Don’t Get Scammed!

Let’s face it.  There is always some dishonest person out there who wants to scam you out of your hard earned money.  With the current state of our economy it is more important than ever to guard ourselves against these would be thieves.  Here are a few examples of some common scams that you should avoid at all costs:

 1.  Get Paid Big Bucks to Work from Home.

Not all “work from home” opportunities are scams.  However, if you are asked to pay money upfront to the company wishing to “hire” you, it is a bad idea.  Many of these dishonest companies will ask you to pay for training or for a sample kit of the product you will be selling.  Bottom line, if you have to give the company money to begin working for them you should BEWARE!

2.  You Have Won Money.

If you receive a letter or email telling you that you have won money you should automatically be cautious.  The truth is that if it sounds too good to be true, it usually is.  There are several scams that start out by sending you a check for your winnings.  In the end, you could end up giving crooks access to your bank account by depositing the checks.  If you can’t remember entering the contest from which you have supposedly won this money it is probably a hoax.

 3.  Phishing for Your Personal Information.

If you have a PayPal account, a credit card, or even a bank account you are a potential target for the phishing scam.  The way most of the phishing scams begin is with an email.  You’ll receive an email from PayPal or maybe your credit card company asking you to fill in your account number and password.  Sometimes your social security number or other personal information is requested.  The problem is that these emails are fakes and once you have filled them out you have given your personal information to a crook looking to steal your identity and/or your money.  The only way you should EVER enter your user name and password for an online account is by typing the web address of your bank directly into your web browser (i.e. orchardbank.com).  You should never follow a link provided to you in an email. 

If you have already been a victim of scam or identity fraud the experts at the HOPE Program can assist you.  You are not stuck with the bad credit rating that comes as a result of identity fraud.  Contact us today at 704-503-3669 for more information about how HOPE can help.  We are waiting for your call.

I am often asked, “Can I trust the credit card offers I receive in the mail?” Most of the time the answer is no.

Many of the card offers you receive in the mail will say that you are pre qualified. However, most of the time this is very misleading. Actually, you are pre qualified to recieve the offer so you can apply to see if you qualify for the crdeit card.

Not only are these offers misleading, they also hurt your credit rating. Every time you let someone pull your credit you will lose 1 to 3 points off your credit scores.

There are legitimate companies out there who will help you regardless of  your past credit history. These companies will either give you an unsecured credit card or they will offer you a secured card. To obtain these secured cards you send these credit card companies a money order as security for the account. In return they will send you a secured card. This is one way you can establish revolving credit  if you do not have it now. 

HOPE has taken time to research several credit card options for you. You can visit our site at http://hope4usa.com/credit-cards/ and apply online. Establishing current revolving credit may cause your scores to rise significantly.

Hope has an experienced, reliable and trusted staff that can guide you through the maze of establishing a healthy credit report. If you would like to know more please call us at 704-503-3669. We are waiting on your call.

Today, we will continue discussing the theme of yesterday’s post, “What can I do if I am a victim of identity fraud?”

Millions of people every year are victims of identity theft and fraud. You have to protect yourself because we are all vulnerable to the tactics of thiefs and scam artists.

Here are a few more things you can do to protect yourself:

Handling problems with existing credit or debit accounts.
      1. Request replacement cards with new account numbers.
      2. Provide a fraud affidavit or a dispute form.
      3. Carefully monitor your bills for evidence of new fraudulent activity.
      4. Report fraudulent activity immediately.

Handling debt collectors trying to collect fraudulent accounts.
      1. Ask for the company information and the person contacting you.
      2. Tell the collector that you are a victim of fraud and not responsible.
      3. Ask for the name and contact information for the referring credit issuer.
      4. Ask the amount of the debt, account number, and dates of the charges.

Handling check and banking fraud.
      1. Ask your bank to report any fraud to ChexSystems.
      2. Place a security alert on your file.
      3. Ask your bank to provide you with a fraud affidavit.
      4. Put “stop payments” on any outstanding checks that you are unsure about.

You may need some assistance to correct the effects of identity fraud. HOPE educates and assists our clients in remedying the effects of identity fraud. If you would like to know more please call us at 704-503-3669. We are waiting for your call.

What can I do if I am a victim of identity theft?

You apply for a credit card and are turned down because of a low credit score, yet you know that you’ve always paid your accounts on time.

A debt collector calls to demand payment on a six-month overdue account for a credit card you have never had.

You receive a credit card in the mail that you’ve never applied for.

What’s happening? You could be the victim of identity theft, where an imposter is using your personal information to obtain credit. Then when the thief does not pay the bills, the company itself or a debt collection company contacts you to demand payment. As a result, your credit report is likely to contain negative information about your bill-payment history, and your credit score has probably been lowered considerably, making it difficult or impossible to obtain new credit yourself.

Victims of identity theft must act quickly and assertively to minimize the damage.

Here are a few things you can do.

1.  Notify credit bureaus and establish fraud alerts.
2.  Monitor your credit reports.
3.  You may want to place a security freeze on your crdeit reports.
4.  You may want to notify law enforcement.
5.  You may want to notify the Federal Trade Commission.

What to do with new credit accounts opened by the imposter.
1.  Contact the creditors immediately by telephone and in writing.
2.  Prevent businesses from reporting fraudulent accounts to the credit bureaus.
3.  Fill out fraud affidavits.
4.  Ask for a letter stating that the disputed account has been discharged.

You may need some assistance it correcting the effects of identity fraud. HOPE educates and assists our clients in remedying the effects of identity fraud. If you would like to know more please call us at 704-503-3669. We are waiting for your call.

More warning signs you are in trouble.

Today we are continuing with the thoughts of our last post. It is so easy to get into financial trouble. It can get out of hand before we know it.

Let’s look at a few more warning signs and see if any of these descibe the situation you are in.

- You Can’t Make Minimum Payments. This one speaks for itself, but if you can’t make minimum payments on your credit cards, you’re in credit trouble. Keep in mind, credit card companies don’t set up minimum payments to get you out of debt quickly. Rather, those minimum payments are meant to keep you in debt as long as possible and pay the most interest!

- Using Credit Card for Necessities.  If you’re using your credit to buy groceries or put gas in your car because you don’t have the cash, be very careful. If you use your credit cards for household expenses for convenience, and then they pay the bill in full each month, that’s fine. But this only works if you have the money and the discipline to pay your credit cards off each month, and most people don’t. Pay cash for your household expenses, and don’t give the credit card companies a chance to get their hands on your wallet.

- Are you constantly using different cards based on which one has credit available at that moment? If so, that’s one of the surest signs you’re in credit trouble. You make a few payments on one card to free up some credit, then you run that card back up to its limit while you’re making payments on other cards. The problem is, you’re making all these payments, but you’re doing nothing to get yourself out of debt. Plus, you’re hurting your credit and increasing the chance that you’ll get hit with a nasty “over-limit fee.”

- Have you ever heard someone say, “There was too much month for my money?” What they mean is that they ran out of cash before the month was over. How about you? Are you running out of cash before the end of the month? Do you find yourself needing groceries or gas, but with no cash to pay for them? Well, you can’t make the months shorter, so you’re going to have to make your money last longer. The only way to do that each and every month is to set up a budget – and stick to it! 

These are just a few more warning signs that indicate you may be in trouble. At HOPE we guide our client’s everyday toward healthy credit principals. If you would like to know more please call us at 704-503-3669. We are waiting on your call.