Advertisements for credit-repair services appear regularly over the radio, on television and via the Internet. But do these services really work? And what steps does credit repair require?

Several websites provide information on credit repair and how to detect unscrupulous offers. Here are a few:

Ethical Credit Repair Alliance • Spotlights seven tips to help with shopping for a credit-repair professional, at bit.ly/p6Rxd1

Federal Trade Commission • How to recognize a credit-repair scam, and your rights, at 1.usa.gov/19scU7

National Fraud Information Center • Offers brief overviews of select credit-repair topics, at /bit.ly/nke5BP

Institute of Consumer Financial Education • Credit and credit-repair issues discussed under several topic headings, at bit.ly/n0Tdn9