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RFID: Protect Your Self~Be Aware~Resources to Protect You

7/27/2015

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Reposted from Post 2012

Thank you to Karen for sending this in...


Please Take The Time To Watch This.....
IT IS IMPORTANT TO YOUR FINANCIAL SECURITY....

We have also added some books and resources at the bottom that you can check out to protect you and your loved ones.   As we have discussed on prior calls, you can also use aluminum foil.  Be Aware.....
.


Click Link below for many acccessories
RFID - Books & Resouces

Picture
Click on Image to Purchase Book Amazon
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CONSUMER FINANCE: What To Do If You Fear Your Credit Card Is Hacked

3/31/2012

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CONSUMER FINANCE: What To Do If You Fear Your Credit Card Is Hacked

Published March 30, 2012

Dow Jones Newswires

A "massive" security breach of potentially more than 10 million Visa and MasterCard credit cards could leave you exposed to fraud and means you will have to be on guard over your accounts and credit reports.

Visa Inc. (V) and MasterCard Inc. (MA) have alerted banks nationwide Friday about specific credit cards that may have been compromised at a U.S.-based card processor and are investigating the situation, according to the Krebs on Security.com blog.

The processor has been identified as Global Payments Inc. (GPN), an Atlanta firm that acts as a third-party processor of credit, debit and gift cards for banks and merchants, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The card associations have told banks that the break-in to the system occurred between Jan. 21 and Feb. 25 and that information stolen could be used to counterfeit new cards.

In a statement, MasterCard said that law enforcement is involved and that there is an "ongoing forensic review" by an outside "data-security organization." Visa representatives did not respond to requests for information.

Banks are scrutinizing transactions on compromised accounts and have found common purchases in parking garages in and around the New York City area, according to the Krebs on Security blog, which is written by Brian Krebs, formerly a reporter with the Washington Post. At least 482 credit unions also have been alerted by a provider of online financial services to the industry, the blog said, and fraudulent activity has been uncovered on 876 accounts, a relatively small number of the 56,455 member accounts covered by this particular service provider.

If you're worried that your information was stolen, contact the bank that issued the card. Visa and MasterCard don't actually issue cards but process the transactions for the bank issuer.

"One of the first things consumers should do is pull a copy of their credit report," said Dave Blumberg, a spokesman for TransUnion, the credit-rating agency. The report will list all the cards you have open, alerting you to any new accounts that you may not have opened. You also can get a free credit report every 12 months from AnnualCreditReport.com.

If your card was stolen, you're liable, under federal law, for up to $50 of unauthorized credit or debit transactions. In cases like this, though, you're not likely to be responsible for any charges.

Yet you could open yourself to greater risk with your debit card if you don't report the fraud quickly or respond within 60 days to a bank statement that shows the fraud. Keep close tabs on your debit account because you could lose all the money in it if it's not reported.

You might also want to place a fraud alert or credit freeze on your credit reports to stay vigilant. Those, however, generally only last a year and will have to be renewed.

SOURCE


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MasterCard, Visa confirm credit card data theft described as 'massive

3/31/2012

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MasterCard, Visa confirm credit card data theft described as 'massive

By Bob Sullivan

Law enforcement officials are investigating what appears to be a massive theft of U.S. consumers' credit card data, MasterCard and Visa confirmed Friday. The computer security expert who first reported the theft said it might involve as many as 10 million accounts, making it one of the largest known credit card heists.

"MasterCard is currently investigating a potential account data compromise event of a U.S.-based entity and, as a result, we have alerted payment card issuers regarding certain MasterCard accounts that are potentially at risk," that association said in a statement. "Law enforcement has been notified of this matter and the incident is currently the subject of an ongoing forensic review by an independent data security organization." 

Payment processor Global Payments said late Friday it was the target of the hack.

In a statement, the firm said it "identified and self-reported unauthorized access into a portion of its processing system." Earlier Friday, trading in Global Payments stock had been halted.

