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วันจันทร์ที่ 25 สิงหาคม พ.ศ. 2551

Credit Card Fraud is on the Rise

Credit Card Fraud is on the Rise

by Stephanie Andrews


Credit card fraud has increased significantly in recent years, according to law enforcement officials and consumer protection organizations like the Public Interest Research Group and Privacy Rights Clearinghouse. More consumers own credit cards now than in the past, and criminals are constantly looking for new ways to tap into accounts. All of this means cardholders need to protect their credit cards now more than ever before.

Perhaps the most obvious form of credit card fraud takes place in the form of theft. Even if you don't lose your card or have it stolen, however, your credit card account could still be in danger. It is not uncommon for criminals to steal your credit card identity - details such as the number on the card and the expiration date. A stolen account number is the first step in a series of credit card fraud incidents. Unfortunately, cardholders may not be aware of the theft until the unauthorized activity starts showing up on the bills.

Identity Theft

Identity theft occurs when your personal information is gathered without your authorization and used for criminal purposes. It occurs when someone steals information that identifies who you are, such as your name, address, date of birth, or social security number. Sometimes you need to submit this information when applying for credit, opening a new bank account or making a purchase. When someone taps into these accounts or transactions without authorized permission, your information could be in danger. According to a Federal Trade Commission survey issued in October 2007, an estimated 13.5 percent of U.S. adults (30.2 million consumers) were victims of one or more identity fraud incidents in 2005.

Credit card thieves can come in two forms. The first of these are complete strangers, and the other kind falls into the category of people you know. This second group can include anyone from friends and family members to neighbors, co-workers, or anyone that you have an established relationship with. More than half of the identity theft cases that occur are committed by criminals that have established relationships with their victims.

This doesn't mean that you should be wary of all of your friends and in-laws. You should, however, be aware of certain warning signs. Here are a few of the common ways that identity theft happens:

- Someone may steal your wallet or purse. When they get a hold of it, they have instant access to your credit cards and bank information.

- Your personal information can be taken from information you submit on the Internet.

- Fraudsters may locate your discarded receipts by looking through your trash can. If your name or account number appears on the receipt, they can use it to their advantage.

- A clerk at a store might make an extra copy of your credit card, or take the numbers from it.

- Your utility bills, credit card and bank statements, tax information, and new checks can be stage-managed to land up at the wrong place.

- You may get a phone call or email offering a free trip or a cheap travel package. To receive it, however, you have to submit your account number. Once you do, the source can start using your card number to make unauthorized purchases.

After collecting your personal information, fraudsters may get the mailing address on your credit card account changed by calling your creditors and opening new lines of credit. In some cases, they might do more than just rack up purchases on your card. They might open bank accounts in your name, apply for loans in your name, or set up new phone accounts. The list of possibilities is nearly endless.

New Credit Card Crimes

One of the newest methods that identity thieves are using is referred to as skimming. In this technique, a small hand-held electronic device called a skimmer is used to gather the information embedded in the magnetic strip of the card. With a simple swipe of your card in the hand-held skimmer, all your personal identification information is collected in just a second. It is then used to create a counterfeit card or make purchases online.

Crime perpetrators are continually trying out different technologies to carry out identity theft. Fortunately, many organizations are fighting the battle against credit card crime by developing new encryption techniques. Business are doing all they can to help individual consumer keep their private information a closely guarded secret.

Despite various improvements and efforts, almost anyone can be a victim of identity theft. And it can be nerve-wracking to find unauthorized charges on your personal credit card bills. Most credit card companies will cover the amounts charged to your card in fraudulent cases. Still, it is in your best interest to do all you can to protect your credit card, as well as your personal identification information. Prevention is always better than the cure!

วันอาทิตย์ที่ 24 สิงหาคม พ.ศ. 2551

When Should You Use a Credit Card Settlement Agency?

