It’s bad enough when someone steals your identity and opens accounts in your name. What happens if thieves steal part of your identity and use it to create a non-existent person?
Synthetic identity theft occurs when criminals “synthesize” a false identity using made-up Social Security numbers and other personal information. Sometimes, synthetic identity thieves start
Credit Cards
Welcome to the 2018 Consumer Fraud Awards Show! We have a great show for you, with criminal activity galore. Tonight’s winners are chosen based on information from the Consumer Sentinel Network 2018 Data Book and brought to you by the Consumer Information Group at your Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
Okay, there really isn’t a consumer
You probably receive plenty of credit card offers, through both direct mail and digital methods like card issuer e-mails and social media ads. Which path is more effective? If you aren’t receptive to a new credit card offer, neither path works – but for consumers who are interested in a new card, digital methods are
Wouldn’t it be nice if you could deduct your credit card debt from your taxes? For most Americans, that’s just a dream that will never come true. However, some circumstances allow you to deduct some credit card debt – all related to using your card for business purposes.
The 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act
You’ve taken steps to avoid identity theft, and maybe even applied a credit freeze to your credit report. You can sit back and relax, right? Wrong. You may have prevented identity thieves from opening new accounts in your name, but have you kept your existing credit accounts secure?
As opposed to identity theft where your
New Survey Shows Poor Credit Habits of Millennials Americans must love credit cards. As of the end of 2018, Federal Reserve data shows that we have racked up $870 billion in outstanding credit card debt on our nearly 480 million credit cards in circulation. However, generations vary in how they handle credit card debt.
Millennials
Have you missed enough credit card payments that your creditor has contacted you about your debt? If so, you aren’t alone.
According to survey results from the February 2019 PYMNTS.com Financial Invisibles Report, almost two in five (36.3%) respondents had been contacted by a creditor regarding an outstanding debt.
How did many of them resolve
Debt, Shmebt Do you pay off your credit card bill every month? If not, how often do you pay off the full balance? If you haven’t in the last year, you’re with the majority of balance-carrying Americans.
According to a recent CreditCards.com poll, over half (56%) of Americans who have balances carry them for over
You don’t have any financial issues to hide from your partner … do you? According to a new survey from CreditCards.com, almost 1 in 5 of us does.
The survey found that 19% of Americans have at least one financial account that they hide from their spouse or live-in partner – either banking or credit
Debt is a major barrier to financial well-being among Americans. While we tend to think of debt as an issue affecting young and middle-aged people, the truth is that senior citizens carry debt, too. Among seniors approaching retirement, debt can be an obstacle to maximizing savings. Retirees living on a reduced income may find debt
Are you having trouble getting a date? Could be your rap, your looks, or your excessive debt.
According to a recent survey by Finder.com, 72% of respondents say they would re-think a relationship with a partner in significant debt. (That’s similar to the percentage in last year’s Finder.com survey, so don’t expect debt to
If you’re a furloughed government employee or other worker sidelined by the shutdown – or worse, working without a paycheck – you’re probably at risk of missing payments or racking up large credit card bills. How do you keep your credit score from dropping as a result?
On-time payments are one of the
Santa was not so kind to your friends and relatives this year, so you felt the need to fill the gap. You overspent on holiday gifts, and now you are stuck with a significant amount of holiday debt. Gratitude from gift recipients is a great feeling, but gratitude is not going to pay off your
What do you do with debts that have unfavorable interest rates or difficult payment terms? If you can, consolidate them into one debt stream with more favorable terms. Balance transfer credit cards exist for this purpose, but personal loans may be an even better alternative.
November 2018 data from LendingTree shows that over two-thirds of
According to Federal Reserve data, serious credit card delinquencies rose sharply in late 2016 and continued to grow through 2018, nearing 5% of cardholders. Similarly, involuntary account closures rose from 4.2% in 2016 to 7.2% in 2018 – but why?
If the economy is doing so well, why are people having trouble paying credit card
According to the latest Household Debt and Credit Report from the New York Federal Reserve, America’s total household debt has surpassed $13.5 trillion. Do you sometimes feel like $13 trillion of that debt is yours?
Based on a recent survey by LightStream, almost one-quarter (23%) of Americans believe that it’s nearly impossible to climb out
Your Christmas gift from the Federal Reserve is here. Surprise! It’s another 0.25% hike in the Federal Funds rate. Sure, you’ve already gotten this same gift three other times in 2018, and nine times since late 2015 – but what else would you expect to receive from the Fed?
Interest rate hikes from the Fed
Does your wallet take a bigger hit during the holiday season? If so, you aren’t alone. According to a recent study by LendingTree, more consumers fall behind on their bills in December than in any other month.
LendingTree reviewed anonymized credit report data from October 2017 through September 2018 and broke down the percentages of
Do credit cards and the holidays spell trouble for you? Credit cards and holiday spending can be a dangerous combination – but it doesn’t have to be. Look at your credit cards as financial tools that can help you save money as well as spend it.
Here are seven ways to use credit cards to
Our prior article, 5 Steps To Be Your Own Mogul – Part 1, covers the first three steps to manage your finances like a business. Below we present the final two steps.
4. Forecasting
If you have performed the budget exercise and broken your expenses out into categories, you can start to highlight areas
Why not take some financial pointers from the business world and apply them to your personal finances? Whether you are a party of one or a family of four, it pays to be fiscally agile. Some of the longest financial plays in the business world today are small businesses that perennially stay afloat and drive
Life can be difficult without the convenience of a credit card – but if you are just starting out on your own and have no job yet, or you’re down on your luck and currently unemployed, will you be able to qualify for a credit card? The answer is yes, within limitations.
When credit card
You’re reviewing your credit card bill and find some odd charges. How did you rack up hundreds of dollars in online gaming charges?
Your first thoughts may be fraud – but before filing a fraud report, think about who has access to your credit card. Do your children know where your credit card is and
You have many factors to consider when choosing a credit card — interest charges, rewards programs, security measures, and the like — but do you ever consider the price-matching perk? Are you even aware that credit cards can offer price matching?
Price matching may go by different names such as “price guarantee” or “price protection”,
Black Friday arrives on Friday, November 23. Do you plan to join the frenzied early sales with hundreds of your fellow consumers, scour the Internet for online bargains as soon as you’ve digested your Thanksgiving turkey, or wait until the first shopping wave dies down and take your chances a little later in the day?
You’re making a major purchase at a department store or big box retailer. You’re offered savings and promotions if you sign up for a store credit card on the spot. Why wouldn’t you take advantage of the offer?
A store credit card might be an excellent option for you – or it may be a
You’re never too old to learn new things – including better money management practices. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) agrees.
To address financial literacy concerns, the FDIC created the Money Smart teaching program in 2001 to help educators and financial institutions increase consumer understanding of basic financial systems work and how to use them
How do you get credit without a credit score? If you’re new to credit, you don’t have any history for lenders to assess. You’re effectively “credit invisible.”
You can build credit with a secured credit card that reports activity to the credit reporting agencies, but you’ll need to put up a security deposit and
You have several credit cards and a couple of killer rewards programs. Why not put them to good use and charge every purchase that you can?
It’s smart to get the most out of your credit cards, but do so within a budget and with one thought in mind – “Is a credit card the
In September 2017, America learned about the massive data breach at the credit reporting agency Equifax that affected approximately 148 million consumers – one of the largest breaches ever. Identity thieves suddenly acquired a new batch of Social Security numbers, names, addresses, phone numbers, and other personal information.
Consumers were advised to take steps immediately