"In early March 2012, the company determined card data may have been accessed," the firm said. "It immediately engaged external experts in information technology forensics and contacted federal law enforcement. The company promptly notified appropriate industry parties to allow them to minimize potential cardholder impact.  The company is continuing its investigation into this matter."

Paymemt processors  -- "middle men" that handles transactions between retailers and banks -- have long been a target of identity thieves because of the enormous amounts of data they control. In 2008, Princeton, N.J.,-based Heartland Systems was hacked, exposing tens of millions of credit card account numbers to theft. The theft confirmed Friday was first reported by well-known computer security journalist Brian Krebs on his blog, KrebsonSecurity.com.  He reported that hackers had access to the then-unknown processor's data from Jan. 21 through Feb. 25, and were able to siphon off enough data to easily create counterfeit cards. His sources called the leak "massive."

Visa, in a statement, also acknowledged the data theft but said its own systems were not hacked.

“Visa Inc. is aware of a potential data compromise incident at a third party entity affecting card account information from all major card brands," the firm said. “Visa has provided payment card issuers with the affected account numbers so they can take steps to protect consumers through independent fraud monitoring and, if needed, reissuing cards."

Follow @RedTapeChron Gartner security expert Avivah Litan said she's been told that the stolen data is already being used on the street by identity thieves.

"I’ve spoken with folks in the card business who are seeing signs of this breach mushroom. Looks like the hackers have started using the stolen card data more recently," she said.

She's been told that investigators believe the data theft originated in New York City.

"From what I hear, the breach involves a taxi and parking garage company in the New York City area, so if you’ve paid a NYC cab in the last few months with your credit or debit card — be sure to check your card statements for possible fraud," Litan said in her blog post on the topic.

MasterCard said none of its computers were hacked as part of the incident.

"MasterCard is concerned whenever there is any possibility that cardholders could be inconvenienced and we continue to both monitor this event and take steps to safeguard account information," the association added in its statement. "If cardholders have any concerns about their individual accounts, they should contact their issuing financial institution.... It is important to note that MasterCard's own systems have not been compromised in any manner. "


  Source



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9 things you should know about your credit card receipt

3/30/2012

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9 things you should know about your credit card receipt

By Melody Warnick

You may know them as those annoying scraps of paper that litter your purse or flutter from your wallet at inopportune moments, but receipts for credit card transactions are actually worth paying attention to.

Here's what you probably didn't know about them, but should:

Receipts are more secure than you think ... Unless a merchant made a big mistake, you won't see your whole credit card number on a receipt. That's because the federal Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act -- an amendment to the Fair Credit Reporting Act that took effect in 2006 -- legislated that for better financial security, only the last four or five digits of your card number can appear. That's why you see something like XXX-XXXX-1234 instead. Your card expiration date can't show either.

... but receipts aren't totally thief-proof. Your truncated card number isn't enough to steal, but those digits "should still be treated as sensitive, confidential information," says Jamie May, chief investigator at AllClear ID, an identity protection company. Scam artists who get their hands on even part of your card number can use it to phish for the whole number by posing as your credit card issuer or utility company over the phone. "Your card company will never call you and ask you to give them your whole card number," May says. "A good rule of thumb is to hang up and call them back at a number you know is theirs."

Receipt numbers aren't just gobbledygook. Besides the recognizable parts of your receipt, like your truncated card number and the date, are a slew of mysterious numbers. They're not alien communications; they're codes that identify the store to the company that processes their credit card payments -- for instance, a merchant ID number, an approval code, a reference sequencing number and sometimes a terminal number to identify which cash register took the payment. They're generally the same on every receipt issued by the same store. Consider them behind-the-scenes details that you can safely ignore.

Store copies and customer copies are the same. You've eaten a nice restaurant meal, tallied the tip and signed the credit card receipt -- only to realize that you've walked off with the wrong copy. "It's usually not a problem," says Heather Petersen, CEO of National Merchants Association, a payment and transaction processor. Most companies now put the tip and signature line on both copies of the receipt, so it's not a big deal if you signed the wrong one. Even if you left only an unsigned copy of the receipt, your dinner will still get charged.

