5 Common Financial Scams and How to Avoid Them
May 19th, 2011Our sensitive financial information is transferred on a daily basis. Whether it’s making a purchase online or checking our bank account, it’s no wonder that thousands fall victim to financial scams each year.
Millions of dollars are lost annually by unsuspecting consumers who don’t manage to catch the signs of a financial predator looking to take whatever they’ve got. Whether you use personal checks or secured credit cards, you need to be aware of financial threats so you can stay vigilant.
Here are five common scams with tips on how to protect yourself.
“419” Fraud
419 Fraud refers to bogus spam e-mails originating from Nigeria that promise mass amounts of wealth if you help someone with an advance payment. The e-mails usually claim to be from a Nigerian lawyer or nobleman who has isolated money in a forfeited account and needs financial help to secure it and transfer it out of the country.
It then promises you millions of dollars in return from this isolated account if you send your banking information so this person can secure and transfer the fortune out of Nigeria. These are always completely fabricated; not a single part of these e-mails is true. If you receive one these e-mails, never reply with personal information or download any attachment. Just delete it. More »
Posted By: Ryan Moothart | Comments (0)The Pros & Cons of Using a Credit Card in Emergency Situations
April 19th, 2011
A wise man once told me “life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans.” Or maybe that’s just a popular saying? In any event, unforeseen situations can spring up at any moment, and sometimes they force you to reach for your credit card at the least opportune times.
While it’s impossible to predict emergency situations before they happen, at the very least you can arm yourself with knowledge of the pros and cons of using your credit card to charge your way out of life’s little mishaps.
Here’s a run-down of a common sticky situation, and how credit cards can and cannot help. More »
Posted By: Welles Wiley | Comments (1)MasterCard’s inControl: Would You Use it?
September 3rd, 2010
These are strange economic times we live in. I’ve heard others refer to it as the “new abnormal”, alluding to the fact that their guess about where our economy’s headed is basically as good as anyone’s. And I have to agree—nothing seems to make sense anymore.
People are walking away from their homes yet still vacationing and buying up the latest expensive Apple gadgets. Unemployment continues to hover around ten percent, yet I can’t ever find a parking spot at the local mall. And the stock market…well, it’s all over the place. Absolutely nuts!
Federal Reserve Chairman, Ben Bernanke, may have said it best when he declared in July that our economic outlook is “unusually uncertain.” Way to go out on a limb there Mr. Bernanke. I don’t know about you, but I’ve felt unusually uncertain for almost two years now. More »
Posted By: Joshua Heckathorn | Comments (1)Mortgage or Credit Card: Which Would You Pay First?
August 13th, 2010
A recent TransUnion study found that the percentage of Americans behind on their mortgage but current on their credit cards increased nearly 55 percent between early 2008 and the third quarter of 2009.
And while the amount of consumers we’re talking about is still relatively small (6.6%), I find the overall trend to be quite compelling. Clearly, consumers are beginning to think differently about the priority of their debts. More »
Posted By: Joshua Heckathorn | Comments (5)Hurts So Good
April 9th, 2010
At its most basic level, economics is really the science of trying to explain and predict human nature. Everything we do throughout a day, every decision we make, is based on supply, demand and price.
Even things we do that seemingly have nothing to do with money can be boiled down to these principles. Where you sit at lunch, the friends you choose and even whom you married can be explained through economic terms. (A word of advice—don’t tell your spouse you married him/her because of supply, demand and price. Trust me, that conversation doesn’t go over well.) More »
Posted By: Spencer Edwards | Comments (2)
