Turns out there are a few perks of working at a nonprofit consumer advocacy organization!

Just this week, a staffer at our Fraud Center was able to identify a scam that a friend of his was about to fall for and stop her from losing a bunch of money.

We track complaints on a number of scams: investment seminars, Fake Check Scams, and Phishing are just a few. Here’s what happened: “Rachel” saw an ad in a magazine from a company that claimed it would lower your credit score for only $500. She’s trying to remove some debt from her credit report, in order to buy a car, so this offer was especially appealing. “Rachel” called her friend, our colleague at the Fraud Center, to tell him about the offer. Good thing she did, because “Rachel” was able to save $500, and avoid further financial heartache.

Our staffer explained to Rachel that the only way to repair your credit is to get a copy of your report and review it for any errors. There are tons of scenarios in which mistakes can pop up on your credit report:

• A creditor reports inaccurate information to the credit bureau
• A case of mistaken identity leaves you paying for John C. Smith’s debt, when your name is John G. Smith.
• A credit bureau employee accidentally types the wrong Social Security number when inputting data.

You get the picture.

Consumers are entitled to one free copy a year of their report through any major credit bureau. You can request your copy here. The moral is: as tempting as a company’s promise to “fix” your credit report may be, it’s not true!

You can report complaints of credit repair scams to NCL’s Fraud Center. Feel free to drop us a comment about how you avoided being scammed. Or, consider supporting our efforts in educating consumers on avoiding being scammed!

At a news conference today at the National Press Club, NCL is joining several other groups to call on the federal government to get with it and make a final decision on whether or not manufacturers of beverages that contain alcohol will be required to include a standardized “Alcohol Facts” label on the products. It’s something that consumer and other health groups have been calling on for years – 30, actually – the kind of standardized labeling information on beer, wine, and distilled spirits products that is now required for conventional foods, dietary supplements, and nonprescription drugs.

Over the years, there have been times where we thought we were close; back in 2005, the federal agency that handles this – the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) – received more than 18,000 letters from consumers and groups supporting the standardized label. But more recently, the TTB seems to be regressing; in 2007 its proposed “Serving Facts” label would have left out information about alcohol content.

So, back to square one. Today’s press conference should be interesting. NCL will be joined by the Consumer Federation of America, Shape Up America!, Mothers Against Drunk Driving, and the Past President of the National Medical Association. Stay tuned for more on this.

We are busy running LifeSmarts over here.

The excitement is building at NCL as we finish the last-minute preparations for the 2008 National LifeSmarts Championship. This year we’re heading to Minneapolis, MN where teens from 29 states will compete. These state champs are sharp, emerging from more than 20,000 other students who answered more than 2.6 million questions in order to make it to Nationals.

Do you think you’re up to the challenge? Test your LifeSmarts skills.

What kind of personal information is not covered by any federal privacy law? (Answer will appear in a blog later this week.)

a. Titles of videos you rent
b. Items you buy at a supermarket
c. What you watch on cable television

Unless you’ve been asleep the last couple of years, you’ve probably heard that we’re in the midst of a foreclosure crisis, people are abandoning homes they can no longer afford, and the rest of the economy isn’t looking so good either.

Prices for food, gas and healthcare – the most basic items – have increased by more than nine percent since 2006, according to The Washington Post.

With cities experiencing the highest number of foreclosures these days (Detroit, Stockton, and Las Vegas, you’re at the top of a sad list) offering foreclosure bus tours, things are actually looking better in some ways for people interested in buying a home.

But how can new homebuyers avoid the mistakes that are costing millions of Americans their dream homes? NCL has created a step-by-step guide, www.mortgagetown.org, which we’re launching today, to walk new homebuyers through the complicated process of making their dream of owning a home come true.

Finding the right loan, reading through and understanding all of the paperwork, closing the deal and maintaining the mortgage is enough to intimidate any prospective buyers. In addition to helping consumers through these steps, MortgageTown helps homebuyers:

• assess their budget before signing a deal
• seek help from a knowledgeable and loyal loan officer
• learn how to minimize the risks of a loan
• negotiate the loan
• close on and successfully maintain ownership of the home

Our site also has a ton of practical resources to help homeowners make sense of it all:

• glossary of key real estate and mortgage terms
• a Good Faith Estimate
• contact information for housing counselors from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

NCL reminds homeowners who are worried about holding onto their homes that there is help out there. Here are a few nonprofit groups, associations and government agencies you can contact:

• NeighborWorks America
• The Foreclosure Prevention Assistance Center
• Hope Now