An increasing number of consumers are beginning to understand how much a credit score affects borrowing ability. And with this rising number comes an increase in people looking to repair their credit score.

Fixing your credit history may seem like a big task. We all have heard the stories of how hard it is to remove errors from your credit report. This leads many consumers to turn to credit repair agencies to quickly clean up their credit.

However, this isn't always the best thing for your credit. Many of these agencies are scamming consumers.

Common scams include the promise that negative information will be deleted from your credit report. This doesn't happen unless the information can be proven false. No one is ever allowed to alter or delete information other than the credit bureau. You have to go through them to have info removed. An agency cannot do it for you.

Many credit repair agencies will try to tell you that by getting a nine-digit Employer Identification Number (EIN) you can establish a new credit file. It is a felony to lie on a loan or credit application. It is illegal to use your EIN in the place of your social secuirty number on a loan application.

Some credit repair agencies simply dispute every item on your credit report, regardless of the truth. Some items are removed if not verified by the creditor within 30 days. But they will be re-added later when they are proven. It doesn't help you, just costs you money.

And the most common scheme occurs when a credit repair agency asks for a flat fee upfront. Once you pay, they disappear. Never pay for services up front.

If an agency requires payment up front, gives you no explaination of your legal rights, recommend that you not contact a credit bureau directly or suggest you invent a new identity, you need to look somewhere else first.

The fact is that you cannot remove accurate information from your report. You can easily have false information removed yourself. I recently had my mother's credit card account somehow show up on my credit report. It only took two short phone calls (one was a follow-up) to the creditor to remove the information. You don't need to pay anyone to help you.

When it comes to your credit score, the two top ways to improve it are in your hands, not someone else's -- pay on time and give it time.