The seductive message from the marketing campaigns, particularly those aimed at young people, is that credit cards are a way to freedom. But to the people at FoolProofMe.com, credit cards are a way to destruction if you're not careful.

"We advise young people to tear up credit card 'convenience checks' and not to owe anything on their cards" by not charging anything unless they can pay the bill in full, said Will deHoo, 29-year-old founder and president of FoolProofMe.com, a Web site that features consumer videos designed primarily for young people.

Using credit unions as Web hosts, the advertising-free www.FoolProofMe.com site dispenses what it calls "tough consumer messages" for high schools and community groups, parents, college-age students and adults.

"Many companies send you credit cards designed to make sure you pay obscene penalties," says a young man in a video introducing a segment on credit cards for college students. A young woman adds, "They target us because they think we're too young, dumb and naive."

To be fair, credit cards can help young people establish credit and they offer everyone a convenient way to pay for purchases and possibly earn rewards. I use my credit card for just about everything I buy, including groceries. But I always pay my bill in full and use my card only for items I actually intended to buy.

Studies, however, consistently show that most people spend more when using credit cards than when shopping with cash, said Remar Sutton, a long-time consumer advocate who volunteers as "unpaid but enthusiastic" chairman of the board of FoolProofMe.com. His advice to college students: It's OK to use a credit card for textbooks if you are sure you'll pay the bill in full, but don't use it for eating out, clothes or items that could tempt you to splurge.

Clearly, no credit card company can force you to overspend, and credit card companies often offer useful advice to manage credit responsibly. But the folks at FoolProofMe.com argue that their advice delivers "real consumer education," not "infomercials" tainted by conflicts of interest.

"This site contains hard-hitting and realistic messages in an attractive format about the risks of credit cards and debt," said Stephen Brobeck, executive director of the Consumer Federation of America. A survey commissioned by the federation and FoolProofMe.com found only 53 percent of parents with children under 18 at home were "very confident" children would leave home knowing how to manage money.

Humberto Cruz can be reached at AskHumberto@aol.com or c/o Tribune Media Services. 2225 Lenmore Ave., Buffalo, NY 14207.