You can sign as Mickey Mouse, but you shouldn't. Speaking of signatures, they matter more than you think. In an ideal world, a cashier should compare the signature on your receipt to the one on the back of your credit card. However, that rarely happens these days, and certainly no one at the bank is scrutinizing electronic signatures. That doesn't mean you're free to scrawl whatever you want, though. "This is a legally binding contract," says Petersen. "It states right on there that the undersigned agrees to pay." If the seller does notice that you signed a silly name, he can void the transaction. Plus, if you need to dispute a fraudulent charge, the signature can be a key bit of evidence. Signing your receipt "Kim Kardashian" will not help your case.

Your receipt and your bill may not always match. When your credit card bill arrives, pull out your receipts and make sure what you signed for is actually what you were charged, paying particular attention to transactions where you wrote in a tip. It's easy for a cashier to mis-key the wrong amount or to fraudulently add a few bucks to your tip. Plus, if you messed up on your math, your cashier will generally go by what the total is -- but not always. "It could be a case where they take the liberty of saying, ‘I'm pretty sure they meant $5, so I'm going to charge $5,'" says May. If something is off, your credit card receipt gives you the ammo to dispute the charge with your credit card company.

It's wise to keep your receipts around. "By far the best reason for archiving receipts is in case of an IRS audit," says Jake Brereton, marketing manager for Shoeboxed, a company that digitizes customers' receipts. But it's also helpful in case you need it to use a warranty, get a refund challenge a charge or (duh!) make a return. With Shoeboxed, you mail in an envelope of receipts and wait for them to be added to your cloud-based archive; basic service starts at $10 a month. To do it yourself, file receipts for a year or two, then shred.

Old-fashioned isn't best. Remember those clunky machines that cashiers once used to make an imprint of your credit card? Occasionally you still see them (or hand-written receipts) when small businesses lack the infrastructure to process your credit payment electronically. It seems like an innocent throwback, but "those are riskiest kinds of transactions," warns May, because you have no idea what happens to your credit card number afterwards. If a salesperson hauls out the old-school imprint machine, it's best to go get some cash.

You don't have to get a receipt. If you don't plan on keeping your receipt, don't ask for it. "It's better to not have it than throw it in the trash," points out Petersen -- not only because it's not secure, but because it's a waste. Plus, many retailers have moved toward electronic receipts and ask whether you'd like your receipt emailed to you vs. receiving a paper receipt. According to some estimates, it takes approximately 9.6 million trees to create the 640,000 tons of paper that go into receipts each year. So, if you choose an emailed receipt or just hit "no receipt" when you pay at the pump, you'll be doing yourself a financial and environmental favor.

Published: January 26, 2012

Source


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Dinar Recaps: Driver License & Identity Protection

2/29/2012

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Driver License & Identity Protection 

Thanks to Dinar Recaps Post
Post By Smee2 Dinar Vets 02/27/2012  

Someone put up a post about being asked for his driver's license while trying to purchase more dinar and he was upset and wanted to cancel his purchase. There is a legitimate reason for the request and it is actually for YOUR protection. Read on ...

All this commerce by computer is making some strange demands on us, the consumer. I read your post and thought, this must be the next "glitch" that are going to have people pulling their hair out. This used to be an area of expertise for me years ago and though things change, they don't change all that much. So, try this on for size.

Some not-so-nice people, let's call them crooks, will get hold of some of your personal information. Oh heck let's call them identity thieves, it fits. It is fairly easy to get your credit card number, they can get it without you even opening your wallet with some of the newest scanning equipment.
...
They are still getting card numbers with the old double receipt ploy and several other sneaky tricks. But those numbers do not always come with an address. Take a look at your credit cards. Do any of them have your address on them? Didn't think so.

So, these crooks, oh no, I mean these identity thieves get your credit card number. They go on line and they buy ... oh, let's say three million dinar, just as a for instance.

 First of all, if the card is declined at the end of the transaction, they will re-enter the information for the purchase of two million. See, if the card isn't authorized for the amount they are trying to charge, it will be declined.

