Consumerist
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savings accounts
Don't Let Maintenance Fees Ruin Your Automatic Savings Program
If you participate in an automatic savings program like Bank of America's Keep the Change service, where debit card purchases are rounded up and the difference is deposited into your savings account, keep an eye on maintenance fees. James says he was hit with a $5 charge last month because he hadn't met the minimum monthly deposit requirement of $25: "It turns out that I wasn't even accruing $5 worth of change per month, so I was losing more money due to the maintenance fee than I was saving via Keep the Change!" More » -
hot infographics
Revealing The Hidden Cost Of PrePaid Debit Cards
With credit cards harder to come by and more annoying to use, the prepaid debit card market is projected to explode from $8.7 billion loaded on the cards to $119 billion in 2012, but a good chunk of that is going to be eaten up by hidden fees and gotchas. This sexy graphic visualization shows how. More » -
hidden fees
Prepaid Debit Cards Are Money Sucking Black Holes In Your Pocket
Be very careful about activating any sort of over-the-counter prepaid debit card, reports the New York Times. They looked at a handful of prepaids currently on the market and discovered ridiculously high hidden fees—the first two months of use can cost you up to $80. More » -
overdraft fees
Overdraft Fees Up 35% In Past Two Years
As a nation, we pay more each year in overdraft fees than we do for books, cereal, or fresh vegetables, says the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL)—and considering how outrageously expensive cereal is, they must be talking about a huge sum. They are: "Banks and credit unions collected nearly $24 billion in overdraft fees last year, an increase of 35 percent from just two years earlier." More » -
crime
Video: Guy Installing Skimmer On ATM
LiveLeak has posted surveillance video footage from earlier this month of a guy in Brazil installing a skimming device onto a bank ATM. The second half of the tape shows him being arrested and officials revealing the device, which just reminds us that the next time we use an ATM, we're first going to take off a shoe and hit everything on it like it's covered in giant ants. See the video below. More » -
trapped
Bank Piles On Overdraft Fees Due To Merchant Error, Doesn't Seem Too Keen On Refunding Them
Here's a story from a reader about a bad bank practice that we hear about too frequently—a bank cascades hundreds of dollars worth of overdraft fees on an error that's beyond the customer's control, but then is unresponsive or uncooperative on refunding those fees. More » -
when profit models go bad
Banks Cling To Overdraft Fees Because They Need Them To Survive
Banks now make more on debit card overdraft fees than credit card penalties—they'll rake in about $27 billion in 2009 alone, according to the New York Times. They obviously have zero incentive to curb the practice. In fact, one economist told the paper that "45 percent of the nation's banks and credit unions collect more from overdraft services than they make in profits." More » -
unbanked
Walmart: No More Paycheck Here's Your Pre-Paid Debit Card
Walmart, our nation's largest employer, has eliminated paper paychecks. Now employees can choose to sign up for direct deposit or have their wages added to a pre-paid debit card. ABCNews says that only about half of Walmart's employees use direct deposit — the rest either prefer a paper paycheck or, in some cases, don't have a bank account. More » -
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your rights
Squash Minimum Purchase Fees With Wallet-Sized Merchant Agreement
Fed up with stores not knowing the rules for credit card purchases, Andy at NonToxicReviews created this handy credit-card-sized PDF of the relevant portions of Visa's and MasterCard's merchant agreements. More » -
banks
Credit Union Celebrates Labor Day By Limiting ATM Transactions To $40
How are you spending the long weekend? If you're one of 2,000 Arizona Federal Credit Union customers affected in a Visa security breach, we hope you weren't planning a trip out of state. More » -
headaches
WaMu/Chase Doesn't Believe Your Card Was Stolen, Despite The Fact That The Thief Was Arrested
Reader Stephen says that a NYC Taxi driver tricked him into using an ATM skimmer-like-device instead of the normal credit card machine and made off with his card and PIN. The NYPD made an arrest, but Stephen says he's still battling with Chase/WaMu. More » -
interviews
Identity Theft Hysteria Overblown, Watch Your Debit Card Instead
If you need the straight story on issues of credit card, debit, and banking fraud and security, something more than "we're taking it seriously," Avivah Litan, VP and distinguished analyst at Gartner research is your go-to-gal. I recently interviewed her over the phone about consumers can protect themselves in an era where just keeping your mother's maiden name a secret doesn't cut the mustard. I learned that you can buy a credit card number for a few cents, losing your Social Security Number is NOT the most dangerous fraud that is likely to happen to you, and how Obama's helicopter plans got stolen thanks to P2P music-sharing software... More »
2:17 PM on Thu Jul 16 2009
By Ben Popken
14,059 views, 50 commentsMost discussed pax: Was this article edited at all before it was published? Run-on sentences, lack of punctuation... It's fine for an interview more »
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scams
$300,000 Credit Card Skim Was "Model Employee" Scam
His name was "Erick," and after earning respect and responsibilities at the Arco gas station he'd been working at for 8 months, he dissapeared, leaving behind only a hidden credit card skimmer that stole $300,000 worth of debit card info from reams of customers. Police believe that "Erick," pictured, was a low-rank solider in an organized crime ring who had been given the assignment of working his way up the ladder at the gas station until he was in a position to place the credit card skimmer, a type of con known as the "model employee" scam. As a shopper, protect yourself from skimmers by only using cash, credit cards, or swiping your debit card as credit.
Russian or Armenian Mob Used "Model Employee" Con at PCH Arco [LA WEEKLY] (Thanks to Angela!)
PREVIOUSLY: Credit Card Skimmers Attack Arco Gas Stations In California -
rebates
Shortchanged By Verizon's Rebate Card
Late last year Verizon started replacing its rebate checks with Visa debit cards. You use them as you would debit cards, only without having to tap in a PIN. Long story short — after using one of these cards I'm convinced they're part of a scam meant to let Verizon and/or Visa skim pennies off the tops of rebates owed to customers because once there's only chump change left on your card, you can apparently no longer use it. More » -
chase bank
Chase Sends You Debit Card You Don't Need, Tells You To Activate It
Chase isn't just acting in shady ways toward their credit card customers. Their latest sneaky move is sending new debit cards that impose fees to their banking customers, hoping that customers will simply activate the new debit cards with no questions asked. Not so fast. More » -
chase
updated: WaMu Accounts Become *Almost* Totally Chase July 24
Starting July 24, 2009, WaMu accounts will get fully transitioned to Chase. After that, ex-WaMuers will be able to fully enjoy the benefits of Chase banking, like making deposits into Chase ATMs, the full range of Chase branch banking services, and the luxury of paying Chase's service fees which are higher than WaMu's were.
UPDATE: Actually, this is just the second conversion. The third and last conversion will happen in the fall.
(Photo: mr.hodgson)
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credit cards
Which Credit And Debit Cards Are The Best To Use Overseas?
Spending money costs money when you're abroad, but a list of cards and fees compiled by USA Today can help you decide which card to pack before you leave. More » -
rebates
Creative Labs Charges "Maintenance Fee" For Rebate
Creative Labs has found a great new way to minimize the risk that a customer will actually benefit from a rebate offer. In Rick's case, they sent him the rebate in the form of a $10 debit card that was supposed to be good until July 2009, but when he went to a Best Buy to use it last month, it was denied. The reason? He'd been charged a $3 "maintenance fee" every month since January. More »
debit cards
New York, 5:07 PM
Sat Nov 21
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