government programs offering free financial planning and following the advice that they give you to the letter to reduce your debt in a safe and legal way.

In today’s consumer driven society, many retail stores have become experts at separating consumers from as much of their money as possible.  Some of the tricks that they are using to entice consumers into their stores and get them to purchase much more than they intended to are very devious and created by consultants that have been paid thousands of dollars to review shopper’s habits and develop ways to squeeze every last dollar that they can from the pockets of these consumers.  The best way to fight against these practices is to be aware of them and not let these retail rip-off artists take advantage of you any more.

Retail Rip-off Number 1 – The “Price Only Good For Today” Sale
Many retailers will send out an advertisement that they have a great deal on their items, but these amazing prices are only good for one day or within a certain time period.  They will have a limited supply of the items that they have offered for sale because the real goal of the advertisement is to get consumers in the door so that the retailer can sell them more items or another item at a higher price.  If you really want the item that has been advertised, go to the store to purchase that item only and resist any attempts by a salesperson to steer you towards another item or a higher priced alternative.

Retail Rip-off Number 2 – The Delay Tactic
Some retailers that sell higher priced items or items that you can negotiate the price on will tell the consumer that they are going to check paperwork or run a price by their manager so that they can leave the consumer to stew in silence alone for long periods of time.  They know that the longer that they can keep you in the store, the more time that you will have invested for purchasing their product and the less time that you will have to comparison shop at other retail stores.  After hours of waiting, you may be so tired of the process that you will sign anything to purchase the item and stop the shopping process.

Retail Rip-off Number 3 – The Wrong Price Ploy
This one is very common in places where a person typically purchases a lot of items at once, like at grocery stores, mass merchandisers, or clothing retailers.  They will advertise a sales price for the item on the shelves but when the purchase is rung up at the register, the price rings up as much higher.  Most retailers are betting that you do not notice until you get home and then consider it too much of a hassle to return to the store to get your money back.  If you do notice the higher price while still at the store, the store will take one of two tactics; politely adjust the price at the register while apologizing or telling the customer that they cannot adjust the price at the register and send you to customer service department, which is often located in a different part of the store, to try and get the price adjusted to the right amount.

Retail Rip-off Number 4 – The “Oh, We’re Out Of It” Tactic
Some retail stores will advertise a desirable item at a low price to draw consumers into the store, but will only have very few of the items on hand, not nearly enough to satisfy the demand that they have created with the low sales price.  When a consumer comes in to buy the sold out item, the salesperson will regretfully tell them that they are all out of that particular item and will try to steer the person to a higher priced item instead.  If you complain enough, they may give you a rain check for the item that you wanted but many stores will have a disclaimer that no rain checks will be given for a sale item that is out of stock.

Retail Rip-off Number 5 – Trying To Scare You Into An Extended Warranty
Some retailers make more money by selling the extended warranty than they do selling the product so they will push hard for the consumer to purchase the warranty, even if it really isn’t feasible for the item being purchased.  In some cases, the price of the extended warranty is much more than it would actually cost to repair the product in the event that something did go wrong, but the salesperson will not tell you that.  If it seems like the salesperson is trying much too hard to sell you the extended warranty or are using words such as “costly”, “regret”, or “valuable protection”, chances are the warranty is not worth what you are paying for it.

Many people around the nation are finding themselves deeply in debt and do not know how to get themselves back on secure financial footing.  As they become more desperate for a solution to their problems, a large number of these people fall for debt elimination scams that promise to eliminate their debt and help them to start anew, but often lead to the person being deeper in debt, sued by their creditors, or even thrown in jail.  Scam artists have become quite savvy at taking advantage of people in dire financial situations, but there are some common indicators that you can look for to determine whether the programs being offered to help you eliminate your debt is a scam.

