Tens of millions of people have damaged credit or “thin file credit,” which means they have never had credit. If you are one of those people, you may get solicitations from credit card companies offering you all kinds of cards. The problem is that the offers are either a not worth it because of the upfront costs, or they are scams that could clear out your checking account. They are known as “advanced fee loan” credit cards, and they require you to pay money up front to get the loan. It can be an offer to expand a business, an offer to get your first credit card or others. But, in many cases, you pay the money and there is no card or company. It is just a scam to get to your bank account. The worst part is that most of the time the scam artists are from another country. So, it’s next to impossible to get your money back. The fee is usually a couple hundred bucks, which may not seem like a lot. But it adds up. And for people with already-damaged credit, this kind of decision can be devastating. It’s the No. 1 crime on the Federal Trade Commission’s list of scams, so warn your friends and family if they are thinking of applying for one of these cards.