When Should You Use a Credit Card Settlement Agency?

by Linda Moreland


Some people like to deal with their credit card debt all by themselves. They feel this is a personal, confidential matter and they have the time and possess the patience to research credit repair products on and offline. They have the determination to get their credit reports from the 3 main credit bureaus and go over them with a fine tooth comb. These type of people usually do very well in improving their credit scores, as long as they have chosen a reputatable credit repair product. However, you need to realize that the reports the credit bureau gives you and the ones they give the car lot around the corner when you apply for a car loan, are NOT the same reports. Next time you're sitting in the show room waiting for your approval, ask the Finance Manager if there was any problem with your credit report. Go one step further and ask him if you could see the report, possibly there are errors on it. He'll very quickly come up with a reason not to share their report with you. Why? Because it's a different report!

Some people prefer to use a credit card debt settlement agency because they are not comfortable in dealing with credit card debt settlement by themselves. They may not have the time that is required to do the necessary research and evaluate the various options that are available. Others are looking for professional advice and hence they contact a credit card debt settlement agency in an attempt to get qualified assistance. However, keep in mind most credit card counselors will want you to immediately cancel all your cards, then they will help you make arrangements to pay them in full. If you have a favorite card you prefer to keep, this can become an unsettling issue.

If you decide to try an agency, make sure you select a reputable company, one which has verifiable credentials or a agency that you personally know has a good reputation. Perhaps a friend has been through this process recently and they have recommended an agency to you. Do not believe the ads that promise to erase all your debt overnight. There are ways to eliminate certain bad entries on your credit report, but you will not find these methods employed by the credit card debt settlement agencies. This involves specific filings that are usually done by an attorney and this service is usually expensive.

Sometimes you will find classified ads that promise quick credit repair and they instruct you to call a telephone number that's a premium line. Please beware of this tactic, or you might end up paying heavy phone bills that would just add to your debt. Don't contact an agency that you've never heard of just because they promise the lowest fees in town. These are again the credit card debt settlement agencies you should avoid.

I have a good friend that owns a credit card settlement agency. He told me his main goal was to get the credit card companies as much of "their" money as possible, even if it meant smaller payments over a longer period of time. That doesn't really sound like he's working for YOU, does it.

I can't say all the agencies are alike. However, I do know, from helping my clients, if you aren't prepared and you don't know what you are doing, as soon as you request your credit reports from the credit bureaus, your phone will start ringing off the wall with collection agencies demanding you pay off debts from prior years. You need to be prepared and know what to do when this happens, being armed with proper techniques for handling this situation is imperative.

So, before you stir up the hornets nest, in my opinion, you need to be prepared. Have your speech ready when they call. Know what your rights are. Research the filings that come with your credit repair kit so you'll know how to get the tax liens and repossessions OFF your credit report. Have everything available before you start the process. Understand what you are doing and why.

You don't have to be a victim of bad credit. You can improve your credit score, you just have to know how to do it. For a long time the credit bureaus have bullied the public into thinking they couldn't win, all the burden of proof has been on the public, and actually it still is. But with appropriate and up-to-date information, you can arm yourself with the knowledge you need to improve your credit while at the same time protecting your sanity. There is information available to help you, step-by-step instructions to help you improve your credit score, you just have to use it.

How Credit Card Consolidation Services Can Be A Huge Benefit To You

How Credit Card Consolidation Services Can Be A Huge Benefit To You

by Jon Arnold


You suddenly find that you are spending most Saturdays arranging all your credit card bills to figure out which ones to pay and which ones are just going to have to wait another month, even if that means yet another late fee you will also have to pay. At what point are you going to get tired of that and do something about it?

No, I am not talking about declaring bankruptcy. Hopefully things are not that bad, and even if they are, bankruptcy should be your option of last resort. Rather, I am talking about credit card consolidation. Using this type of service, you can save a ton of money in interest and also the amount of money you are putting out every month will be much less than what you are doing now, and all of your debtors will be paid each month.

