Marcus and Sarah both wanted to buy a home within the next year, but both had credit scores that were too low to qualify for a mortgage.

Marcus talked to a credit educator who told him the truth: you build primary tradelines; you don't buy them. Marcus took three legitimate steps: Guide to Buying Primary Tradelines | TradelineSupply.com

However, because primary accounts require an actual legal relationship between the borrower and the lender, the "tradeline" she bought was either a fake account that never posted or a scam involving identity manipulation. In the end, Sarah lost her money, her credit score didn't move, and she had to delay her home search even longer.