VIVIAN WESTWOOD JOBS

"900" Numbers: When you call a "900" number, you are charged either a fee for the number of minutes you are on the phone or a flat fee for the entire call. These fees can add up rather quickly after you have spent more than a few minutes on the telephone.

Some services will keep you on the line for an extended length of time before you get all of the information you called for, making it a very expensive phone call. Find out the costs of the call before you make it, and never call any "900" numbers that doesn't disclose the costs up front.

1. Recently, unscrupulous telemarketers began transferring calls made to toll-free "800" numbers over to "900" numbers. This improper practice makes it more important today then ever before to know who you are calling. You should also listen carefully to any recorded information at the beginning of the call.
2. Advance-Fee Loan Scams: These scams often target people who are out of work or have poor credit ratings. Con artists promise "guaranteed" loans, no matter what your credit rating is, in exchange for an up-front processing or application fee. You may wait weeks or months to find out credit has been denied and the processing fee is not, as promised, refunded. Or, you may never hear from the company again, and may even find the company is withdrawing from your credit card or checking accounts using information you disclosed over the phone. Credit Repair Schemes: If you are having a problem getting credit, you may be tempted to listen to telephone solicitors who advertise quick and easy solutions to credit problems. Unfortunately, in many cases, these companies take your money and do little or nothing to improve your credit history. Credit repair companies cannot remove bad credit information from your files. If there are genuine mistakes on your credit file, you can remove them yourself--for free. Credit repair companies must be registered with the Division of Consumer Protection. Call the Division to verify their registration.

First Line of Defense. Your best defense is yourself. Follow some basic rules, and arm yourself with the tools to safeguard your hard-earned money from telephone con artists.

Fraudulent schemes range from peddling water purifiers, vitamins, and make-up kits to stock investments and abusive "900" numbers. According to the Alliance Against Fraud in Telemarketing (AAFT), Americans lose an estimated $40 billion each year to telemarketing fraud. Con artists and swindlers use the telephone more and more as their "weapon" to hold up victims.

If a sales pitch sounds too good to be true, just hang up. If you don't, you may become the next victim of telephone fraud.

Top Phone Scams.