The Federal Reserve Board on Thursday approved final rules that would better protect credit card users by prohibiting certain unfair acts or practices and improving the disclosures consumers receive in connection with credit card accounts and other revolving credit plans....
December 2008 Archives
When a corporation includes a BMA requirement in its contracts, it means your dispute must be decided by a private legal system. Because BMA clauses are "binding," you must abide by the decision and have no right to appeal. You...
You can bet there's a lot of buzz over today's unexpected announcement that LifeLock, and TransUnion, one of the "big three" credit bureaus, have entered into an Agreement to collectively utilize TransUnion's automated system to help streamline LifeLock's process of...
What's Hot! Every year the Identity Theft Resource Center (ITRC) shares its thoughts for the upcoming year. The following items are ITRC's predictions for 2009:Real Estate-based scams: There are multiple scams that attack the equity in a home or which...
Countrywide made a promise to help homeowners struggling after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, but is now reneging on that promise and cashing in on their hardship. The company is slapping homeowners with interest and penalties and sending homeowners into foreclosure...
Ironically, buying big ticket items on credit is not the type of thing that is going to make credit card companies cut you off. Want to purchase a big screen TV? Go right ahead. Taking a vacation to Europe? Charge...
Equifax has reached a settlement with the State of Indiana after the attorney general there says the company broke Indiana law. Equifax will pay $65,000 to settle allegations it waited too long to notify and freeze consumers' credit reports....
Personal information from thousands of people in New Hampshire and Massachusetts has been compromised after a data backup tape from Bill Dube Ford/Toyota was stolen this summer.The pilfered data include names, addresses, Social Security numbers and driver's license information, but...
Not too long ago I blogged about a particular phishing scam floating around that is using the names of various credit unions. The fake email either warns recipients that their bank account was compromised or their debit card account has...
Letters from an organization called "Grant Prospect, Inc." and/or Old World Industries, Inc., have been sent to college students telling them they have been approved for a $50,000 grant to pay college related expenses. The letter contains a check for...
Though this is a British spoof on our current economic climate, and some of the names in this video may be unfamiliar, if you substitute the names of American banks and politicians, this light-hearted look at the financial meltdown offers...
Koobface, a malicious virus that attacks users with spyware and then hacks their system for passwords and credit card numbers, has now been found on Facebook.Many people enjoy networking and keeping track of friends and family through sites such as...
Under a settlement with the Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott, NCO Financial Systems, the world's largest debt collector, has agreed to validate debts BEFORE they attempt to collect them from innocent consumers. What a Concept!The State of Texas claims that...
The Internal Revenue Service is warning taxpayers not to respond to a mass email phishing scam, which appears to target immigrants.The e-mails purporting to come from "noreply@irs.gov" include attached fake forms that ask unwitting taxpayers to fax in personal bank...
For two and a half weeks, 250,000 Floridians had their personal information accidentally posted online. The security breach occurred on an Agency test server for 19 days in October 2008 and resulted in the exposure of the names and Social...
As a long-time advocate who encourages consumer education, and corporate responsibility I support and respect companies and organizations who take an active role in educating consumers on the risks of identity theft and/or consumer protection rights.However, having said that, I...
I've talked quite a bit about the dangers of skimming devices and the ease at which they are available to criminals.. Whether skimmers are attached to ATM's or hand held your credit card information can be skimmed quickly and easily...
It's not only while out visiting restaurants, using ATM's, shopping at malls or surfing online that you need to be on alert to avoid fraud. Many of the latest scam techniques involve con artists who reach out to you through...
The FBI is reminding people this holiday season that cyber criminals continue to aggressively seek ways to steal money and personal information. Scammers are using several techniques to fool potential victims including sending unsolicited e-mails that contain attachments such as...
Academy Collection Service, Inc. and its owner, Keith Dickstein, have agreed to pay $2.25 million to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that Academy and its collectors misled, threatened, and harassed consumers; disclosed their debts to third parties; and deposited postdated...
A memoir exposing the steep price consumers pay when facing mortgage servicing errors, inaccurate credit reporting, illegal debt collection practices, identity theft and weak consumer protection laws. THE BOOK » DENISE'S STORY »
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