How To Protect Yourself - Scams and Cons Explained

Protecting Your Financial Health

References

Learn about scams before they happen. While we cannot offer legal advice we can teach and inform so you know what to watch for. Collection offers may sound valid, but companies want your money and may promise to help. This is your online scam, fraud and con prevention center

On these pages we tell you the truth about settlements scams, debt collector scams, false promises, and how companies later claim "There is no record of that conversation", and how to prevent future frustration

Outside The Home

The FBI says types of public corruption include:

Law Enforcement corruption at the state or local level typically involves the payment of bribes or kickbacks in exchange for official actions or inaction. It also includes any violation of law not necessarily connected to the official duties of law enforcement personnel.

Legislative corruption at the state or local level usually involves payment of bribes or kickbacks in exchange for official action or inaction. These bribes or kickbacks can be received by the legislators themselves, by aides, by staff persons, and/or by outside parties doing business with the government.

Municipal corruption involves illegal activities similar to legislative corruption. Common corruption schemes at a local level include bribes or kickbacks in exchange for: supporting local ordinances, approving local government bond issuance, reducing taxes unlawfully, fraudulently manipulating probate assets, and conspiring with others to rezone property or to influence land-use proposals.

Judicial corruption typically arises out of the corrupt influencing of state or local judges, juries, or court personnel (clerks, bailiffs, probation officials, and other administrative staff). Common corrupt schemes include: payments to judiciary personnel in exchange for dismissal of charges; reduction of charges, bonds, or sentences; waiver of fines; return of forfeitable property; and favorable probation conditions.

Contract corruption usually involves the payment of bribes or kickbacks to local or state officials in exchange for favorable treatment on government contracts. Potential subjects are private contractors, anyone acting on their behalf, and public officials involved in the contracting process (procurement officers, purchasing agents, city councilpersons, and county commissioners).

Regulatory corruption involves payment to local, state, or federal officials in exchange for favorable action or inaction pertaining to identification documents, licensing, and inspection and zoning variances. Unlawful payments are commonly known as bribes and kickbacks.

Prison corruption involves corrections officers taking unlawful payment for acts directly or indirectly related to their job. Common schemes include: smuggling contraband into the facility, granting unlawful privileges, and prematurely releasing inmates.

Popular Pages

Scams

General

Videos

The Rise and Fall of Household International and HSBC Finance Free Document - Learn more about the history of predatory lending and causes of the financial crisis. 32 Page Free PDF. Get it now

Article Title

When the creditor wants more money

What happens if the creditor tries to get more money from you? Is it extortion? Theft? Fraud? Here is an example:

Courtesy of Household - HSBC Watch: "I made a settlement agreement with a gentleman by the name of Eddie Anderson at HRS (HSBC Retail Services). Our agreement was a down payment of 500.00 on a balance arrangement made by him of 1298.00 and 6 month payments of 133.00 to pay off agreed balance beginning May 2004. This gentleman told my last payment would be in Sept. 2004. Which was a miscalculation on his part. My last payment would be October 2004.

"He asked that I make one more payment of 133.00 for October which I did. Now he says that I need to make an additional 70.75 for finance charges because one of my payments was past the billing date. He says that if I don't come up with it by today, that our agreement will be null and void and I will owe the full original amount I had from the beginning.

"I have sincerely made an effort to communicate with him by phone on a monthly basis. I have not slept for the past 4 nights knowing I will need to call him today without the finance charges he wants and that all I have done to be responsible will not have made a difference. I am deeply disturbed and concerned about this situation."

In the case quoted above we see that Fast Eddie Anderson does not have a signed written agreement with the customer, but the customer has a lot of money invested in the payoff. It's another good reason to follow our advice as shown on our (Debt Settlements page.

2010/09/03 · by T. Blake