You're tens of thousands of dollars in debt and you see no easy way out. But as you're surfing on line, you see light at the end of the tunnel. An advertisement claims it can get you out of the red for much less than your actual debt.
You pay a $4,000 flat charge to enter the program and you'll be laughing all the way to the bank--rather than crying. There's only one problem: there's no such program, and now you have that much more to repay. Even worse, you've been ignoring creditors during this time, expecting the program to kick in. You're in it even worse.
How to avoid: ignore the offer, as tempting as it sounds. These scam artists rely on desperation, and sadly, they usually leave people even more desperate. You can try consolidating your debt or renegotiating with your credit card companies using better offers as leverage. There are also plenty of financial blogs out there that can help you dig your way out of debt slowly. But anyone claiming to have all the answers for you is usually full of something other than answers.