Who’s more vulnerable these days than the down-on-his-luck fellow who’s buried himself in debt?

There’s the mortgage that has to be paid or he’ll face foreclosure. There’s the car loan that needs to be paid or he’ll be taking the bus. And there are those nasty credit card bills that, despite all efforts to the contrary, only seem to get larger each month.

But what if he could be “Completely Debt Free in as Little as 12-30 Months,” as one email spam tempts? Or erase his debt “up to 60% in minutes,” to quote another?

Better yet, suppose he could simply “legally walk away” from his debt, as advertisements on radio and late night television regularly entice?

In unison now: IF IT LOOKS TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE, IT PROBABLY IS.

Luckily for that guy and millions of others like him, law enforcement agencies across the U.S. are cracking down on the companies that run these kinds of scams -- and there are lots of them out there.

Just this week, Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum said his office had taken action against five such companies whose claims to help consumers, he said, are mostly “just plain malarkey,” according to media accounts of the announcement. New Jersey also filed civil charges this week against a so-called debt-relief company that allegedly made claims it couldn’t keep.

Brad Ashwell, a consumer advocate for the Florida Public Interest Research Group, said hard economic times have led to a sharp increase in Florida in the number of consumer complaints made against organizations that claim to help reduce debt.

In 2008, the Florida Attorney General’s office has so far received about 1,400 complaints related to debt-relief companies, a 62% increase over 2007, according to McCollum’s office.

These dubious organizations usually say they can renegotiate your debt down to a fraction of the original amount. Testimonies from happy “clients” relate how this company or that reduced their debt by tens of thousands of dollars in a matter of months.

Ashwell estimated that 90% of all the companies that make such claims are frauds.

What most consumers don’t know is that many debt collectors will settle for a lower monthly payment, and even remove late fees in order to facilitate the repayment of a debt – it’s in their best interests to do so, Ashwell noted.

The fraudulent companies exploit this consumer ignorance and anxiety.

“People are desperate. They need help and they don’t recognize that legitimate options exist for them,” Ashwell said in an interview with Fox Business.com.

The scammers are also smart, Ashwell noted. “They see the trouble we’re in, and they realize were in deep straits.”

The companies tap into that widespread vulnerability by aggressively reaching out through spam emails, radio and television advertisements, and cold calls to potential clients.

Any of these pitches should serve as an immediate red flag: No reputable debt relief organization reaches out to potential clients, said Ashwell.

The second obvious red flag is a company that asks for an upfront fee.

“If anyone asks you for money, an upfront fee of $200 to $300, you’re most likely dealing with a scam,” said Lita Epstein, an author and credit expert.

And steer clear of any organization that presses for a quick decision.

Epstein said most -- if not all -- reputable debt-relief organizations will be affiliated with the National Foundation for Credit Counseling, found on the Web at www.nfcc.org.

First the NFCC will put you in touch with a counselor near your home. Then you’ll be interviewed by a counselor to determine the depth of your problems. Finally, you can attend debt restructuring classes that will help you create a budget and manage your finances.

In many cases, counselors will advise you where to go to legitimately consolidate your debt from several high interest loans into one lower interest loan.

The slipping economy means more of these con artists will likely be springing up, hoping to take advantage of peoples’ financial misfortunes and irresponsibility.

“There’s no easy fix for this and people are looking for that easy fix,” said Epstein. “They don’t want to do the hard work needed and the scam artists know this.”