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It is estimated that more than ten million people are affected as a result of identity theft in the US. Identity theft is a distressing activity in which thieves use your personal information including credit cards, debit cards, drivers license, social security number, and ATM cards in order to commit crime, that may be simple to critical which may even sometimes lead to the loss of your job or reputation. From conventional yet common ways like pickpocketing your wallet and purses and phone spam to dumpster diving and skimming that is cloning your sensitive information using a kind of special device, a variety of options is adopted by thieves to retrieve your personal information in order to gain personal benefits. Whatever the method used for identity theft, the after effects of identity theft is quite upsetting, and can create serious issues in the victims life. Listed below are some important tips that help you to prevent identity theft.
About 50% of identity theft occurring in the nation is obtained through stolen wallet. Hence, never carry more than one credit card or debit card in your wallet. Further, unless necessary, never carry such valid information as social security card in your wallet.
Be careful when you insert your ATM card and enter the PIN number at the ATM counter. In other words, ensure that no one is peeking at PIN number while you type it.
A criminal may sometimes search your mail box in order to access your most important information. Hence, consider using a post office box.
Likewise, be careful when you throw your bills, as criminals may use a practice namely dumpster diving in order to retrieve your most valid information. Hence, check several times prior to throwing a bill or a piece of paper.
With the introduction of the internet, more and more people become victim of identity theft online. It is therefore recommended to install the latest anti virus software. Further, never reply to emails asking for your credit card information or other personal details.
Equally important is to be careful while you receive phone calls requesting for your credit card or bank account details, as a legitimate financial institution never makes a call out of the blue asking for your personal details.
Track your bank account as well as credit card statements regularly. This would help you to easily trace out unscrupulous transactions, if any.
Above all, the usage of such options as iWallet can also help you prevent identity theft. With biometric scanner, iWallet is a high tech cash and credit card wallet, whose specialty is that it could be opened only if it recognizes your finger print.
Before You Choose the WRONG Credit Card Processor
Whether your business is struggling or thriving in todays challenging economy, it is still vitally important you get the best Merchant account credit card processing program for your small business. Credit card Processing for your small business is a must have service. It has been proven over and over again that you will make more sales by increasing the ways your customers can pay. But while it can be quite easy to acquire Merchant Services from a credit card processing provider it can be quite difficult to tell which ones are telling you the truth about the actual costs.
The competition for your Credit Card Processing business is growing fiercer everyday. New Merchant Service providers are popping almost daily. The majority of the credit cad processing companies are third and fourth party. This means they can be sales agents for a sales agent for a company with the actual agreement with VISA and Mastercard. Why should this concern a small business owner? With every new layer between your business and VISA and Mastercard there will be another sales and administrative workforce that will need to be paid. It does not take a rocket scientist to figure out that it will be the small business owner who will be paying for those salaries.
What are a few of the things to look out for when you are approached by some of the Merchant Services providers? Several of them will employ what is referred to as using a Blitzkrieg approach. They hire a team of hard-sell, high pressure sales reps who come into a city or town in groups. They sweep in, cold call and use everything in their arsenal to make the small business owner take action right then and there to change to their company. They will often lead the merchant to think that this great deal is only good for that day. Some small business owners have remarked that their heads were still spinning long after the sales rep had left with the signed paperwork. The honest sales reps will allow you to take the time you need to make an intelligent decision.
Probably one of the biggest complaints leveled against some of the credit card processing companies is their use of hidden fees. Some merchant services providers have as many as 21 different types of fees they can charge your account. Unfortunately many of the merchant account statements are confusing to read and unless you are trained on how to read them you wont see where you are being charged extra or unnecessary fees.
Whether you are a small business owner who wants to start accepting credit cards or you are an established business owner who wants to keep as much of your profits as possible, you need to know what to look for in a great merchant services program. Talk to a Merchant Service Specialist. The honest ones will disclose all the costs involved with you accepting credit cards for payment. And they will be willing to put it in writing. Dont be the victim of hidden fees and misleading sales reps. It is your money. You deserve to keep as much of it as you can.
When it comes to small business credit card processing you must talk to an expert.
Nothing makes a credit card more enticing than the promise of receiving cash back with every purchase. Such an arrangement makes perfect sense in the minds of people whore going to use their credit cards with or without incentives. But grabbing at the first cash back credit card offer that comes your way could create problems for your finances. Points and privileges still have their place, but card issuers recognize the power of luring consumers with cold, hard cash.
Theres no question that the credit card industry is still immensely profitable. Issuers manage to draw sensible consumers in with promises of free money and juicy bonuses. But responsible consumers need to consider why card issuers would make these offers to begin with. Although it might be gratifying to think that they want the best for us, the reality is that we cant count on them being so kind.
Cash back cards may not be all you expected if you dont choose the right card. Pay attention to the following points to come out ahead of the credit card company.
Dont Make It A Game
Your ploy to open several new cards just to cash in on the signup bonuses then cancel them after you receive the cash will backfire. Opening and closing credit cards at random will hurt your credit score. Remember that your credit utilization ratio is factored into your final score so any increase in that percentage will cause your score to drop. Apart from that, youll forfeit your rebates on the cards if you dont meet certain limits. And if you overspend just to qualify for the rebates, youll hurt your finances more than anything else.
