Given advancements in technology and the wide range of financial products and services available to consumers these days, understanding and protecting your finances is more important today than ever. Educating yourself and doing your homework can go a long way toward avoiding many problems. Taking the time to become a knowledgeable consumer will work to your advantage, especially when making financial decisions that will affect you for years to come.
Red Flags
Exhibit caution when:
A sales representative tries to pressure you or talk you into extra products, services, or features.
You receive incomplete or conflicting information, such as being told something different than what you've read.
You receive or are asked to sign any document that has blank spaces.
An agent seems unwilling to answer your questions or tends to talk around them without addressing your concerns.
An advertisement or salesperson promises a quick fix to a problem, particularly when you have to pay a lot of money up front before receiving any help. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
New Pamphlet Aims to Help Consumers Protect Their Credit
The AFSAEF recently unveiled a new pamphlet, Protecting Your Credit, that provides tips, warning signs of fraudulent activity, and resources for help. The new brochure was created to educate consumers and help them take charge in avoiding abusive and fraudulent practices related to consumer finance.
The information presented on this page can be found, in more detail, in the new, free pamphlet.
Before making any financial decision, the first step you should take is to develop a budget so that you can evaluate your current financial picture. An important way to protect yourself is to make sure that you are not talked into a financial services product or service that you can't afford - and knowing beforehand what you can afford. The AFSAEF's consumer budget planner is an interactive tool for creating and adjusting your budget.
Families facing significant clean-up costs due to natural disasters are targets for home improvement loan scams. This fraud often consists of a contractor offering to fix your home at a reasonably low price and arrange financing. You can take out a home equity loan with a high interest rate, points and fees without even realizing if you sign papers under pressure, without reading them. Often in these cases the work on your home is not done right or completed, and the contractor will not complete the work to your satisfaction or charge additional fees. Consumers can avoid these scams by looking at warning signs, including: a contractor demanding full payment up front or in cash only, being asked to disclose personal financial information to start the repair or lending process, a contractor pressuring you to use a particular lender or trying to be the intermediary between you and the lender, or being asked to sign documents without having enough time to review them. To protect yourself, carefully question strangers who offer repairs, ask for references and contact them, never give out personal financial information, don't sign any documents without fully reading them, do research before borrowing money and compare amounts, repayment schedules and rates with one or two other lenders not recommended by your contractor.
- Federal Trade Commission
An important way to protect yourself is to make sure that you are not talked into a financial services product or service that you can't afford - and knowing beforehand what you can afford. The AFSAEF's consumer budget planner is an interactive tool for creating and adjusting your budget.
