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My job requires me to travel around town a lot. The last few weeks, while driving around, I've been seeing a growing number of signs on the side of the road advertising credit repair services. Most of the signs are handwritten which for most folks would be a huge red flag. Someone who is in a bind and in need of a quick fix may actually think this is a way out for them.

I just hate to think about how many financially unsavvy people have fallen for this. Unfortunately, most of these services are a scam. You don't have to pay a company to "repair" your credit. These firms, sometimes known as "credit clinics", don't do anything more than you can do yourself for little to no cost. They have no more authority to have items removed from your report than you do. There is no legal way to have accurate information removed from your credit report.

Repairing Your Credit

The first step to repairing your credit is to check for errors in your credit report. You can pull your credit report from AnnualCreditReport.com (not an affiliate link) for free. Annual Credit Report allows you to get a free credit report once every 12 months from the big three credit bureaus - Experian, TransUnion and Equifax. You should be looking for inaccurate information such as accounts that don't belong to you, accounts reporting as past due that are actually current, or inaccurate balances. It is estimated that approximately one in every eight credit reports contain inaccurate information. Most people don't bother to keep tabs on their credit and don't know about an error until they are denied credit.

The second step to repair your credit is to make sure you keep current on all of your accounts. It doesn't matter whether it is a credit card or a electricity bill. Being over 30 days late on a credit card, loan or mortgage can send your credit score spiraling down like a lead balloon. One slip up can stay on your credit report for over 7 years!!!

Unfortunately, improving your credit does not happen overnight. It can take months for your credit score to improve. If you are in the market for a home loan or car loan within the next six months, the time to start repairing your credit is NOW!

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I get alot of spam email telling me how much money I can get if I just give them my account information. Most of the time I do not read them and immediately report them as spam. Today, I received an email from my "bank" telling me that I need to update my account information to protect my account and reduce fraud....yeah right. Here are a couple of things that made this one so funny:

• It came from security@bankofamerica.co.uk. I have never had an account outside the U.S. so why would my email come from the United Kingdom??
• There are a few misspellings in the email. Come on, if you are going to try and take my money, at least have the common courtesy to use spellcheck!
• Check out the link that I am supposed to click.

I forwarded the email to spam@uce.gov and reportphishing@antiphishing.org per the REAL bank.

Dear valued Bank of America member:


It has come to our attention that your Bank of America account informations needs to be updated as part of our continuing commitment to protect your account and to reduce the instance of fraud on our website. If you could please take 5-10 minutes out of your online experience and update your personal records you will not run into any future problems with the online service.

However, failure to update your records will result in account suspension.
Please update your records on or before September 20, 2007.
you are requested to update your account informations at the following link.
https://www.bankofamerica.com/login_update_done=1115487 <http://shop.hollylisle.com//sc_images/iuser_downloads/new/bankofamerica/updateinfo/www.bankofamerica.com/online_bofa_banking/e-online-banking/>
*Important*
We have asked few additional information which is going to be the part of secure login process. These additional information will be asked during your future login security so, please provide all these info completely and correctly otherwise due to security reasons we may have to close your account temporarily.

I got the following email today. Looks like someone needs help trying to transfer money from a foreign account to the United States. I am so happy, I cannot believe they picked me!!! I get 35% of the money just for helping them out. What a quick and easy way to make money. YEAH RIGHT!!! How in the heck did they find me out of all the people in the country to help them out. They are just waiting for me to send them my bank info so they can clean me out. What a bunch of idiots thinking that I or anyone will fall for this. Well at least I hope no one has fallen for this scam. Anyway, the email is below. Read it and be sure to watch for anyone trying to scam you out of your hard earned money. I have put the parts I find amusing in bold.


ACCOUNTS DEPARTMENT
ECO INTERNATIONAL BANK PLC
PLOT 2, AJOSE ADEOGUN STREET
VICTORIA-ISLAND LAGOS-NIGERIA
FAX: + 234-1-7591913
EMAIL: drbernard_okumagba3@yahoo.fr
Dear Friend,
Re: Transfer of $18, 000.000. (Eighteen Million U.S. Dollars) First I must solicit your confidence in this transaction. This is by virtue of its nature as being utterly confidential and top secret. We shall be counting on your capability and reliability to prosecute a transaction of great magnitude involving a pending business transaction requiring maximum confidence.
We want to transfer to overseas {$18,000,000] Eighteen Million United States dollars from Eco International Bank Nig Plc. I would like if you will be capable and fit to provide either an existing Bank account or to set up a new Bank account immediately to receive this money, even an empty account can serve to receive this money as long as you will remain honest to me till the end of this important business transaction.
I am Dr Bernard Okumagba Director of Accounts Department of Eco International Bank plc, during the course of our auditing I discovered a floating fund in an account opened with our Bank in 2000 and since 2002 nobody has operated on this account again, after going through some old files in the records I discovered that the owner of the account died without a heir hence the money is floating and if I do not remit this money out urgently it will be forfeited for nothing.
The owner of this account was Engr. Anthony Hamill, a national of your country an Industrialist. He died since 2002 and no other person knows about this account or anything concerning it, the account has no beneficiary and my investigation proved to me as well that Engr. Anthony Hamill until his death was a Manager with an oil firm in Nigeria.
I am contacting you as a foreigner because this money can only be approved to a foreigner with a foreign account because the money is in us dollars and the former owner of the account Engr. Anthony Hamill is a foreigner. I am revealing all these information to you with the believe that you will never let me down in this business. You are the first and the only person I am contacting for this business so please reply urgently for me to tell you the next step to take.
You should forward the following information: Your telephone/fax numbers and your Residential address which is also needed. You will have to give me the assurance that when we meet this money will be intact pending our physical arrival in your country for sharing and disbursement of the fund which will be 35% for your assistance 60% will be for us while 5% will be set aside to take care of all the expenses that would be incurred by both parties during the course of the transfer.
I look forward to your earliest response through my alternative email address below (drbernard_okumagba3@yahoo.fr ) for security reasons.
Yours faithfully,
Dr. Bernard Okumagba