How to Avoid Common Scams Targeting Bankruptcy Petitioners
Many individuals and families facing bankruptcy are also experiencing one of the most vulnerable time periods of their life. Sadly, this may make bankruptcy petitioners a target for scams.
Avoid Common Bankruptcy Scams:
When facing a financial crisis (like the type of financial crisis that leads many consumers to bankruptcy), it’s common to seek any possible solution. Unscrupulous individuals often try to capitalize on the situation by taking advantage of individuals undergoing hardship and facing bankruptcy. If you are considering bankruptcy, filing bankruptcy, or recently filed bankruptcy, stay aware of common bankruptcy scams so you can avoid them.
Different Types of Bankruptcy Scams
- Credit Counseling Scams
- Scamming Companies Offering to Make Bankruptcy Easier
- Scammers Offering to Stop Foreclosure
How Do You Recognize a Credit Counseling Scam?
There are legitimate credit counseling services available out there. In fact, some of them could be a good option for some individuals facing a crisis of debt. When dealing with a legitimate credit counseling service, they are very clear about fees for their services, and they do not make outlandish promises that working with them will completely turn your credit and financial life around. So how do you recognize a credit counseling scam if there are legitimate companies that actually do offer effective credit counseling services? If a credit counseling service is consistently offering to sell you products instead of providing actual advice or counsel, you may be working with a scammer. If you aren’t sure if the credit counseling service you are talking to is legitimate or not, compare their fees with other credit counseling services.
How Is Offering to Make Bankruptcy Easier a Scam?
Some scammers reach out to people in financial crisis who are likely to be considering bankruptcy, and they will offer to help make the bankruptcy easier. They claim they can help you get your credit reports, and find a bankruptcy attorney , and file paperwork necessary for your bankruptcy. It sounds good, but in reality, credit reports are available free of charge in most cases, it’s not difficult to find a bankruptcy attorney, and if someone is filing paperwork for your bankruptcy, you want it to be an experienced bankruptcy attorney. Otherwise, you run the risk of paying the sketchy company large fees, so they can make mistakes in your paperwork that could cause real damage to your bankruptcy case.
Scamming Companies that Offer to Stop Foreclosure:
Too often, scammers approach bankruptcy petitioners knowing the amount of emotional upheaval they are going through due to a home foreclosure. These scammers talk the petitioner into rerouting their mortgage payments to the scamming company instead of their lender or even urge the homeowner to sign the deed to their home over to the scamming company. In many cases, these companies take the homeowner’s money without ever contacting their lender about the foreclosure. Never make your mortgage payment to anyone or anything other than the bank that holds the note. If anyone tells you otherwise, consider it an immediate red flag.
If you have questions about filing bankruptcy or how to avoid common bankruptcy scams, we can help. Find out more about getting a fresh financial start through bankruptcy. Get in touch with Kenneth C. Rannick P.C., Tennessee, and Georgia bankruptcy attorney as soon as possible.
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