Scam 1 – Giving You A New Credit Identity
There are a number of companies out there that offer to eliminate a person’s total personal debt by giving the person a new credit identity.  This is typically accomplished by creating a fake social security number and new credit profile for the person.  The company promises that the person will now be able to apply for credit and other types of loans using the new credit profile so that the creditors will not be viewing the person’s bad credit history of the past.

The main problem with this type of scam is that it is very, very illegal.  If you are caught using a made up social security profile to obtain credit under false pretenses, it is considered to be a federal crime and you could be prosecuted and sent to jail.  Obtaining a new credit profile is not worth a felony conviction, jail time, and a potentially ruined life when you are finally released from jail.

Scam 2 – The “This Debt Is Illegal” Ploy
Some of the companies that offer debt elimination services tell their customers that some of the fees that have been charged on the person’s debt are illegal or that there is a fundamental flaw in the credit agreement on the part of the creditor that would make the entire amount of the debt void.  Some of these companies will even go so far as to tell the person that the company has agreed to discharge their debt because of the flaw or that the company has filed a lawsuit on behalf of the customer and for them to stop paying the creditor until the lawsuit has been resolved.

This technique never works because the premise that the company is basing its solution on is not true.  Even if you were able to prove beyond the shadow of a doubt that some of the fees that were charged to the account were in error, you would still owe on the rest of the balance of the account.  People that fall for this type of scam often find themselves much deeper in debt with no legal recourse at a later date or find themselves sued by the creditor for the balance of the account, all related interest payments, and hefty penalty fees for not paying their payments on time.  The person’s credit score will be destroyed and they will not be able to obtain any type of credit account for a very long period of time.

There are more people in debt across the nation today than at any other time period in history, as many people have been using credit to spend beyond their means and purchase large homes that they can not afford.  Many of these people are now having trouble paying all of their bills and are growing increasingly desperate as they find themselves falling farther and farther behind.  Many of these people may be tempted to turn to a debt relief company to help them eliminate their debt, but in some cases, turning to these companies can cause more harm to your financial future.

Although there are some debt relief programs that may be able to help you reduce the amount that you owe to creditors or help you make a plan to regain your financial freedom, there are also many debt relief companies doing business that will not do anything to help you reduce the amount of money that you owe and may even drive you deeper into debt by charging excessive fees for doing little to no work on your case.  Some people are so desperate for debt relief that they ignore the warning signs that the company may be scamming them and end up getting deeper into financial trouble.

There are some things that should be kept in mind when looking for a company to help you with your debt to keep you from making the wrong decision and owing more money than you currently owe.

1.  If it sounds too good to be true, then it is probably a scam.
There are many debt relief companies that promise to settle your debt for pennies on the dollar, wipe away your debt without hurting your credit score, or repair your credit in a quick and easy manner.  None of these actions can be accomplished legally and attempting to settle your debt or repair your credit in these ways can create just as many legal problems as financial ones.  If a company is telling you that they can do this for you, avoid this company like the plague because they are lying to you.

2.  The company is charging high up front fees.
If the company is requiring you to pay high fees, often more than $500, up front before they begin to work on your financial situation, this may be another red flag that the company is more concerned about padding their bottom line than with helping you with your financial problems.  The owners of companies offering debt relief are being sent to prison in increasing numbers because they have charged their customers outrageous fees, $7,500 per customer in one case in Ohio, for debt relief help that they would not or could not perform.  Even if these scam artists get sent to prison, that does not mean that the fees that you have paid will be refunded to you, meaning that you will be deeper in debt than when you began.

There are several legal ways that can be used to reduce the amount of debt that you owe to your creditors or lower the interest rates that are being charged on your debt, but they all involve talking to the creditors and explaining your financial situation.  Many of these creditors will be willing to work with you because obtaining some of the money that is owed is better than receiving nothing because the person was forced into bankruptcy.  There are a number of different government programs that can assist a person with navigating through these financial systems and getting the assistance that they need and these government agencies will not charge you thousands of dollars for the help.