Posts from — February 2008

Late last month, the Congressional Budget Office published a little-noticed estimate that forecasts seniors will receive just a 2.8 percent increase in their Social Security checks beginning in January, 2009.
A majority of the 48 million Americans aged 65 and over who receive a Social Security check depend on it for at least 50 percent of their total income, and one in three beneficiaries relies on it for 90 percent or more of their total income. Since 2000, people 65 and over have lost 40 percent of their buying power. Necessities such as home heating oil and gasoline have more than doubled since the beginning of the decade, while food staples such as potatoes and butter have increased by 47 and 39 percent, respectively. Full Story.

You never have to pay for information about job vacancies or employment opportunities with the U.S. government or U.S. Postal Service. But some scam artists are victimizing many Americans by selling information about federal job opportunities. These scam artists advertise in the classified sections of newspapers and offer – for a fee – to help job seekers find and apply for federal jobs. In truth, federal agencies and the U.S. Postal Service never charge application fees or guarantee that an applicant will be hired. Some fraudulent companies even try to confuse consumers by using names that sound like those of federal agencies, like the “U.S. Agency for Career Advancement” or the “Postal Employment Service.” Full Story.

A federal report shows that American consumers lose more than $40 billion a year to telemarketing fraud. It’s no wonder that con artists in foreign countries want in on the action. In many cases, crooks are sitting across the border - just far enough away from U.S. laws and jurisdiction to reduce the chances that American victims will ever recover their money. These frauds include Credit Card Loss Protection Offers that “inform” you that you are no longer protected by the $50.00 cap on unauthorized use of your card. That’s simply not true. Another scam are the Advance-Fee Loan “Sharks” who offer you a loan on the condition that you make an up-front payment. When you give your credit card info, your card is charged and you never hear from the huckster again. Full story.

The Federal Trade Commission alerts mortgage shoppers to be wary of certain terms in mortgage ads.  For instance, a low “Fixed” Rate: Ads that tout a “fixed” rate may not tell you how long it will be “fixed.” The rate may be fixed for an introductory period only, and that can be as short as 30 days. When you shop for a mortgage, you need to know when and how your rate, and payments, can change. Full Story.