By lowering the amount once or twice, the thieves are likely to hit on the right amount that will be accepted. If they blow it altogether and none of it is accepted and maybe their lowest amount of the three would be say $1000, then they will try again in a couple of days.

If they try more than three times and it is declined that often, an immediate red flag goes up and you may get a call from the credit card company asking if you are in possession of your card and have you been trying to use it in the past hour, or whatever.

If you have not they warn you that your card may have been compromised. That someone has the number. And then you have the chance to have them stop all transactions on that number and give you a new number and card. Didn't know any of that?

 Well, it could save you a bundle. If the crooks find out that your charging per day limit is $1000 they will charge just under that amount every day until the account limit is reached and the card declined.

Okay, lets get back to the address part of this. The identity thief will start out with your number. And they go through whatever process they have to in order to find out how much they can take at a time from your account. Then they will use it.

If they are ordering on line there is a place to put the delivery address. They can pick a vacant lot. They can specify one or two day delivery in a lot of cases. They can then take a van, wait at the address they gave, take delivery of the goods, and drive off.

In case a vacant lot seems to obvious, they will use an apartment building, and get in to the lobby area and wait there for the day. Each time someone comes to the door to come in, usually a resident, they will come and open the door for them. Why?

Because they want to meet the delivery person even before he tries to push a button for your apartment number, which may not even be on the listing, because the crook may have given a non-existent apartment.

 But he will make sure that he is there to open that door. And when it is the delivery man, he'll ask where the delivery man is going because he (the crook) is waiting for a delivery. "Oh, that's me," he says. And he scribbles a signature and takes the package.

See, if the company you are buying from does not have your real address, and use a phoney supplied by the crook, then the delivery company is delivering to the phoney address and the crook is there waiting, and when you call to complain because you were charged for something you didn't get, didn't even order, didn't even want ... you are the one stuck paying anyway.

And if the crook can give a phoney address, maybe a real building but a phoney apartment number, one that doesn't exist ... the trail ends there.

So, to combat this, companies are now beginning to ask for proof of your address for shipping purposes. Hence the request for a fax of your drivers license.

The day may come when direct mailers and on line sellers may be able to tie into department of motor vehicles, or whatever it might be called where you live, and just by asking you your drivers license number they can look up your address to make sure the address they have been given for delivery is legitimate.

And that, dear DV friends, is why you may be asked for a copy of your driver's licence. So don't go off and get angry with the company ... it is just more progress.

Source
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Dinar Recaps: Followup Post to our earlier post on Credit Card & Personal ID Security

2/15/2012

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Followup Post to our earlier post on Credit Card & Personal ID Security Info

02/15/2012
 
(Thank you Dorothy for emailing this to Dinar Recaps)

(While the attorney's free security protection advice is all sound, please post an additional enhancement to his list. I am a bank compliance officer, which means my job is to keep up with all banking laws and regulations.)

There is a better protection for your credit report - FREEZE your credit report. You have to contact each bureau separately to do this. Use the toll free numbers the atty listed. You will be provided with a code that you must give to a bank for a loan or store for new charge card. DO NOT carry this code in your wallet!! Lenders cannot access your credit report at all without this code. The only other way to get around this freeze is for you to call and request the freeze be temporarily lifted for a certain period of time (week or two) or for a certain type of transaction. Example -- tell the bureaus you are going car shopping for the next week or 10 days. Car dealers or auto finance companies will be allowed access to your account.

If you experience a stolen wallet, cards or checks - the bureau will typically place a fraud alert on your report. Just means the lender should ask you a few more questions to confirm your ID. If your file a police report you can request an EXTENDED FRAUD VICTIM alert on your credit reports. For this you only have to call one bureau and that one has to let the others know as well. The Fraud Victim category requires you to provide an alternate contact means for the lender to call you to confirm your ID in a setting that is not face to face. If you only have a cell phone, this can be a problem. Also regardless of how much I yell at staff, they make loans all the time to folks with these alerts on their credit reports because too many "credit protection" or "credit repair" schemes just do this on your reports for a nice fee you paid to them for something you can do for free, and these crooks don't provide an alternate contact method - thus watering down the effectiveness of the purpose of a Fraud Alert or the Extended Fraud Victim alert for everyone. SO BE SURE TO FREEZE YOUR CREDIT REPORT for ultimate protection.

