Credit Card and Identity Theft
June 30, 2006
Those two go together like peanut butter and jelly it would seem. Identity theft is becoming more rampant and it doesn’t seem like it will slow down anytime soon. Even the small business owners have to watch.
A nigerian immigrant did a change of address and got companies checks forwarded to him in which case he cashed them and moved the money quickly out of the country. This man did this multiple times, totalling millions of dollars stolen from businesses. The money is gone since it was put in overseas accounts somewhere and the police never found out who handed him the companies checks to begin with.
Keep an eye on your accounts and credit reports and don’t wait months to do it. You don’t check your bank balance for two months and that means when you realize something is wrong you and the bank will now be that many months behind the thieves.
FEMA and the Candy Bar Credit Cards
June 13, 2006
I titled this post FEMA and the Candy Bar Credit Cards because it seems like that’s how they were handed out. As if they were candy, no checking of even the most basic of information. Anyone could have gotten a debit card, and many, many anyones did from the missing billions that we see or don’t see.
We all know the massive screw-ups dealt by FEMA and other government agencies during last years hurricane season and it’s still not over yet. To the tune of over $1.4 billion. Yes I said billion dollars. That amount of money was put into the hands of criminals while trying to help the real Katrina victims.
The money was spent on everything from gambling, vacations, season football tickets, a divorce lawyer and worst of all a sex change operation. That whole debit card thing was just a disaster due to the fact that no information seemed to be verified before being handed out.
Many people staying at hotels were accidentally paid twice and one man was paid $8,000 to stay at $100 a night hotel in Hawaii. I’ve never been to Hawaii but he has on tax payers money.
Inmates were able to take peoples information, even information from gravestones and one even gave a cemetery as an address to defraud tax payers. And I think most will get away with it because if they didn’t verify much information when they had the people in front of them, then how much of that info do they think is actually true and how can they hope to find all the people who have taken this money?
International Credit Card Fees
June 13, 2006
When visiting Europe or other international countries, you can come home from a lovely vacation to a not so lovely credit card statement. Even if you weren’t charged extra fees on your last trip, you can be surprised at the fees most credit card users are charged now.
Over the years, banks have slowly but steadily risen the fees that they charge when you go to an overseas country. The credit card companies charge a 1% and have for a long time, but now the banks that own those companies or are partnered with them are now tacking on another 1 or even 2% extra fee.
They are taking advantage of the fact that you might not know the conversion rate in dollars, euros, pesos, etc. Even worse if a merchant is nice enough to charge you the amount in dollars instead of the local currency they could be ripping you off by overcharging you with a smile on their face.
One way to combat these fees is to call your bank and credit card company before the actual trip and talk about the international fees if there are any. Also be aware that you can try to switch card companies and find a rate that is lower or even non-existent. Some cards have no fees, it’s only a handful but you can find them.
The History of Credit Cards
June 12, 2006
In the last decade we have become a credit card nation with people pulling out that piece of plastic even to pay for a candy bar. Many use it like it’s air and forget that after they buy that $8,000 tv they eventually have to pay it back, with interest.
To find out how we got to this point take a look at this page put together by PBS. It’s all about the secret history of credit cards and tells you what you should know but probably don’t about credit cards. There is a video to watch, interviews you can read and even a pop quiz if you’re feeling up to the challenge.
The Secret History of Credit Cards
Best of Niner Niner June ‘06
June 12, 2006
Sreejith thinks that Snap is the future of Google.
Meanwhile over at Blogging Naked leafworks introduces us to sex magic Part I.
In Bookadoodle, Meg Stivison tells us about The Year of Pleasure, and the story of Shem Creek which left her giggling and sighing.
Boomer 2.0: Baby boomers want to dress just like us and get into the latest technology. If you can, then so can they.
Sony gives out free music and hey, Why was the NPS website shut down?
In Credit Cardenza, learn to protect your credit card, and don’t forget to give the tips to your one year old after he gets his own card.
Did you remember to get mommy this gorgeous polished rolo bracelet? Did you settle for something in the flowers and candy department? Or did you get her this Kodak EasyShare?
In Feed Money there was talk about the Google Traffic Diet while Tom Baurley gave us a guide to affiliate programs.
Sarah White posted a must-read to generation debt and hopefully that will keep you from falling into the pit of debt.
If you love playing games for money head on over to the Hard Rock Casino in Hollywood, Florida but leave the gambling children at home.
Technology is coming to high heel near you so when your bored hopefully your flexible enough to watch the tv in your high heels and if criminals take notice show them your other shoes that come with high heel weaponry included.
Do you know if you medical records are being disclosed and do you understand your medical privacy?
Kathleen Milazzo asks the question: Could you be the next victim of diabetes? While also discussing seniors and their new drug plan.
You might own a coffee shop but don’t forget to offer tea because people love variety.
In Mortgage Updates you can learn how to toss out the middle man and offer a mortgage all by yourself.
If you’ve got the skills, you can learn how to build your own hydropower or get some ideas on building your own Mona Lisa.
If your in the mood to learn business, Sarah White takes a moment to let us in on her not so secret side biz.
There is a lot to learn if you want a healthy living and you can start with the dangers of diabetes before moving on to the healthy alternative of corn and don’t forget some great tasting healthy and low calorie recipes.
In On Movies, Meg Stivison refused to let the problem of finding english language movies stop her from giving a great review for the movie “The Prince and Me 2″.
Always keep an eye out for Ebay email fraud but keep the other eye out on ways you can sell stuff on Ebay for other people.
Rss Micro is the new kid in town when it comes to RSS search engines, while there pull up a search about getting listed with Yahoo.
The Diet Logs: If violent diarrhea isn’t something you’d like to have, remember to avoid white kidney beans, or at least learn how to cook them correctly.
If you live the Single Life try to find your relationship chemistry but do avoid the 7 types of jealousy.
Meg Stivison is pretty excited about the changes made to Wow, meanwhile Tom Baurley reminds us that we Don’t Know Jack and there is the Desperate Housewives video game. I still don’t know why they made it.
In Vegas Revealed, we see a couple that are endangered plus a grandmother won the biggest slots jackpot ever.
Meg Stivison is still not over the staring thing, I mean the grocery store? People keep an eye on your shopping carts. And if your going to wander the Earth don’t forget to take a pit stop at Aquariam of the America’s. Should be a sight to behold.
Stay Ahead of Credit Card Fraud
June 11, 2006
The easiest way to make sure that you don’t get left with a huge credit card bill because of theft is to always and regularly check out your statements and/or your accounts online. You can be surprised if you don’t, especially if you use that card online repeatedly.
Most of our online transactions will be fine but you must remember that there is always a thief lurking in the shadows just waiting for an opportunity to steal from anyone. Make sure your virus definitions are always up to date and of course make sure you have an anti-virus installed to begin with. That alone however is not enough, try a firewall program such as Zone Alarm which will alert to anyone trying to hack into your pc. Better safe than sorry as they say.
Drowning In Credit Card Debt
June 11, 2006
At this point credit card and debt seem to go together like peanut butter and jelly. Too many households are finding out that they can barely keep their heads above the debt line due to credit card terms that the companies can and do change at any moment they feel like it.
What’s a consumer to do? Not much unless they learn how to get their debts consolidated and also learn to throw away those credit cards and only keep one or two. Having a wallet full of credit cards might seem “cool” but I’m sure the large bills and penalty fees feel more like a heart attack.
Some people are giving up on credit cards altogether while a study has shown that some credit card users see debt as something that is going to happen eventually if you own a credit card.
That doesn’t give a person high hopes now does it?
