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Afraid of their insurance getting jacked up or of employer discrimation, people who think they might be genetically predisposed to certain diseases are testing themselves with home DNA kits, hiding the results from their doctors, and harboring a potentially deadly secret. [NYT]
If you live in the New York Metro area, tune into NBC channel 4 like right now to see a followup on the widespread HSBC fraud story we broke. They interview Corey, the fiance of Emily, a Consumerist reader and HSBC fraud victim. WNBC tells us that the FBI said they they were generally aware of fraud in the area, but not this specific HSBC matter, and will be looking into the case. It’s par for the course that the bank would be more interested in avoiding bad publicity quiet than going after the scammers stealing your money. UPDATE: Just watched it, HSBC is saying that a credit card payment processor lost the customer data and so other banks could be affected too. However, when WNBC contacted other banks, Chase and Citi said they had not heard of missing money, Mastercard said they have not issued a system-wide alert, and VISA said they’re looking into it.
HSBC confirmed that thieves stole card payment data from the bank and they were reissuing 6,000 atm/debit cards to customers affected by the breach. One Consumerist reader, Keith, had $2000 stolen from him via an ATM in Bulgaria, and another, Emily, had $2,800 siphoned from her account from ATMs located clear across the country. (Emily also got interviewed on WCBS and we got a mention and a screenshot). Checking the comments section, it looks like 11 other Consumerist readers were affected by the HSBC fraud as well, with a number of the fraudulent withdrawals being made from Montreal and Canada. Sounds like the thieves stole the data, which contained both card numbers and PIN codes, and then cloned ATM/debit cards. If you’re an HSBC customer, might be a good time to change your PIN number.
The Supreme Court is currently considering whether to halve the punitive damages levied against Exxon for its massive 1989 oil spill from the Exxon Valdez tanker, from the current $2.5 billion to something more like $1 billion. Exxon claims the higher number amounts to excessive punishment. According to the New York Times, the decision may come down to a tie with four justices on either side; Justice Alito is not participating because he owns Exxon Mobile stock. The Exxon Valdez disaster “caused a 3,000-square-mile oil slick and still affects Alaska’s fisheries after nearly 19 years.”
When you get a new or replacement credit card in the mail, you have to call the number on the back to activate it, or else you can’t use it, right? Wrong. Despite the sticker on the back that says, “For security purposes, this card is not active,” credit card companies are mailing out cards that can be used without phone activation. This is a problem if the letter containing your credit card is intercepted by an identity thief, like what happened to reader PC Guy. The kicker? He didn’t even request the card, it was a forcible reissue when his store-branded card switched from Visa to Mastercard. His story, inside.
Analysts estimate that 50 out of the nation’s 7,500 small and midsize banks will fail in the next 12 to 18 month, due to defaults on commercial real estate loans. The best quote in this NYT article comes from Timothy W. Long, head of supervision for midsize and community banks at the office of the comptroller, “I would tell you a lot of bankers out there have never had a loan charged off…The last time we went through this, the loan officers were in junior high.”
Luxury, excess, extravagance, low mpg, they all fit together like your hand on a golden stick shift embossed with your family crest. ForbesAutos rounds up the top ten least fuel efficient luxury cars. There are more than 10 as some cars tied for the same lack of fuel efficiency.
CardTrack.com says “the percentage of people delinquent on their credit cards is the highest it’s been in three years,” according to CNN. Over the past year, U.S. consumers have charged “more than $2.2 trillion in purchases and cash advances.” The article gives the usual advice: Stop buying stuff!
Rob writes:
I was the recipient of an international wire transfer into my Netbank Checking Account for $1000 EUR (about $1400 US) on 2007-08-08. After I noticed the amount didn’t post to my account, I contacted Netbank and the sending bank in Spain. The sending bank generated a multi-page “proof of transfer” document and indicated the money had been transfered. Netbank never got back to me. This began the 7 month nightmare of dealing with an inattentive bank in the middle of it’s being seized by the FDIC that continues to this day.
Pictured: CEO Arkadi Kuhlmann perched atop his Harley-Davidson in the ING-Direct company lobby.
Y’all really don’t have good feelings about the economy, according to the Consumer Confidence Index which dropped to 75 this month from 87.3 in January. That’s the lowest it’s been since the 64.8 of Feb ’03, just before the US invaded Iraq. Furthemore, the “expectations for th next six months index” dropped to 57.9 from 69.3 in January. It might be a good time to start eating less so your stomach shrinks in preparation for the lean times.
Donald writes:
First and foremost i would like to thank you for the wonderful site. The information found here has been extremely useful. With that said i just want to share with you a success story i had with getting Bank Of America to lower the interest rate on my Apple GoldReserve Line of Credit. This story does not start out so nicely though.
If, despite the news telling you every day, you still don’t understand how the subprime meltdown happened, perhaps this stick-figure slideshow will help. If even flatlanders can’t see through these scams, what hope is there for the rest of us? Warning, uses naughty words.
If you want to improve your credit score, a score from 300-850 that lenders use to determine whether you qualify for a loan and how much interest to charge you if you do, you’ll want to know your “reason codes.” These are 2-digit numbers that come with you credit score when you purchase it. Each bureau usually gives you four reason codes with their report, so get your score from each one for a total of 12. One wiki tutorial says that reason codes are listed in order of importance. Armed with that, The Mechanics Of Credit site decodes all the reason codes and prescribes solutions for each one. With this info and tactics, you should be able to boost your score a couple of points and save a bundle.
There was a NYT op-ed last week, “Go On A Savings Spree,” suggesting that, as opposed to the tax-rebate stimulus, the best way to heal the economy is for the government to create universal mutual funds for every tax-payer. At one point, author Dalton Conley writes, “Some research suggests that asset-holders behave more responsibly and are more civic-minded than those without wealth. After all, they have a stake in the future of the economy and their community…Investing motivates people of all income levels to defer gratification and become knowledgeable about the economy and society.”
Anne tried to send some flowers to her stepmom last week, but changed her mind after she saw the final price, which at $64 was too much for her budget (the tulips she picked out were listed at $29.99, but all the additional fees doubled the price).
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