-- From a fellow Dinarian who is a bank compliance officer. No, sorry, I have no inside sources at all about foreign currency values or screens. Wish I did, but even my fellow compliance officers at the mega banks don't have access to this type of info. either.

http://www.dinarrecaps.com/1/post/2012/02/followup-post-to-our-earlier-post-on-credit-card-personal-id-security-info.html
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Dinar Recaps: Credit Card & Personal ID Security Info

2/15/2012

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Credit Card & Personal ID Security Info


 Emailed To Dinar Recaps Team 02/14/2012
 
ATTORNEY'S ADVICE - NO CHARGE

Not A Joke!!   Even If you dislike attorneys..You will love them for these tips.
Read this and make a copy for your files in case you need to refer to it someday. Maybe we should all take some of his advice! A corporate attorney sent the following out to the employees in his company:

1. Do not sign  the back of your credit cards. Instead, put 'PHOTO ID REQUIRED.'

2. When you are writing checks to pay on your credit card accounts,  DO  NOT put the complete account number on the 'For' line. Instead, just put the  last four numbers.

The credit card company knows the rest of the number, and anyone who might be handling your check as it passes through all the check processing channels won't have access to it.
...
Read More Link On Right
3. Put your work phone # on your checks instead of your home phone. If you have a PO Box use that instead of your home address. If you do not have a PO Box, use your work address.

Never have your SS# printed on your checks. (DUH!) You can add it if it is necessary. But if you have It printed, anyone can get it.

4. Place the contents of your wallet on a photocopy machine. Do both sides of each license, credit card, etc. You will know what you had in your wallet and all of the account numbers and phone numbers to call and cancel.. Keep the photocopy in a safe place.

It is also recommended to have Credit Cards and Driver Licenses protected from personal scanners with RFID protection -

I also carry a photocopy of my passport when I travel either here or abroad. We've all heard horror stories about fraud that's committed on us in stealing a Name, address, Social Security number, credit cards..

Unfortunately, I, an attorney, have first hand knowledge because my wallet was stolen last month.

Within a week, the thieves ordered an expensive monthly cell phone package, applied for a VISA credit card, had a credit line approved to buy a Gateway computer, received a PIN number from DMV to change my driving record information online, and more.

But here's some critical information to limit the damage in case this happens to you or someone you know:

5. We have been told we should cancel our credit cards immediately. But the key is having the toll free numbers and your card numbers handy so you know whom to call. Keep those where you can find them.

6. File a  police report immediately in the jurisdiction where your credit cards, etc., were stolen. This proves to credit providers you were diligent, and this is a first step toward an investigation (if there ever is one).

But here's what is perhaps most important of all: (I never even thought to do this.)

7. Call  the  3 national credit reporting organizations  immediately to place a fraud alert on your name and also call the Social Security fraud line number.

I had never heard of doing that until advised by a bank that called to tell me an application for credit was made over the Internet in my name.

The alert means any company that checks your credit knows your information was stolen, and they have to contact you by phone to authorize new credit..

By the time I was advised to do this, almost two weeks after the theft, all the damage had been done. There are records of all the credit checks initiated by the thieves' purchases, none of which I knew about before placing the alert.

Since then, no additional damage has been done, and the thieves threw my wallet away this weekend (someone turned it in). It seems to have stopped them dead in their tracks.

Now, here are the numbers you always need to contact about your wallet, if it has been stolen:

1.) Equifax:  1-800-525-6285  1-800-525-6285  

2.) Experian (formerly TRW):  1-888-397-3742  1-888-397-3742

3.) Trans Union :  1-800-680 7289  1-800-680 7289

4.) Social Security Administration (fraud line):
1-800-269-0271  1-800-269-0271

http://www.dinarrecaps.com/1/post/2012/02/credit-card-personal-id-security-info-emailed-to-dinar-recaps-team.html
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The IQD Team BofA employees flood bank's rivals with resumes

11/2/2011

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Thanks Going Global....BofA employees flood bank's rivals with resumes ...


