Archive for the ‘Avoid Scams & ID Theft’ Category

Over-leveraged landlords are losing their rental properties in droves, and banks have no interest in being landlords. As a result, renters are often innocent victims of the foreclosure epidemic.
Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart has decided to take measures into his own hands. He announced a moratorium on evictions for homes, apartment buildings, and condominiums [...]

Debt Collector Uses Consumer’s Debit Card Information for Spending Spree | Consumer Law & Policy

Millions at Risk of Foreclosure Fraud | The Red Tape Chronicles

The website of the Predatory Lending Association* is chock-full of great information for payday lenders, such as racial profiling tools, tips on lending to members of the military (no, 20 payday loan stores by a military base are not too many), and a working poor finder, which uses Google Maps to help predatory lenders find [...]

Along with apparently every other member of the National Association of Consumer Advocates, I just got a letter (PDF) from Federal Debt Relief System, which says it is “restoring America’s freedom” on its letterhead. In the letter, FDRS says “Every account gets reviewed by a paralegal and is submitted to you as a Federal Complaint [...]

“As many as 2 million loan applicants may have had their personal information stolen, the FBI says.” Mortgage firm Countrywide, in response to alleged data breach, offers free credit monitoring | LA Times

Beware Free Credit Reports | NY Consumer Litigation

What To Do If You Find An Error On Your Credit Card Statement | New York Consumer Litigation

Nice write-up on rent-to-own.  Bad Credit? Why You Shouldn’t ‘Rent to Own’ | ABC News

Pete Barry was on the Morning Show with Mike and Juliet this morning. His advice on making sure you are not dealing with a rogue debt collector: make sure you get an address and phone number, at least.
But in the end, it can be hard to know whether the collector on the phone is legitimate. [...]

“Scammers masquerading as debt collectors and law enforcement officials have terrified consumers with threatening phone calls and bilked them out of thousands of dollars, officials with the West Virginia Attorney General’s Office say. ” Fake Debt Collectors Terrify Consumers | ABC News (via Consumerist)

Top 10 How To Videos | Lifehacker

Former Countywide Employee Arrested For Stealing, Selling Customer Identities | Consumerist

Blue Cross Blue Shield Of Georgia Sends 202,000 Letters Containing Personal Information To The Wrong Addresses | Consumerist

Perhaps some are. But when NetDebt charges “15% of the amount of debt you bring to their program (regardless of results or the number of creditors it must deal with), plus a “small” monthly service fee of $50,” I have to wonder.
So if a consumer had $20,000 in debt, he or she would owe $3,000, [...]

Are airline kiosks safe? | Red Tape Chronicles

Bank Of American Lets Identity Thief Withdraw $40,000 In A Single Day | Consumerist

The Olympus TP-7 Telephone Recording Device (clever name, eh?) is probably the easiest way to record phone calls (from an abusive debt collector, for example) that I have seen. You stick it in your ear, plug it into a recorder, hold your phone normally up against your ear with the earbud in it, and it [...]

Most Bank Websites Are Insecure | /.

I was amused to read Mark Ireland’s post saying he came under fire by members of a panel on foreclosures at the recent Equal Justice Conference in Minneapolis for suggesting that mortgage loan servicers are not acting in the best interest of either consumers or lenders. I thought that was common knowledge.
Servicers make money from [...]