By Jennifer Derrick
You’ve probably seen the ads for LifeLock, an identity theft protection service, where the CEO gives out his Social Security number and claims that he can do that because he has such confidence in his company’s ability to protect his identity. It turns out that his confidence may have been misplaced. In recent […]

By Shannon Christman
You may have already heard that if you bought a diamond or diamond jewelry between 1994 and 2006, you might be able to get a share of a class action settlement. Is it worth your time to submit a claim? Based on the results of past class action suits, it’s a […]

By Cortni Marrazzo
I would be willing to bet that most of the people who read these blogs are pretty financial savvy — or at least are trying to be. But everyone once in a while people can get duped into spending money on something that is either a scam or simply a waste of […]

By Jennifer Derrick
With the rising costs of fuel, food, and everything else, I am seeing more and more people turning to “Get Paid To” (GPT) sites in order to earn some extra spending money. But can you really make money, and what are the risks?
For those not familiar with the lingo, a GPT site is […]

By Shannon Christman
“You must follow the simple instructions exactly, and in less than three months, you will receive $800,000. GUARANTEED,” promise the two identical, unsigned letters I received in the past month. That statement alone should make anyone skeptical - not only the promise of a return far beyond what even Warren Buffet can […]

By Shannon Christman
I may have discovered the perfect crime. I can’t tell you who exactly is committing it, how exactly he’s doing, or who exactly it hurts, but I know someone, somewhere could be getting rich from it.
Last month, a charge for a hotel stay was $0.75 higher on our credit card bill […]

By Shannon Christman
In today’s climate of big business and automated customer service, nearly everyone has at least one story to tell about getting nowhere when complaining to a company about its products, services, or practices. Just like person-to-person relationships, person-to-company relationships have much potential for miscommunication, mistrust, and misunderstanding.
So what do you do when you […]

By Teri Newton
I recently became one of the 9 million people to become victim to identity theft this year in the United States. Much of what I have learned in the last few weeks I share to spark outrage at what is becoming more and more common and also to share what you can and […]

By Tina Parcell
Have you seen the Tractor Supply Company commercial about the free puppy?
A man says “My neighbor gave my daughter a puppy,” and then describes how they’re now buying toys, food, dishes, etc. The actor smiles and says “It’s like my dad always said: there’s no such thing as a free puppy!”
Well, […]

This is a bit scary. Banks not following basic advice to shred any information that could be used by identity thieves. Some people went through the trash of several Chase banks and found forms that identified persons with names, address, social security numbers, account numbers, user names, temporary passwords and more. You would think that […]

I’m not sure whether I should be amused or horrified by this post. Either way, it goes to show that you should not place your trust in a paid for credit card identity theft monitoring system. The article is written by John Hargrave who also wrote the credit card prank where he signed his name […]

With my previous post The Best Place To Hide Money - Conversation With A Burglar being one of my most popular posts ever on this site, there wasn’t any hesitation when I was at another gathering over the weekend and spotted the former burglar that had given me the information. I went straight up to […]

The IRS hears so many of the same ridiculous arguments by people claiming they are not liable to pay income tax that it has posted a 64-page document on its website called “The Truth About Frivolous Tax Arguments.” It sets out the basis for each argument, and then meticulously sets the record straight, complete with […]

There is yet another shady deal going around with mortgage loans these days. If you receive an offer from a lender or mortgage broker under a “Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) Program” endorsed by the Federal Reserve Board, raise that red flag right away. First and foremost, the Federal Reserve does not endorse or sponsor any […]

It’s the con artists’ job to try to part you from your money and they continue to practice their line of work in new ways. One of their latest ploy that is meeting with success and you should be on the look-out for involves sending you a counterfeit check to you for you to […]

I had quite the interesting conversation this weekend with a person who happened to be a former burglar. It was great timing because I was wondering if something like the skid mark underwear for hiding money would really work. I also figured that if you wanted to know the best place to hide your money […]

Last June I wrote a piece about a $1.99 a gallon gas promotion that GM was doing for certain vehicles. Basically, the program capped the cost of gas at $1.99 a gallon for the year for those who purchased the qualified vehicles. It seemed like a nice promotion if you were in the market for […]

When it comes to your personal finances, we say it time and again…if it seems too good to be true, then it probably is. That still doesn’t keep people for falling for scams as this British show reveals when it sets up a computer scam:

The end advice that you should always get a receipt (with […]

It seems the media is taking shots at Rep. William Jefferson of Louisiana for having $90,000 in his freezer and claiming there is a rational explanation:
It takes a particular kind of nerve to be filmed taking $100,000 in alleged bribe money out of an FBI informant’s car, have the FBI later find the same cold, […]

While not trying to play down the the basic steps that people should take to prevent credit card fraud and identity theft, I think that this man may have some more important issues that should be of more concern than credit card fraud. Hope you’re having a wonderful day and this gives you a bit […]