Related (Bank of America) Articles:

Is Bank of America preparing for a Chapter 11?... 

Bank of America Will Generously Offer Ways To Avoid Having Them Totally Rip You Off ~ "Isn't That Special" ... and .. Bank of America drops $5 debit card fee plan ~ JPMorgan Chase & Co and Wells Fargo & Co last week decided to cancel test programs ... 

November 02, 2011

BofA employees flood bank's rivals with resumes 

CHARLOTTE, North Carolina (Reuters) - Bank of America Corp employees are flooding rival companies with resumes as a major cost-cutting program gets under way at the second-largest U.S. bank.

Competitors say they are getting an influx of calls, emails and LinkedIn connection requests as the bank embarks on a plan to slash 30,000 jobs over the next few years. The employees are scouting jobs in retail, commercial and investment banking, bankers and recruiters said.

"It's definitely picking up," said a senior executive at a rival consumer bank.

The uncertainty at Bank of America gives competitors a chance to nab talented employees, bankers said. But they cautioned that many companies are only hiring selectively.

Continues ...

In the most high-profile departure, PNC Financial Services Group Inc last week hired Bank of America strategy executive Mike Lyons to lead its corporate and institutional banking unit. Lyons had advised CEO Brian Moynihan on his plan to sell off nonessential assets.

John Dunn, director of the banking and financial services practice at recruiting firm Stephen James Associates, said he has had about 20 calls or meetings with Bank of America employees in recent weeks, mostly in investment banking and capital markets operations. Normally, he might have talked to or met only two to four over that period.

"Now these folks are looking to get out of choppy water before they get displaced or asked to relocate," Dunn said. "It's much easier finding a job while you have a job."

Moynihan is chopping expenses as new regulations, a sluggish economy and low long-term interest rates are crimping profits across the banking industry. Charlotte, North Carolina-based Bank of America in particular needs to build capital to cover mortgage-related losses and meet new international standards.

The bank's efficiency program, called Project New BAC, aims to streamline a company bloated by years of acquisitions. But executives risk cutting too deeply or creating an unsettling environment for those who remain, said Beth Livingston, assistant professor of human resources studies at Cornell University.

"You get the survivor effect," Livingston said. "Everyone is on edge. There's a culture of fear that permeates the climate."

SHAKE-UP

In recent months, Bank of America has laid off employees, including senior leaders, in consumer, human resources, capital markets and other areas, people familiar with the situation said. The cuts are part of a round of 3,500 layoffs announced in August and the first wave of Project New BAC, which takes its name from the company's stock symbol.

New BAC cuts began in September when Moynihan ousted consumer banking head Joe Price and wealth management head Sallie Krawcheck and handed their duties to co-chief operating officers David Darnell and Tom Montag.

In reorganizing his management team, Darnell is merging mortgage operations into the consumer bank, leaving the future position of mortgage head Barbara Desoer unclear. The shake-up also displaced Bank of America veteran Henry Fulton, who has held top credit card, mortgage and consumer banking positions.

Last month, the company said the "implementation" of the first wave of New BAC, which focuses on consumer operations, was to start in October. The second phase, which will address capital markets, commercial banking and wealth management units, begins in the spring.

Bank of America said it had 288,739 employees on September 30, up from 288,084 three months earlier, but about 2,000 have been told they will be let go.

Bank of America spokesman Scott Silvestri declined to comment on the layoffs.

The company ranks behind JPMorgan Chase & Co in terms of assets.

link


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The IQD Team: Bank of America drops $5 debit card fee plan

11/2/2011

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Bank of America drops $5 debit card fee plan

Rick Rothacker
Reuters US Online Report Top News

Nov 01, 2011 12:11 EDT

(Reuters) - Bank of America Corp is dropping plans to charge a $5 monthly fee for debit card use, the bank said in a statement on Tuesday.


