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Watch Out for Credit Card Debt Relief Scams

Are you considering bankruptcy in the St. Louis area? The Castle Law Office is the premier bankruptcy law firm in greater St. Louis, offering legal assistance for people who are suffering under the weight of debt. We help people file for Chapter 7 and Chapter 13, and we also offer advice about how to get through life after the bankruptcy has been filed. With the economy as bad as it currently is, bankruptcy is becoming a viable option for hundreds of thousands of Americans. If you or a loved one is in an untenable financial situation, contact the Castle Law Office for a free legal consultation today.

One would think that the biggest targets for con artists would be rich people. After all, if you are going to swindle money out of someone, why not go after the people with more money? But believe it or not, it isn’t the wealthy that are preyed upon the most. It is the middle class and the poor. For one thing, there are many more middle class and poor people than there are wealthy people, so that means that there are more targets.

What is normally offered up by the con artists is the promise of huge returns on a small initial investment. The victim gives a small “down payment” to the con artist who then promptly disappears. This is called the “advance fee” con.

If you are thinking that this sounds like something that only happens in the movies, think again. A more popular version of this would be the “Nigerian Money Transfer,” in which you receive an e-mail from someone claiming to reward you immensely if you only lend him a little money now.

Con artists are also drawn to a certain type, and nothing draws their attention like someone who is desperate for money. So quite naturally, there are a great many scams that involve helping you out of credit card debt.

The main difference between the credit card relief scams and the more traditional cons is that while traditional cons are cloaked in secrecy (the con artist making you swear you won’t tell anyone or else he could get in trouble, etc.) these credit card relief scams are about as secretive as the National Basketball Association.

They advertise everywhere. There are ads on television, radio and the internet, and if they could hire skywriters they probably would. People suffering from credit card debt are, to con artists, an incredibly big and fertile market, and their main concern is getting as many people as they can.

What most of these people advertise is the ability to eliminate your credit card debt either up to some very high percentage point, or they offer to get rid of it entirely. Sounds great, right? All you have to do is give them some money up front (some charge as much as $5000,) and then they give you a very official and very legal looking document that they swear up and down will hold up in a court of law. All you have to do, they say, is show this document to the judge and it will prove that the debt you owe is not legal. To further the illusion, they might show you videotaped testimony of “lawyers,” or even “court sessions” in which a judge bangs his gavel down and finds in favor of the plaintiff.

Needless to say, the official looking document is literally not worth the paper it is printed on. Judges are not buying the legal premises on this document, and people who bring that document into court once they get sued are in for a very rude surprise.

The truth is that if you want to get rid of your credit card debt, you have two options. The first is to pay it. If that isn’t possible, your other option is bankruptcy. This is the only real legal way for you to get out from under your debts and to start over again. Anyone who tries to sell you another “legal” or “ethical” way to do it is selling you a bill of goods and nothing else.

If you or a loved one in the St. Louis area is considering filing for bankruptcy, contact the Castle Law Office for a free legal consultation today.

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