Do The Math
Dont get sucked in by attractive 2-6 percent cash back offers. The average cash back rebate is 1 percent, so be wary of unusually high offers. If you fail to read the conditions of those high percentage rebates, youll realize too late that theyre restrictive or almost impossible to obtain.
For instance, some cards promise 5 percent returns on groceries. But if you do most of your grocery shopping at a membership warehouse, you wont qualify for the rebate card issuers typically exclude some types of stores from their programs.
Revolving categories also make it harder for card holders to keep track and get the benefits of high percentage deals. Whats worse, is that you have to sign up to be included in the higher rebate categories. So if you go shopping without explicit confirmation from the credit card company, the rewards will never materialize.
In other cases, you have to agree to high annual fees in order to qualify for the inflated rebates. According to reports, over 65% percent of card holders never cash in on their rebates. The cloudy terms and constant roadblocks by card issuers are both reasons some consumers give up in frustration.
Read The Fine Print
Every card has its own set of rules as it relates to redemptions, expirations and forfeitures. For example, a late payment could lead to the loss of months of accumulated cash back rebates. Imposed pay increments are another way that card issuers hold back some of your money. So if your account has an irregular amount as often happens- it will sit in the account until you reach the required minimum.
Credit card and personal loan defaulters will find it more difficult to evade credit collection officers in future.
Banks can now track defaulters who have absconded or skipped payment through information currently being provided by Credit Information Bureau of India Ltd. (Cibil). Whenever a defaulting borrower applies for a fresh loan with any bank his credit history can be accessed by on e mail.
It was near impossible till very recent times to trace a customer in event of change of address unless communicated to the lending bank. Now due to the central database maintained by Cibil containing amongst others data about date of birth and PAN number etc they can be located and identified.
While there is a controversy about sharing such data & services to lending banks being an infringement on privacy the same seems to be well purview of the CIBIL act as confirmed by MD. Arun Thukral.
Surprisingly there have been cases in the past where two branches of the same bank have given loans to the same borrower due to unavailability of real time credit history of the customer. Sharing of database maintained by Cibil amongst lending banks will be a remedy to this unwanted problem.
Customers too would now be able to access their Cibil report by making online payment to Cibil who would mail the report to the address on its record. According to Mr. Thukral Cibil is also offering its analytical tools to banks to facilitate their decisions on credit worthiness of loan applicants by allotting credit score based on existing and past relationship across all products by participating banks.
The Reserve Bank of India had declared new guidelines which will disallow any bank to treat a customer as a defaulter if they have negotiated the amount payable against his account and paid the amount to the banks providing such credit cards or loans. Credit Information Bureau Of India Limited is the central repository of all consumers credit history across all banks formed in Jan. 2001.
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Life can throw little curve balls at you all the time and sometimes those curve balls can get expensive. When people get hit with bills they cannot pay, or they start to make future plans that they need to finance, many will turn to taking out a personal loan. Check and see if any of these top reasons that people take out a small loan apply to you and your situation.
Home Renovation – One of the more expensive rooms in your home to renovate is the kitchen and when it comes time to put in a new sink or a new kitchen floor then a small loan is a great way to finance it. You can also use a loan to put some new appliances in as well.
New Computer – If you find yourself with a need to be connected to the rest of the world then you are in need of a new computer. You could sign up for a credit account with the computer manufacturer but the chances are pretty good that the interest rate on that account will be fairly high. The solution could be a small loan, with a low interest rate, as a way to finance your new computer.
Big Screen – People who love movies tend to invest in some of the better movie watching equipment and a prime investment for any movie lover is a home entertainment theatre system. For a really impressive plasma screen, speaker system and proper seating your finances might need a little lift, all for the love of movies.
Landscape – Many people use their garden as their escape from the rest of the world and if you really want to take your garden to the next level then you need some serious landscaping. You can finance your garden landscaping and, when the garden is done, you will have your own oasis from the rest of the world. Not only this, the resale value of your home will be boosted by the improved garden.
Backyard Pool – When the weather is hot every Aussie wishes they had a swimming pool installed in time to fend off the heat of the summer sun. Having a swimming pool installed is a great gift for your family!
Fun on the Water – Some people look to the open waters as their source of relaxation and to do that you need a boat. Buying a boat to get away from it all is something that doesn’t come cheap. After the boat, you’ll need to moor it, have a boat license and pay for fuel and upkeep.
Wedding Bells – The happiest day of a young couple’s life can also be one of the most expensive days. A young couple seeking to get married, enjoy the day and invite the family, then jet off to some exotic island for the honeymoon is enough to make some people postpone their big day until they’ve saved up enough. A small loan might be a wise idea, to speed up that joyous day!
A Family Holiday – At some point everyone just needs to get away from it all and go on holiday but many people do not take that well needed rest because they feel they do not have the finances, and perhaps they do not have the cash flow right then and there. A low interest rate loan can get you on the beach and away from it all in no time.
Cash Flow – Sometime you can get caught in a situation where you need additional cash flow to fund a hobby you have taken up or maybe invest in a idea that you have been cultivating for a very long time. A personal loan can help you increase your cash flow and bring your ideas to life.