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Showing posts from September, 2020

Checking Account Scams

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MoneyTips Your checking account is a tempting target for thieves. You must stay alert for the many varieties of checking account scams – but first, you must be able to recognize a scam when you see one. Have you ever been targeted by any of the scams below? Free Prizes – This scam usually starts with a postcard or a telephone call notifying you of a prize that you have won. If you respond positively, the telemarketer will ask you for your checking account number, either for verification or to use for direct deposit. Once they have your account number, scammers will be able to apply a "demand draft", allowing them to withdraw funds directly from your account without your signature. Variations of this theme exist, such as a special credit card offer that applies even if your credit history is suspect. In all cases, the end result is the same – the telemarketer will ask for your checking account information. Don't give it to them. Compromise... from MoneyTips http

13 Ways To Prevent Credit Card Fraud

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MoneyTips 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 information is used to create unauthorized accounts in your name, credit card fraud refers to a single existing account. A thief has stolen your card or has the necessary card information to make unauthorized purchases on that account. How do you prevent credit card fraud? Here, we offer thirteen possible precautions: 1. Avoid P... from MoneyTips https://ift.tt/2upmX5x

13 Ways To Prevent Credit Card Fraud

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MoneyTips 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 information is used to create unauthorized accounts in your name, credit card fraud refers to a single existing account. A thief has stolen your card or has the necessary card information to make unauthorized purchases on that account. How do you prevent credit card fraud? Here, we offer thirteen possible precautions: 1. Avoid P... from MoneyTips https://ift.tt/2upmX5x

What We Don't Know About Identity Theft CAN Hurt Us

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MoneyTips Equifax... Uber... Target... Under Armour.... The list of data hacks keeps growing and growing, increasing the odds that someone will steal your identity. Last year, this digital epidemic affected 14.4 million Americans. But the more you know, the better you can protect yourself. We conducted an exclusive MoneyTips Google survey in 2018 to see how much people knew about identity theft and the credit bureaus. Do you know all the answers? We asked people if they knew which data hack was the largest. A whopping 9 out of 10 didn't know or chose incorrectly. Reader, care to guess, before we reveal the answer? Using weighted averages, more than half of us (50.9%) admitted that they had no idea which hack was the worst of the century. More than 1 in 3 (34.4%) guessed the from MoneyTips https://www.moneytips.com/what-we-do-not-know-about-identity-theft-can-hurt-us/786

5 Tips For Saving Money In College

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MoneyTips By Roshni Chowdhry, head of customer experience at SafetyNet Of the roughly 17 million Americans currently enrolled in college, 74 percent qualify as what we used to call " nontraditional " students: One in five is 30 years or older. About half don't rely on their parents for money. One quarter are caring for a child. 47 percent attend college part time at some point. 25 percent took a year off between high school and college. 44 percent have parents without a bachelor's degree. In other words, if you're a college student today, there's a good chance you're not the Hollywood stereotype of an 18-year-old on your own for the first time. Still, whether it's your first year o... from MoneyTips https://ift.tt/2N6Xuoi

School Is In Session! Protect Yourself From Scams

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MoneyTips With the school season starting again, education is job number one for students and parents alike. A proper education includes an education in personal finance, and one of the best ways to start is to learn how to protect yourself against scams. You can and should learn fast, too, because scams can become more common during the back-to-school buying season. Here are some practical suggestions on how to avoid credit and debit card fraudsters: Only patronize known retailers. Avoid jackpot online deals that offer items like $3,000 laptops for $400. These are often scams. "Good PC hygiene" cannot be overstated for every handheld device, laptop, and phone. Anti-virus and anti-malware programs are key to staying safer online. Avoid pooling or sharing credit card information in a dorm setting. There is no reason for students to share... from MoneyTips https://ift.tt/2MRsQPp

School Is In Session! Protect Yourself From Scams

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MoneyTips With the school season starting again, education is job number one for students and parents alike. A proper education includes an education in personal finance, and one of the best ways to start is to learn how to protect yourself against scams. You can and should learn fast, too, because scams can become more common during the back-to-school buying season. Here are some practical suggestions on how to avoid credit and debit card fraudsters: Only patronize known retailers. Avoid jackpot online deals that offer items like $3,000 laptops for $400. These are often scams. "Good PC hygiene" cannot be overstated for every handheld device, laptop, and phone. Anti-virus and anti-malware programs are key to staying safer online. Avoid pooling or sharing credit card information in a dorm setting. There is no reason for students to share... from MoneyTips https://ift.tt/2MRsQPp

7 Steps To Beat The Summer Debt Bulge

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MoneyTips By Andrea Woroch Have you spent too much on vacations, dining out, or entertainment this summer? Follow these seven simple steps to get your finances back on track and pay down your debt faster. If you're scared to look at your credit card bill and bank statements, there's a good chance you went overboard over the summer. However, the "out of sight, out of mind" way of thinking has serious financial implications. If you're only making minimum payments on any debt you've accrued during this time, the faster you face reality, the faster you can make a plan to get back on track. Set a goal based on how much debt you need to pay off or how much cash you need to add back to your savings fund, and use a debt repayment app like Debt Free or a finance tracking app like Mint to help you stay motivated. A thirty-day, no-spend challenge is a great way to de... from MoneyTips https://ift.tt/2BnLEFP