There's a new scam in town and it is called credit repair. Unfortunately, there is no way to know exactly how much money this scam rakes in per year because most victims are too embarrassed to come forward and file complaints. It starts with the promise of taking your low credit score and making it into a great score. Does this sound too good to be true? Guess what? It is too good to be true. Think about this for a moment, if the answer to a great credit score was simply to pay a company to erase your late fees, bankruptcies and other negative information, wouldn’t we all have great credit scores?

Are all credit repair agencies rip offs? Of course not, there are many legitimate agencies that can help you by providing sound advice and a smart course of action. But remember, this is not anything that you can't do for yourself. In fact, the same regulations apply to you as a consumer as they do for any credit repair agency.

It is frustrating to see so many good people lured into a scam such as this. In reality, all they do is take your money and then they advise you to take unethical and sometimes illegal steps to increase your score. After you figure out that you just paid a lot of money for nothing, you try to complain but their website has mysteriously disappeared.

Let's be clear on the most important part of fixing your credit score, and that is if the negative information is accurate and timely, no one on this planet can legally wipe it off your report. However, there are steps that you can take to lessen the blows of a bad report and help you build it back up. Time is your only option, and everyone can take simple steps to improve their score.

Many people take an interest in their scores only when it is brought to their attention, like when buying a home. The Federal Trade Commission suggests obtaining a free copy of your report once a year. The FTC website has great information on how to question and even correct errors. Visit them for more info.

Do your homework before handing over a lot of money for something you can do yourself. All it takes is a little education and the willingness to learn about credit repair. Don't become a victim to the scam and remember that if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.