RIP-OFF ALERT: Beware of bogus credit unions promising to lend money and then making off with a processing fee after your application is approved.

One alleged phony operation was running ads in national newspapers around the country that promised it had money to lend. The Los Angeles Times was just one of the newspapers that ran the ads. This impostor credit union even listed a real address that was the address of a shopping mall.

The Pennsylvania Department of Banking and the state of Michigan have both revealed this particular operation to be a scam. (Editor's note: Clark has elected not to identify this fake operation because its name is very similar to that of a totally legitimate credit union.)

This was a classic advanced-fee loan scam. People applied for a loan and were told they had been approved…but still needed to pay hundreds of dollars to continue processing the application.

These kinds of scams come out of the woodwork in tougher economies. You can also spot them if the person or organization advertises itself as a "loan broker."

Just remember it is pure poison for your pocketbook.