Does that sound too good to be true? It is good and it is true, although many people are not aware of credit card consolidation services, sometimes also known as debt consolidation. And no, it is not yet another loan that you are going to have to pay, where you end up robbing Peter to pay Paul, which does not help your situation at all.

What happens with credit card consolidation is that you gather up all your credit card bills and account numbers and total amount due. It doesn't have to be just credit cards, but can also be other monthly payments that you are making, like a car loan or a personal loan. You take all this to a credit consolidation company or debt consolidation company and they talk with you about what you want to do and lay out various scenarios so they and you both understand what your goals are and how much you can comfortably afford to pay every month without sending yourself to the poorhouse.

If you decide to go with their service, they take over your credit card bills and any other bills that you are including in this consolidation. Their job is to work with your creditors to get your payments lowered, get your interest rate lowered (because it is probably astronomical), and sometimes even get late fees waived.

Your job is to pay the credit consolidation company every month without fail and then they disburse the money to your creditors so that each of them gets at least a minimum payment that month. With the lowering of interest rates and payments that they have done for you, if you were, for example, paying out $3500 a month before to all of your creditors, you are likely to only be paying $2200 a month now. Can you see what kind of financial breathing room they have given you?

It is important to note that this is not a loan. They do not pay off your creditors in most cases, so if you miss your payment to them in a given month, then NONE of your creditors will get paid in that month, and you will be even worse off than you are now.

One of the big benefits of this is your credit report. Since your payments are being made on time every month consistently (assuming your make your payment to the credit consolidation service company), your credit report starts getting better because you are meeting all of your financial obligations on time. And since you did not file bankruptcy, there is not that huge red flag on your credit report which makes lenders very nervous.

Consider using a credit card consolidation service today and start enjoying more of life without the stress of all those bills hanging over your head every month. Yes you will still have the bills, but now they will be much more under control for you.

วันอาทิตย์ที่ 17 สิงหาคม พ.ศ. 2551

Convenient or Costly? Evaluating Credit Cards Hidden Fees

Convenient or Costly? Evaluating Credit Cards Hidden Fees

by Nick Makaryk


A credit card is something which is carried by most people these days, being that there are the most convenient form of paying for goods and services. For many cardholders, they are also the most expensive way to pay; whether they realize it or not - and in all too many cases, they do not.

This article will reveal to you the hidden fees which you are paying to your issuing card company. Many people do not even notice these fees, but they can add up to hundreds of dollars annually. Many of these fees can be avoided if you know what to watch out for and you can then save this money.

One such hidden cost is the cost associated with going over the grace period. Grace periods used to be 30 days - if you paid off your balance in this time, you would pay no interest on your balance. However, this period has been growing shorter and shorter.

Banks and other card issuers have reduced this grace period to as little as 20 days. If you're still depending on the standard 30 day grace period, you are probably losing a lot of money to interest payments without even thinking about it. Some companies have even done away with the grace period entirely - meaning that you begin paying interest the second that you use your card!

Always read the small print on your agreement to find how long of a grace period you are allowed. If it is too short for your needs, you might want to cancel that card and find one which offers you more favorable terms.

Another source of fees is the late fee. You should always know how much your credit card company will charge in late fees. Late fees plus a short grace period means a surprising amount of money which you are being charged - but this cost is avoidable.

You should get into the habit of either paying via electronic money transfer or sending a check the same day that your credit card bill arrives. If you fail to do this, you could end up paying a lot in late fees and interest. Also, delays in payment will appear on your credit report, making you a less attractive customer to lenders. This goes for any late payment; the card company can even raise your rates for late payment, so be sure to always pay promptly - it will save you a lot of money.Once you know what these fees are, you will be attentive to taking the necessary actions to avoid them. If you keep a record of how much money you save in this way, you are likely to find that you have saved a substantial amount by the end of the year.

