Since everyone is online more during the pandemic, there’s an increased urgency about fixing computers if there’s a problem. Scammers, as always, are lurking around just looking for a new opportunity to strike. They’re offering even more phony tech support services.
Student loan servicer Navient has agreed to cancel $1.7 billion in debt owed by more than 66,000 borrowers throughout the nation and pay more than $140 million in penalties to settle charges of abusive lending practices. The $1.85 billion settlement with 39 state attorneys general was announced Thursday.
Scammers and fraudsters are always lurking around, and they’re especially adept at taking the latest happenings and pouncing. It’s not a surprise then that fake and unauthorized at-home testing kits are popping up online as scammers take advantage of the increase in demand.
The Chamber of Commerce is lobbying to oppose tougher enforcement at the Federal Trade Commission because its ranks are filled with corporate wrongdoers, a Public Citizen report says. The 111 known Chamber member corporations have violated state and federal laws 15,896 times with fines of $154 billion since 2000.
Many Americans lack financial literacy. Moreover, regardless of their financial wealth, many Americans also aren’t as happy as they could be … lacking what one of our reviewers defined as “life literacy.” We wrote “Your Total Wealth: The Heart and Soul of Financial Literacy” because of these two reasons.
Thirty percent of Americans overspent during the holidays, and it’s likely that many of them will be paying for the 2021 holiday season well into 2022, according to a survey by WalletHub, a personal finance website. However, 41 million Americans say the 2021 holiday season was worth going into debt for.
Are you making resolutions for the new year? If so, add “protect my personal information” to the list. Scammers and hackers are always looking for new ways to steal your personal information online. You can take steps to help protect your information. Jim Kreidler, consumer education specialist for the Federal Trade Commission, offers these tips:
About 40,000 people reported losing $148 million in gift cards to scammers during the first nine months of 2021, a number that has increased each year for the past several years. Since 2018, gift cards have been the most frequently reported payment method for fraud.
Giving Tuesday is a day for giving to charities and organizations. It’s a reminder to help others as Americans spend, spend, spend for the holidays. While the goal of Giving Tuesday is great, you could miss the mark by not checking our charities to make sure you donate to worthwhile ones.
