Please post them here… so we can all learn from each other!
Include as much information as possible:
1) What happened?
2) How did you find out you were a victim?
3) What did you do?
4) How did it all work out?
5) Was your credit impacted?
Thank you.
Philip Tirone
Every single day I help people for free to find good solutions for problem debt. Not long ago I was talking with some friends and it occurred to me there was no one single tool people could use to better understand all of their options to tackle their debt. Why not?
So in collaboration with the smart technology people at USDR we created just such an online calculator to give people a somewhat personalized side-by-side comparison of the options, costs and payments of the different approaches to eliminate their debt.
We’ve just launched the How to Get Out of Debt Calculator and I think it gives people an impartial and detached view of what they can do to tackle their debt.
The use of the calculator is free and does not require people to share any personal identifying information.
Each option for getting out of debt certainly has plusses and minuses. But through education and awareness each person can make a better choice about the approach that’s right for them.
The calculator is not designed to be the creator of a final plan to implement, in fact we don’t sell any debt relief services at GetOutOfDebt.org.
At GetOutOfDebt.org what we do is provide information, education, free help and resources for people dealing with debt. This new free online educational tool helps us to further that mission.
The unique online calculator is designed to give people a wider eyed view of the logical solutions available so they can have an educated discussion with any for-profit or non-profit debt relief provider they ultimately choose to work with.
And now, without further fanfare, I invite you to try and enjoy The Amazing How to Get Out of Debt Calculator. I think you’ll find it to be pretty amazing in the distilled education it presents users.
Feel free to link to the How to Get Out of Debt Calculator in an effort to help people better understand their options. Your link to the calculator simply helps us to help people.
And in the interest of educating consumers further I’ve also just recently released another online tool that provides comprehensive information to show consumers the regulation, licensing, and registration required of debt relief companies on a state-by-state basis. It’s yet another free resource available through GetOutOfDebt.org to protect consumers looking for debt help. You can find links to this in the resource section at GetOutOfDebt.org.
This guest post is by Steve Rhode. Steve is a consumer debt expert that helps people for free to learn about getting out of debt and how to avoid scams. Feel free to report a scam if you know of one.
Source: Introducing The Amazing How to Get Out of Debt Calculator
Over the past few years I have heard non-stop stories from consumers who were taken for costly rides by debt settlement scams. While it is true that there are a few good and well intentioned programs available that provide real debt solutions, my experience shows that a vast majority of these outfits are simply money grubbing nightmares for cash strapped consumers.
The debt relief world can be a very confusing place, especially when people are in a seemingly desperate financial situation. With that in mind I would like to shed a little light on this industry and present:
Read the rest of this entry »
Consumers in West Virginia are being warned, by their Attorney General Darrell McGraw, about a scam that offers the promise of fast and easy loans. These promises are coming from advertisements produced by the “Royalty Resource Network” (RRN), a Canadian based scam operation, that is appearing in local West Virginia publications.
Attorney General McGraw stated: “Consumers should use extra caution when responding to any sort of advertisement regarding lending and finance. Thieves will use newspapers, websites, e-mails, telephone calls, any medium at their disposal to help you part with your hard-earned money. No legitimate company or organization will require you to wire money in advance using a wire transfer service in order to qualify for a loan, grant or any other financial aid.”
RNN’s advertisements claim you can obtain a loan ranging from $2,500.00 up to $1 million, with no consulting, application or processing fees. Too good to be true? What actually happens is, the consumer sends an advance portion of the money they intend to borrow through a reputable wire service where a fake RNN loan offers collects the money and disappears.
Many scans of this type surface frequently on the internet. It appears that this particular instance the company in question is using smaller newspapers and publications to reach consumers. In this instance a large ad was ordered and placed in The Ad Bulletin. Not only were consumers scammed, The Ad Bulletin was too. RRN’s scammers used a stolen credit card to pay for the advertisement.
Scammers are able to quickly open and close a scam in a matter of days, by using disposable cell phones, free e-mail accounts and remotely routed toll-free numbers. In this case if you call the toll-free number given by RRN it rings as a fast busy signal. Other companies related to this scam are the Vintage Consumer Network and Forum Family Services. The names were possibly choose for their friendly connotations.
Attorney General McGraw’s Consumer Protection Division has referred the complaints against these three companies as well as other across-the-border advance-fee loan scams, to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre. The Centre is a joint task force of the Ontario Provincial Police, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the Competition Bureau Canada.
These advance fee loan scams unfortunately attract a number of people who are desperate to get loans and sadly pay money, never to see it again.
This guest post is by Steve Rhode. Steve is a consumer debt expert that helps people for free to learn and avoid scams. Feel free to report a scam if you know of one.
Put yourself in the shoes of a caring Grandmother. Let’s say one day you receive a call from your grandson telling you they’ve been in an accident and are being held in jail in the Dominican Republic. They want you to keep their little debacle a secret but they need you to wire money to them ASAP to get them out of jail.
What would you do?
Claudia Beach of Jacksonville, Florida recently faced this exact scenario recently and in a worried, emotional state, sent the money straight away to her needy grandson. Her grandson first called asking for $3,400 for bail out of the Dominican Republic jail he was stuck in.
My emotions went wild. I couldn’t think. All I could think was he was in jail in a foreign country.
She rushed to her nearest Publix and wired the money immediately via Western Union.
Keeping her grandson’s secret she apparently didn’t discus this matter with the boy’s parents. The very next day she received another call from him. This time he said they were making him pay his medical expenses of $2,400.
To Western Union!
Later that very afternoon the phone rang again. This time sonny-boy was asking for $1,800 to pay for the medical expenses of the lady he hit.
She says that the employees at Western Union questioned her each time if she was sure if this was her grandson. When he called the first time he told her that he didn’t sound like himself since he had been in the accident and had stitches in his lips. In a concerned state, she bought this story.
The money was wired each time to a lawyer by the name of Angel Rosario. Money that Claudia Beach will never see again. A total of $8,300. She has since filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission and the local police. Beach has come forward with this story to bring awareness to others that might be at risk for this scam.
To protect yourself:
What breaks my heart about this scam is that it preys on love. If you are a caring Grandparent be wary if you receive a call like this that tugs on your heart strings. If you receive a distress call from a family member in another country I would recommend first, verifying that they are in fact in another country. Using the bullet pointed suggestions above or maybe calling their cell phone? Or their parents to ask how they are doing and what they are up to? I understand there will be different cases for different family dynamics but before you pay up you need to verify an identity!
This guest post was submitted by Steve Rhode who is a consumer debt expert and helps learn about getting out of debt and avoid scams.
Sign-up to receive weekly tips on credit improvement, personal finance, money-saving strategies, and exclusive events.
