In late February 2012, the Obama administration revealed a new Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights regarding personal data and will work with Congress to get it into law.  It would be enforced by the Federal Trade Commission. The key components are: consumer control over data that is collected and how it is used, company transparency of their privacy and security practices, consumer access to their data, limit the data collected, and companies adhere to the “bill of rights”.

1. Individual Control: Consumers have a right to exercise control over what data companies collect from them and how they use it. Companies should offer consumers clear and simple choices, presented at times and in ways that enable consumers to make meaningful decisions about personal data collection, use, and disclosure. read more »

Every year the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) lists their “Dirty Dozen” of tax scams to warn taxpayers so that they can protect themselves. Some of these scams occur during tax season and some during the rest of the year. Some are scams to get taxpayers’ identity; some offer fees for advice to lower taxes; and others are intentional by taxpayers.

“Taxpayers should be careful and avoid falling into a trap with the Dirty Dozen,” said IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman. “Scam artists will tempt people in-person, on-line and by e-mail with misleading promises about lost refunds and free money. Don’t be fooled by these scams.”

The top six

The top six scams will be discussed here and the remaining six in a second blog article. The top six scams are:  identity theft, phishing, return preparer fraud, hiding income offshore, “free money” and Social Security scams, and false/inflated income and expenses. read more »

You are probably familiar with PayPal for on-line shopping, which allows members to send money without sharing financial information. PayPal gives you options to make a purchase – withdraw from your checking account, use your charge, card or use money in your PayPal account. If you are selling on the internet, you can set up an account so that those purchasing from you can make payments to your bank account or PayPal account. read more »

Now that more people are filing their tax returns electronically, these returns are even more subject to identify theft and tax fraud. The number of identity theft-related fraud cases on tax returns reached 226,000 in 2011, which was a 20 percent increase over 2010.

How it works

How does this happen? There are two situations. The first is the thief steals the victim’s identity including Social Security number and employer. The other is the read more »

The latest in Zeus malware or malicious software is called “Gameover”.  It was developed specifically to steal banking information.  The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has issued warnings to consumers about this new malware.  It can breakthrough authentication by financial institutions.  This malware was named “Gameover”, because once the criminal has access to your bank account, “the game is over”.

How you are infected

Spam emails are sent supposedly from the National Automated Clearing House Association (NACHA), the Federal Reserve Bank, or the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) informing the consumer of a problem with their bank account about a recent Automated Clearing House (ACH) transaction. The message contains a link to help resolve the issue, which is actually a link to a fake website.  When you are at the site, you download this Gameover malware which infects your computer and steals your usernames and passwords to access your bank accounts. read more »

Now that the holidays are over and tax season is well under way. You should have received your W-2 or 1099s in the mail by the end of January and started collecting information to complete your tax return. This also brings out those who want to scam you to get your personal information disguised as the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

You may receive emails, phone calls, letters or faxes claiming to be the Internal Revenue Service.  These scammers want your personal information such as Social Security number, bank account and or credit card numbers to commit identity theft and steal your money and or open accounts in your name.

New Scam

One new email scam, supposedly from the Internal Revenue Service, warns taxpayers that they did not submit an updated W-2 form. It includes a link to a phishing website that asks them to enter their W-2 information such as Social Security number, address and wages. read more »

Have you received a bill from your credit card company that lets you skip your minimum payment for that month as a gift for being such a good customer? This is the most common during the holiday season or right after.  Don’t fall for this.  You will still have to pay the interest charges on the unpaid balance. This information is usually in the “fine print”.

It may sound great right after you have made all those holiday purchases and have to start paying for them.  Keep in mind, you should not make the minimum payment anyway and this really isn’t a gift to you, but more money for the card issuer. The only benefit is you won’t have to pay the late fees on the amount.  Depending upon the amount you owe, the interest you pay can be high. read more »

Javelin Strategy and Research conducted its annual study on mobile bank security called –  “5^th Annual Mobile Security Report: Mitigating Security Risks Transforms the Mobile Banking Channel”.  More than 3,000 consumers were surveyed about their mobile banking channels: web browser, application, and SMS texting. Web browsers were used by 44% of the responders; apps used by 25% and texting used by 19%. According to Javelin, texting is the least secure method and apps are the most secure.

Three channels

1. SMS texting is a form of phishing called SMiShing which uses text messages to trick consumers into giving out personal information.  This explains why it is the least secure of the three. read more »

The robo call bill died in Congress in mid-December 2011.  This bill was called the “Mobile Informational Call Act of 2011”.  It would have permitted companies to contact businesses and consumers via automated dialing to their cell phone which also included texting.

Reasons for support

This bill was supported by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Air Transport Association and other groups representing bankers, mortgage lenders, debt collectors and college loan lenders. Below are some of the reasons these groups supported this bill: read more »

This is one of those “yeah, but” articles, which means there could possibly be several answers to the question posed in the title.  The fact that you are not employed does not hurt your credit score.  What can hurt your credit score are your payment history and abuse of credit cards, which can certainly be caused by unemployment.

Payment history

Your payment history is 35 percent of your credit score and impacts your score the most. It is important to pay your credit obligations on time. This can be difficult if you are unemployed. read more »