Have you had difficulty getting a loan through traditional sources? If so, you may become a target of an advance fee loan scheme where a con artist offers you a "guaranteed" loan for a fee paid in advance.

The following will help you avoid becoming a victim:

• By Colorado law, a loan finder cannot charge or collect any fee from a borrower until a borrower actually receives the agreed-upon loan
  
  
• The Federal Telemarketing Sales Rule prohibits payment for advance fee loans until the loan has been delivered
  
  
• If a company informs you that you have been pre-approved for a loan, but wants you to send money, ask them to take the fee out of your approved loan. (chances are they won't, that's a clue!)
  
  
• Verify in writing with the supposed lender all representations made by the promoter.