The second-biggest U.S. bank said the move was in response to customer feedback and competition. Bank of America was under pressure to make the change as rivals backtracked from plans to charge customers for using their debit cards.

"We have listened to our customers very closely over the last few weeks and recognize their concern with our proposed debit usage fee," David Darnell, the bank's co-chief operating officer, said in a statement.

JPMorgan Chase & Co and Wells Fargo & Co last week decided to cancel test programs, while SunTrust Banks Inc and Regions Financial Corp said on Monday they would end monthly charges and reimburse customers.

Bank of America had planned to start charging customers next year. Banks began crafting the monthly charges to make up revenue lost to a law that slashes the fees they charge retailers when consumers swipe their cards. The fees sparked a firestorm of criticism from consumers and politicians, and many smaller banks and credit unions shunned the practice.

Bank of America began softening its stance on the fee last week. The Charlotte, North Carolina, bank planned to give customers more ways to avoid the charge, such as maintaining minimum balances, having a paycheck direct-deposited or using their Bank of America credit card.

The reversal is another embarrassing about-face for Bank of American CEO Brian Moynihan. This spring, he signaled plans for a modest dividend increase this year, only to have the Federal Reserve Board deny the request.

(Reporting by Rick Rothacker in Charlotte, North Carolina; editing by Lisa Von Ahn; editing by Andre Grenon)

Source: Reuters US Online Report Top News

LINK
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5 ways thieves steal credit card data

10/30/2011

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5 ways thieves steal credit card data 

LINK
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Finding Info on Bank Fees May Take Digging

10/30/2011

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Finding Info on Bank Fees May Take Digging
Published: Friday, 21 Oct 2011 | 11:09 AM ET Text Size 
By: Molly Tilghman and Sandra Block

The hullabaloo about Bank of America's decision to charge customers a monthly debit card fee has prompted many consumers to take a hard look at the cost of their bank accounts.

Here's the problem: Almost all bank websites will prominently disclose the fees they don't charge. Identifying the fees they do charge is much more difficult.

USA Today analyzed the cost of opening a basic checking account at the 10 largest banks and credit unions. In most cases, information about monthly maintenance fees, requirements to waive these fees, and the minimum needed to open an account are readily available on the institutions' websites. Other fees, such as the cost of taking a withdrawal from an out-of-network ATM or closing an account weren't prominently disclosed.

Searching for a List of Fees

To learn about these fees, consumers must dig up a "Schedule of Fees and Charges." This is where banks and credit unions compile a more detailed list of service fees that apply to their customers. Some financial institutions, such as the SunTrust Bank and Alliant Credit Union, featured a link to the fees on the main checking account page. This, however, was an anomaly. In some cases, we had to Google "Schedule of Fees," and the name of the bank or credit union. Even then, the schedule of fees isn't always comprehensive.


RELATED LINKS
How to Avoid Getting 'Crammed'Best Places to Work on Wall StreetBest Places to Work on Wall StreetObama Names Critic of Large Banks to FDIC BoardPIMCO Bond Man Bullish on US Banks 
Credit unions fared better than banks: With the exception of Security Service Federal, we found a schedule of fees on all their websites (although it sometimes took several clicks). We were also able to find a schedule of fees on websites for Bank of America [BAC  7.35     0.13  (+1.8%)   ], Chase [JPM  36.69     -0.33  (-0.89%)   ], SunTrust [STI  20.63     -0.38  (-1.81%)   ] and Wells Fargo [WFC  27.08     0.01  (+0.04%)   ].

With help from Google [GOOG  600.14     1.47  (+0.25%)   ], we were able to find the fee schedule for PNC Bank [PNC  55.07     -0.90  (-1.61%)   ] and U.S. Bank [USB  26.03     -0.19  (-0.72%)   ].

