Having just gotten a mortgage (which, if memory serves me, translates as 'death payment'), I was distressed to find out how much our bank had sold us down the river to direct marketing. We had not made a single payment and we had a dozen letters to consolidate our debt or lower our payments in our mailbox. Freaky.

I think the generic advice is to look before you leap. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.