| When searching online or looking through local | | | | of the company. This information should be on their |
| advertisements, it can be hard to tell the difference | | | | website. |
| between a legitimate debt consolidation service and a | | | | Check for licenses or certifications. These are |
| fraudulent one. Scam artists can be very clever about | | | | generally granted by regional agencies and will vary in |
| how they do things, but they cannot get around certain | | | | name. Do not instantly trust certificates that have been |
| objective facts that can be easily found. | | | | issued by dubious, private companies, these may be |
| The most important information to look for when trying | | | | completely worthless. |
| to determine legitimacy is an address and phone | | | | Keep a healthy dose of common sense on hand |
| number. Not only is it a tool for your initial research, but | | | | when searching. If anything does not look right, or if the |
| it can be invaluable if something goes wrong. | | | | offered results seem too grandiose, then it would |
| Get a physical address, not a PO Box. The state that | | | | probably be best to skip that company. Be wary of |
| the company is in does not matter, really, since most | | | | online companies that just want an email address and |
| companies will establish an office in a location with | | | | offer you no real information, they could be scams. |
| favorable banking laws. Get at least one phone | | | | Finally, use sites that create and maintain lists of |
| number, too, and check that it works and connects to | | | | different consolidation companies. These sites are |
| the correct business. If anything seems out of place, | | | | powerful tools. They allow you to see a small bit of |
| double check the area code of the phone number and | | | | advertising from several companies at once. This can |
| see if it matches the state. If they do not match, | | | | sometimes make it much easier to spot the fraudulent |
| something may be wrong. | | | | sites that are promising too much. |
| Search the Better Business Bureau. If they have no | | | | Debt consolidation services can work wonders, but |
| information, the company may be very new. If there | | | | criminals are starting to take advantage of the hope |
| are many unanswered complaints, move on to another | | | | that they offer. Be very careful when choosing a |
| listing. Remember that you must know the 'real name' | | | | company to work with. |