June 10th, 2009 4:04 PM

More unscrupulous credit repair companies are popping up online. Make sure you check out these 5 things before you hand your money over to a credit repair company promising to clear your bad information and history.

1. Asking for a large payment upfront.

2. Promises you your credit history will be wiped clean.

3. Offering a brand new Social Security number and getting you an EIN number. They are both 9 digits, but the EIN number is an employer identification number that identifies companies to the IRS.

4. Remember correct negative information on your credit report is not removed.

5. Beware of credit repair companies that tell you they can remove all negative data on your report. When negative information is in dispute it does not show up in your history, this does not mean it has been removed! You just won't see it. Once the credit bureau can confirm the information it will reappear on your report.

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