I’m sure you’ve felt the crippling blow of credit card debt in your life at some point. Perhaps even now.

So have I. When I was much younger our family sweated at jobs we hated just to keep up with all the payments. And it’s not like we were living the high life off the debt, either. Most of it was spent on basic necessities and the occasional simple pleasure.

If you’re clever, credit cards are a great way to “float” the payment of anything you buy for as much as 25 to 30 days after purchase – taking advantage of the grace period without racking up interest. That’s how I make use of them today, and I think the only sensible way to deal with personal credit (business credit is another thing entirely.)

But beneath the obvious veneer lurks a more sinister legal truth – one that can trash your credit rating and leave you drowning in fees.

At first these lies sound sensible, even smart. However, their bite is often worse than you could imagine.

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Investing & Finance banking, credit, credit card debt, credit cards, credit rating, credit score, debt, identity theft, money, personal finance, spending

Identity theft scammers get more and move clever every year. What used to be obviously fake e-mails and laughably bogus questions from prospective “customers” have now evolved into devilishly sneaky methods to harvest your personal information and tap your bank account.

Unlike the exotic romanticism of so-called “hackers” portrayed in movies, most of the online scams rely on posing as a trusted figure of authority who gets you to spill your own beans by asking a few simple questions. They call this human, or “social engineering.”

The solution here is NOT to stop using online services like Craigslist, Paypal, and eBay… but rather to look out for a few simple tell-tale signs that something’s not quite right.

In poker, professional gamblers are always on the prowl for “tells” – subtle indicators of true intention from the lesser mortals surrounding the table. To successfully do business online with safety and security, you too must become one of the pros.

It’s not hard. In fact, it’s really quite easy once you know what to look for.

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Scams & Cons craigslist, credit checks, email, identity theft, paypal, phishing, scams, social engineering, social security number, spam