Announcements Government Free Credit Reports It's never too late, or too early, to get your financial house in order, and a great way to start is with a review of your credit reports. You are entitled to a free report from each of the three reporting agencies once a year. But don’t fall for offers of free reports that aren’t really free. There is onlyone authorized source
to get your free reports under federal law Feb 6, 2012 - 11:42:56 AM
The Federal Trade Commission is mailing more than 110,000 refund checks to consumers defrauded by an online operation that tricked payday loan applicants into paying for an unrelated debit card. The FTC alleged that payday loan marketers Matthew Patterson, Mark Benning, Jason Strober, and Swish Marketing, Inc., worked with debit card marketers Jerry Klein, Joshua Finer, and VirtualWorks, LLC, to design the deceptive payday loan application form that triggered a charge of up to $54.95 for a prepaid debit card with a zero balance.
Not all credit cards are alike. That's why it's important to carefully review a card's terms and costs before you sign up for it.
May 16, 2011 - 11:19:10 AM
Credit and Money Management Bank Overdraft Fees Policy: Your Guide to Preventing and Managing Overdraft Fees An overdraft can occur when you try to spend more money than you have available in your checking account. For example, let’s assume you have $40 in your account. You ask the phone company to electronically deduct $35 from your checking account to pay the bill. You now have $5 available. Next, you use your debit card to make a $10 purchase. Feb 16, 2011 - 8:22:18 PM
Announcements Loan Modification Scam: California Files Lawsuit Brown filed the $60 million lawsuit against US Loan Auditors, My US Legal Services, and five individuals, including two attorneys, who operate a fraudulent mortgage audit scheme that preys on desperate homeowners anxious to save their homes. Oct 7, 2010 - 2:50:37 AM
Credit Cards | Credit Reports | Credit Ratings What If Your Bank Fails? First, Stay Calm "While news that your bank has failed can be scary, federal law makes it clear that deposits within the federal insurance limits are completely safe," said Janet Kincaid, an FDIC Regional Ombudsman. "In addition, the FDIC works diligently - even before the bank is closed - to ensure that the event goes smoothly." Sep 9, 2010 - 2:30:01 AM
Announcements Hedge Fund Fraud Father and Son Team Charged The Securities and Exchange
Commission today charged two Sarasota, Fla.-based investment advisers with
securities fraud for misleading investors about the financial condition of three
hedge funds they managed, and misrepresenting that they controlled the funds'
investment and trading activities when in fact they were being handled by Arthur
G. Nadel. Jan 11, 2010 - 6:02:09 PM
Credit and Money Management Debit vs. Credit Cards: How They Stack Up Debit cards, which work like electronic checks, are becoming more widely used as an alternative to credit cards to pay for goods and services. To help you better understand how the two types of cards work and the potential benefits and concerns, we offer this quick guide. Nov 18, 2009 - 12:14:36 PM
Announcements SEC Charges Madoff Computer Programmers The Securities and Exchange
Commission today charged two computer programmers for their role in helping
convicted Ponzi schemer Bernard L. Madoff cover up the fraud at Bernard L.
Madoff Investment Securities LLC (BMIS) for more than 15 years. Nov 13, 2009 - 8:17:44 AM
Credit and Money Management Credit Card Rate Reduction Scam: Operates Banned by FTC At the request of the Federal Trade Commission, a U.S. district court judge has imposed a telemarketing ban on a Canadian operation that targeted U.S. consumers with false claims that it could reduce their credit card interest rates. Jul 9, 2009 - 4:24:05 PM
Announcements Property Tax: California Sues to Block Property Tax Rip-Off The brothers billed tens of thousands of homeowners throughout California nearly $200 each for property tax reassessment services that were almost never performed and are available free of charge from local tax assessors. May 13, 2009 - 10:38:01 AM
Announcements Class of 2009 Needs to Get High Marks in Managing Finances Faced with a challenging job market and thousands of dollars in student loan and credit card debt, many of this year’s college graduates must take positive steps to protect their credit score, according to the Insurance Information Institute (I.I.I.).
Credit and Money Management Looking for Ways to Stretch Your Budget? With the economy the way it is, we are all looking for ways to stretch our budgets. The federal government is (and has been) a terrific source of free information on a wide range of timely topics to help you and your family. Apr 20, 2009 - 11:08:59 PM
Credit and Money Management Non-bank Credit Cards: FTC Offers Pay-off Information to Consumers with Non-bank Credit Cards Carrying a credit card balance can be expensive for consumers, especially for those who make only minimum monthly payments. The Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 requires that consumers be provided with toll-free telephone numbers to call for an estimate of how long it will take to pay off their credit card balance. Apr 16, 2009 - 12:13:01 PM
With the economy weakening, more people are finding it difficult to make mortgage, credit card and other payments. If you're having financial difficulties due to a job loss, a higher mortgage payment because of an interest rate reset or any other reason it's important to take action, preferably as soon as you think you may not be able to afford your expenses.
Mar 13, 2009 - 2:04:08 AM
Announcements Managing Your Money: Good Ways to Get Started Cutting Back It's always smart to control your spending. But if you or others in your family are facing difficult times financially, perhaps from a job loss or wage cuts, it is especially important to spend less so you can have more money to pay essential bills or to add to a savings account you can tap in an emergency. Mar 13, 2009 - 1:44:40 AM
