Your Wealth and Wisdom

What is a password?

Every time you log onto your computer or email you use (or should use) a password. When you use your ATM/Bank card and most credit cards today, you are asked to enter a Personal Identification Number (PIN), passwords. When you sign up online for a service or newsletter you are asked to create a password. The list of passwords and PINs just get longer everyday and keeping track of all of the number, letter, and word combinations may be confusing at times.

Passwords are the most common means of authentication, but if you don’t choose good passwords and keep them confidential, it is almost as bad as not having a password at all. Many email and store services have been successfully broken into by crooks because of poor or Read the rest of this entry »

Most people never think about the process that a check goes through once it has been written. Normally, it is assumed to be “good” with the funds readily available from which to draw. That doesn’t always happen, of course. Checks are often written that bounce; when they do, a bank can be vulnerable to a financial loss.

In this article, we’ll explore how banks honor checks that they receive and collect funds from those they send elsewhere for recompense. We’ll also take a brief look at common check clearing scams.

The Basics Of Clearing

When most of us write a check, we consider that the money is immediately taken from our checking account. But, it can potentially take several days (even months) for your check to be presented to your bank for payment. If you knew exactly when that would happen, you could confidently use the money allocated toward that check as long as you returned it to your account prior to the check coming in. Read the rest of this entry »

Every time you swipe your credit card and obtain loans from various lending organizations, your credit score is always affected. It is important that the credit score is good so that you have higher chance of being approved for a future credit or loan. Negative remarks will decrease your chance of credit approval, red marks such as:

• Finance charges due to late payment

• Purchases that exceed the credit limit

• Non-payment of past due accounts

• Repossession of properties that are taken as security against loan

• Late payment of child support

Remember that child support can also affect your credit score through the following channels:

• Declarations on your income tax returns

• If the ex-spouse arranged for a collection agency to collect payments for your child support Read the rest of this entry »

This is a great article on the basics of identity protection. I also posted a great video below that clearly explains what phishing scams are.

Identity theft is the world’s fastest growing crime due to society’s ever increasing reliance on computers and the Internet. Identity theft occurs when identity thieves steal key pieces of your PII (Personal Identifying Information) like your credit card number, Social Security number, driving license number and even your name.

Once your personal identifying information is stolen, it is usually used for fraudulent purposes. This can be devastating to you, your family, and your financial well-being.

ID theft is an insidious and complex crime. The Federal Trade Commission calculates that more than 9 million Americans every year fall prey to this growing phenomenon.

A few ID theft victims discover the situation quickly and take action to repair the damage before the damage overwhelms them. However, others are not so lucky. The unfortunate majority of identity theft victims end up spending hefty amounts of cash and endless hours to restore their names or credit record.

The extent of damage and intensity can vary from fraudulent accounts or rental apartments in your name, to losing a job or even bankruptcy filed in your name.

How does it happen? Where does it start? How do you prevent it or restore your identity once you are a victim? Read the rest of this entry »