But even the world's largest search engine couldn't unearth a fee schedule for HSBC, TD Bank, Citibank [C  34.16     -0.01  (-0.03%)   ] and Capital One [COF  46.90     -0.17  (-0.36%)   ]. To get their fee information, we had to email or call the banks.



Determined customers can search for information about fees in banks' official disclosure documents, but they'll need a lot of time and a couple of cups of coffee, too. An analysis of checking accounts for the 10 largest banks by the Pew Health Group found that the median length of their disclosure statements was 111 pages. None of the banks provided key information about fees on a single page, the study found.

"As a result," the study said, "consumers must navigate a confusing maze of disclosure documents in their efforts to locate all of the important account information."

This story first appeared in USA Today.
http://www.cnbc.com/id/44988911
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Banks Starting to Kill or Scale Back Debit-Card Fees

10/28/2011

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Banks Starting to Kill or Scale Back Debit-Card Fees

Published: Friday, 28 Oct 2011 | 8:16 PM ET Text Size 
By: Reuters

After heavy criticism, big banks are starting to rethink their monthly debit-card fees.

Bank of America [BAC  7.35     0.13  (+1.8%)   ] is revamping its plans as rivals Wells Fargo [WFC  27.08     0.01  (+0.04%)   ] and JPMorgan Chase [JPM  36.69     -0.33  (-0.89%)   ] have decided not to charge monthly fees, ending test programs in certain states.

Bank of America is likely to allow many customers to sidestep the fee by taking measures such as maintaining minimum balances, having paychecks direct deposited, or using Bank of America credit cards, the person said.

Under earlier plans, customers might have needed balances totaling $20,000 across all their Bank of America accounts to avoid the fee.

Bank of Americas unleashed a firestorm of criticism from customers, consumer advocates and politicians last month when it disclosed plans to charge customers $5 per month for using their debit cards, starting sometime next year.

The goal was to make up revenue lost to a law that slashes the fees banks charge retailers when consumers swipe their cards.

While some banks have disclosed plans to apply similar fees, many banks and credit unions decided not to institute the charge and have encouraged customers to switch banks.

Charlotte, North Carolina-based Bank of America is not abandoning the fee now and will likely include it in new account types the bank is testing in three states. The bank plans to roll out these packages nationwide next year.

The $5-per-month fee may still remain an option for customers, the person said.

The bank has said the purpose of the new account types is to provide customers with upfront pricing, instead of hitting them with penalties after the fact. Customers can pay monthly fees of between $9 and $20, or avoid the charges by keeping minimum balances, using their credit cards or having a minimum amount deposited to their account.

Among other banks, Wells Fargo said late Friday that in response to customer feedback it has canceled a five-state pilot program that would have charged customers $3 per month to use their cards

After testing a $3 per month fee in two states since February, JPMorgan Chase has decided not to charge customers, a person familiar with the situation said on Friday. The test will end next month and will not be extended or expanded, the person added.

Citigroup [C  34.16     -0.01  (-0.03%)   ] announced an account overhaul in mid-September that did not include a monthly debit card usage fee. Stephen Troutner, head of banking products for Citi's U.S. consumer bank, said at the time that the New York-based bank found customers were strongly opposed to such monthly maintenance fees.

Richard Davis, CEO of US Bancorp [USB  26.03     -0.19  (-0.72%)   ], said during an Oct. 19 conference call with analysts the Minneapolis-based regional bank is monitoring the results of other banks imposing debit card fees. Davis did not rule out instituting a fee in the future, but said the bank has no immediate plans to do so.

"We will find out if customers complain and move, or just complain," he said. "We will take all that in time and we will make our decision."

SunTrust Banks [STI  20.63     -0.38  (-1.81%)   ] is charging a $5 per-month fee on everyday checking account customers who make purchases. A spokesman declined to comment on the bank's strategy.

Norma Garcia, manager of Consumers Union's financial-services program, applauded JPMorgan's decision, but said that, without more details, it was unclear if Bank of America's changes would be better for customers.

"Clearly, there is overwhelming public support to drop the fee," she added.

http://www.cnbc.com/id/45080627
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