Simplifying Credit Card Debt Settlement

Simplifying Credit Card Debt Settlement

by Ted Batron


There are several ways to get out of credit card debt each with their own advantages and disadvantages. Credit card debt settlement is one way to eliminate debt in a fair amount of time and get back on the road to financial recovery. You might be wondering what is credit card debt settlement and what benefits and risks does it hold for the average credit card debt burdened consumer. The following discussion aims to simplify credit card debt settlement in a nutshell.

Assessing Your Finances

Not all who suffer from credit problems are eligible to avail of credit card debt settlement services. A thorough assessment of one's personal finances must be made to determine whether or not credit card debt settlement is the best plan of action to take.

An office handling your debt settlement plan will need to look into your sources of income. A very comprehensive examination of your monthly expenses needs to be laid out as well. Your personal assets and other liabilities will also be added to the equation.

There are those who are not comfortable with such a complete financial inquiry. Nevertheless, the aim of a credit card debt settlement plan is to negotiate a lower amount to be paid in order to render the debt fully settled. The payment is usually demanded as lump sum, but there are creditors who might agree to a limited number of staggered payments. Either way, creditors would mostly consider a debt settlement only when a substantial financial report corroborates the terms being negotiated. Hence, the need to make a true assessment of one's finances.

Should your finances show that you are still capable to make payments without the need to adjust the outstanding balance, credit card debt settlement may not be advisable for you. However, deliberately downgrading your financials in order to gain sympathy will less likely merit approval from your creditors.

Contacting and Negotiating with Your Creditors

Initiating contact with credit card companies can be a tricky business. Most credit institutions maintain several layers of bureaucracy that would discourage common folk from pursuing their intent. Nevertheless, creditors in general are more open to a credit card debt settlement as this is less troublesome than a legal proceeding such as a bankruptcy. It is just that it serves their purpose and it is more cost effective for them to negotiate settlement requests through an intermediary channel such as a reputable debt settlement office. Just remember to be honest as your case is being negotiated. As in any financial dealings, transparency is the safest and best policy.

The Role of Debt Settlement Agencies

You may try your luck sending your own correspondence to your creditors seeking to negotiate for reduced terms. Alternatively, chances are you'd get better results when you let professional credit card debt settlement agencies put their experience to work for you. Credit card debt settlement would cost some fees but your goal to be debt-free will best be achieved with help from those who know how.

วันพุธที่ 13 สิงหาคม พ.ศ. 2551

Ideas on How to Reduce Credit Card Debts

Ideas on How to Reduce Credit Card Debts

by V Ravat


With today's economy, a number of cardholders everyday are looking for the finest credit card deals. Your credit score will increase, and all will be sorted if one keeps to the terms and conditions of a card provider contract. However if one is in debt, there probably is a reason to this disaster and in most cases tends to be that one is spending in excess of their income.

A vast majority of cardholders aim to build up a good FICO score, doing this one must make the effort to bring their spending in line with their income.

There are two simple choices, and they should be used in combination with each other. Earn more money and use the additional to pay down debt or stop going further in debt.

It can be a wise idea to pay even 10 pounds extra towards your credit card bill every month, over time you will have noticed the affects. Here is a simple example, it does not account that the money will be paid in little at a time and will begin to reduce as soon as the amount of interest you pay has been deposited.

Your savings will grow eventually, but look at it this way; If you're paying 18per cent interest, and you pay an additional 10 pounds a month for one year, this will leave the balance 120 pounds less which you'll have to pay in interest over the next year.

What can you do to earn extra money and pay that credit card balance, there are many jobs one can undertake, below are just some simple examples;

- Place up and down signs for a real estate agent - If you are familiar using a camera, take property photos for that agent - Walk the dog for a neighbour who works long hours - Look after Pets for people while they take on a vacation break. - Clean offices in the evenings or towards the week-end - Do garden work for an elderly person

- These are just a few simple samples, there are more jobs which one can undertake to pay off their credit card, get extra work.

Immediately set aside all funds generated from these extra activities and use them to pay debt. It will not help you if you increase your spending.

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