When Equifax announced the historic data compromise that exposed the sensitive personal information of up to 143 million consumers, the company said victims would have access to credit freezes for a month free of charge. This was not exactly a solution to the fresh hell it had just announced. Frankly, it seemed like a relatively cheeky move considering the staggering number of people who had just learned that they will be looking over their shoulders for a […]
Victims of the Equifax data hack, please sit tight. I’d hate to see people paying money for the wrong thing. That’s already happening to people like, John, in Texas, who ended up regretting his purchase of a $19.95 credit monitoring subscription. Also, I think eventually the right thing is going to happen and consumers will be able to freeze their credit reports—for free. There is, finally, momentum in that direction. If you are sure you don’t need […]
Even when online retailers strive to keep customer information safe, data breaches happen. Hackers and thieves are constantly working to gain access to your sensitive data, including credit card numbers. Data breaches are on the rise and could cost businesses $8 trillion over the next five years. But some credit card issuers, like Bank of America and Citibank, offer virtual card numbers to help you protect your credit card information when you shop online. These virtual card numbers are […]
Everyone knows a mosquito bite doesn’t really start itching until the damage has already been done, and the same goes for many kinds of identity-related crimes. With news of the recent Equifax breach continuing to surface, what do you need to know now to limit your exposure? Equifax has estimated the hack impacts 143 million people, mostly in the United States. (That’s almost half the US population!) The thieves stole names, Social Security numbers, birth […]
If Las Vegas or Atlantic City are your ideal travel destinations because you love to gamble, luck is on your side: Gambling does not automatically hurt your credit scores. But before you sit down at the blackjack table or roulette wheel and lose a few hundred bucks, you need to know that even though this choice won’t directly harm your credit, it can still be a risky move. There are certain gambling behaviors that can […]
It’s no surprise there are misconceptions surrounding credit reports and credit scores. It can be easy to have these misunderstandings, whether because of social media, friends and family, or simply your own interpretations. But believing myths about credit could ultimately damage your credit scores, resulting in lost opportunities and possibly even higher interest rates. But you can do something to help prevent that from happening to you. These are five credit score myths that you just simply […]
Debate season has brought about quite a bit of talk about how Donald Trump runs his businesses and how the Clinton Foundation gets its donor dollars. Nav, a business score education organization, decided to run business credit scores for both The Trump Organization and the Clinton Foundation (you can view the full Nav report details here). The results might surprise you. What’s a Business Credit Score? Similar to your personal credit scores, business credit scores and […]
In the media world, something unprecedented happened last week. Arguably, the most neutral media property in the land, USA Today, ran an editorial entitled, “Trump is ‘unfit for the presidency,’ ” with an explainer (in case the message wasn’t sufficiently clear): “The Editorial Board has never taken sides in the presidential race. We’re doing it now.” This, oddly enough, got me thinking about Mr. Trump’s credit … not his business credit. His personal credit, i.e., […]
A new rule imposed by the credit card associations took effect Oct. 1, 2015, mandating that merchants accept chip cards or face increased liability for fraud. The date passed last year with a lot of fanfare and considerable frustration; many smaller merchants complained they weren’t ready. Chip cards had been available for more than a decade, but the U.S. had long been a laggard — until a string of high-profile card database thefts, beginning with […]
Thousands of Wells Fargo bank employees seeking sales bonuses participated in a scheme that led to the opening of roughly 2 million unauthorized accounts, federal regulators said Thursday. For failing to monitor an incentive program that spun out of control, leading to “widespread” abuse of consumers’ information, Well Fargo must now pay the biggest-ever penalty levied by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), the agency said. At the root of the scheme was a program […]
