Lending Stream, an online UK provider of payday loans and other short-term financing, is warning consumers about telephone callers impersonating loan company representatives. The company recently received reports of telephone fraud within the industry. Tricksters are calling UK families at random and posing as staff of legitimate UK lending companies. After offering loans of as much as £5,000, they request banking information to supposedly “qualify” consumers for the financing.

Consumers can protect themselves from becoming victims of this fraud by following several recommendations proposed by Lending Stream. Most UK providers of payday loans do not call people without being solicited. Therefore, consumers who receive such phone calls should be on alert. If a deal being offered sounds too good to be true, it is probably a scam. Cons

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So I’ve been writing in to a Minister once again. Probably not the first or last person to bring up these simple facts to Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Minister for Finance of Singapore, but I thought I would contribute my two cents (ha, ha). Here it goes :

… Delivered-To: … Subject: Improving security for ATM/NETS cards From: Low Ee Mien [...] To: tharman_s@mof.gov.sg

Dear Minister for Finance,

I am writing in my personal capacity regarding the recent DBS/POSB ATM fraud case. As we have seen, the two-factor authentication mechanism of ATM/NETS cards has been defeated. The perpetrators have managed to successfully obtain both factors of authentication : something you have (ATM card details via the card skimming device), and something you know (ATM PIN via a strategically-located pinhole camera).

It has been proven time and again that the magnetic stripe data such as those being used in the ATM and NETS cards in Singapore is quite easily copied.

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Saving money is as much psychological as physical.  Learning to save money is about creating good habits and breaking bad habits that cost us money.  Some people save money with the goal of eventually owning their own home in mind.  Others choose to save money for traveling during retirement, taking an exotic vacation, or having a healthy emergency fund.  Having financial goals will help you keep your mind on track help you reach your targets much more quickly.

Motivation

It is very difficult to get motivated about saving unless you know what you are saving for.  Having financial goals gives us something to strive for and accomplish.  Reaching financial goals gives us a sense of pride in what we have been able to achieve.  It does not matter what the financial goal is as long as it is important to you and is something that can help you resist immediate gratification and unnecessary spending.

Identify Priorities

Setting financial goals can help you identify what you would be interested in saving for and how much money you will need to save to accomplish each goal.  Although your first saving priority should be saving for emergencies, the next financial goals on the list are generally for desired items that can be saved for on a short-term basis.  This allows you to avoiding using credit cards and other loans to obtain the items that you want and reduces your expenses down to the actual cost of the items you choose.

Long Term Saving

Long-term financial goals, such as saving for a child’s college education or saving for retirement, allow you to save smaller amounts of money over a longer period of time to reach the goal by the time the money is needed.  These goals are often the most difficult to meet because of the length of time before the money is needed.  You can strive to meet multiple financial goals simultaneously, and as one goal is met, it can be replaced by a new goal to strive for.

Stretching yourself financially to purchase a home is usually a bad idea. (How bad? These types of purchases helped fuel the housing bust of just a few years ago.)

However, in some occasions you can stretch yourself for just a while, quickly pay off any financial problems that crop up, and come out ahead. Lets say you found an amazing deal on a fantastic house, but dont quite have the down-payment you need. Instead of missing out on the home entirely, you can take on an 80-10-10 mortgage to help finance the home.

What is an 80-10-10 mortgage and how does it differ from other mortgages? Lets look at the details.

In a traditional mortgage a buyer will bring 20% of the homes cost as a down payment while the bank or credit union finances the remaining 80%.

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During the Thursday session the US Department of Labor released the weekly Unemployment Claims figure, disappointing the market with a higher than expected 372,000 new claimants for unemployment insurance during the previous week. Adding to this concern is the fact that the Department of Labor (http://www.dol.gov/opa/media/press/eta/ui/current.htm) also revised the previous week’s announcement from 366,000 to a new reading of 368,000 new filings.

Certainly the new claims numbers will figure into the Federal Reserves monetary policy decision in September, but more importantly the numbers arent deteriorating too rapidly. In other words, the Federal Reserve will more than likely have to stay on the sidelines as the looming presidential election and Fiscal Cliff debacle in the United States could have major implications for what the Federal Reserve has to do next. This number although disappointing, isnt going to be enough to make the Federal Reserve move.

This does however bring up an interesting problem. I

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The LA Times has a wonderful article on the growing practice of abusive and bogus debt collection practices — this mirrors what we see in Alabama small claims and district courts when debt buyers such as LVNV, Midland, and Portfolio file bogus shakedown type of suits.

Here is a quote — but do make sure you read the entire article:

Aided by outdated laws and lax oversight, debt collection has become a $12-billion-a-year business as people increasingly have fallen behind on their bills for credit cards, student loans, hospital stays and other expenses.

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