Credit repair scams have become an ever-present danger in a world that demands a clean credit record for many important purchases. Quick fixes and secret shortcuts to a clean credit report fall into the category of 'If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is!' and common sense should go a long way in helping you navigate these perils. Just in case you need some more help in identifying and avoiding credit repair scams, here are some suggestions on how to manage the more common varieties.

One common scam that's prevalent on the web today are the ones that claim they know people within the bureaus that they can sweet talk into deleting unsatisfactory items from your reports. They may know people who work within the agencies, but no one is going to risk their job to erase things from your record just because someone asked them to do it for a stranger.

The only time anything can get fixed on a credit report is when something is verified to be incorrect. But those you can take care of yourself. All you have to do is report it and if it's determined that it truly is an error, it will get fixed.

Of course, there are companies that can do this for you, but why would you spend the money? You can simply do it yourself. And of course, you're not guaranteed that someone who's promising to repair your credit report will actually do so. Most likely, they're just out to take your money, or even worse. Again, take care of mistakes yourself and save yourself money and headaches.

Another common scam is when a company tells you that they know how to convince the bureaus that you don't really owe a particular debt. The truth is, if you really owe the debt, then there's nothing that can be done.

If a company tells you they can remove it, they're wrong and they're just out to get your money. Even if they try to make an attempt at resolution, they're not going to be successful and you're going to be out what you've paid them anyway. And the debt will stay on your record until it ages off or you pay it.

Yet another common credit repair scam is that a company will say they can change your whole credit file into one with good standing, if your current one is poor. However, again, this isn't going to happen. If your credit report is poor and the debts on there are valid and legitimate, the only fix for this is that you actually begin to show that you are responsible, and you begin to pay your debts and bills on time.

There are some companies that are even offering loans with their credit repair services. Don't fall for that. A legitimate company will repair what truly needs to be repaired and that's it. If you need a loan, that should be done by you.

Devious and more annoying than destructive, some credit repair scams will urge you to call a special (1-900) telephone number for more information and detailed instructions on how to repair your credit. (1-900) telephone numbers levy steep per-minute charges, and the information you are provided is generally incorrect or simply drawn from free public sources.

Even though there are companies out there that will legitimately fix incorrect items on your credit report, the best advice is not to use these, either. Fixing incorrect listings on your credit report is something you can do easily yourself by reporting the error to the credit bureau itself. The agency must by law investigate and correct the error if indeed the information is false or incorrect. And in the end, you'll have a corrected credit report that you didn't spend a dime on fixing, only a little elbow grease of your own.