Tips, News and Advice from Credit Card Assist
4 Things You Didn’t Know About Your Balance Transfer Credit Card

Want to ruin your credit rating this year? Then go ahead and shift all your debt onto a balance transfer credit card. These little pieces of plastic will happily shelter your holiday hangover debt with a 0% APR (during the bonus period) while subtle fees and restrictions slowly work to destroy your finances. Sure, the credit card issuers are marketing them as useful tools for fixing your credit score, not making it worse – but we all know that’s a lie. They really just want to harvest your debt. In fact, there’s a lot more to balance transfer credit cards than you probably know. Don’t believe us? Think back. Try to remember if your card issuer was up-front about these fun facts: [click to continue…]

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Facebook Poked by Massive Credit Card Hacking Scheme

What would you do if, while you’re busy checking your Facebook news feed, “Facebook Security” suddenly popped up in the chat window and asked you to verify your identity by clicking a link?

Don’t do that.

Especially if some of the characters in their name are ASCII symbols and the link contains a foreign “.vu” address. Especially if the site which the link leads to asks you for your credit card number as proof.

How do people keep falling for these things?

This past week, scammers unleashed a massive phishing scheme designed to pilfer credit card numbers from Facebook’s 800 million users by tricking them into entering the information on a fake website. The news first broke when Kaspersky lab expert David Jacoby reported it on his blog. According to the veteran programmer, the scammer poses as a Facebook security expert and asks you to click a link that looks like a random smattering of letters and numbers. The link redirects you to a site where you’re asked for your email address, password, full name and all the other information a hacker needs to assume your identity.  It’s pretty much the same routine as any other phishing scheme. [click to continue…]

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Four (More) Congressmen Named in Countrywide Mortgage Scandal

January 25, 2012
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It looks like our Congressmen just love being friends with benefits. This past week, four more politicians were named as participants in the “Friends of Angelo” mortgage scandal: Reps. Elton Gallegly (R-CA), Howard McKeon (R-CA), Edolphus Towns (D-NY) and Pete Sessions (R-TX). They join a long list of representatives, including Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd [...]

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Planting Dollars – Best of the Best Blogger Series

January 26, 2012

Next, in our 42nd edition of our popular Best of the Best Blogger series, we are thrilled to have the opportunity to sit down with Ryan Schmitz from Planting Dollars. Ryan is a another one of our ‘young turk’ bloggers that we’ll be featuring today.  As a twenty-something real estate professional by day, Ryan started [...]

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Money Under 30 – Best of the Best Blogger Series

January 25, 2012

Next, in our 41st Best of the Best Blogger series edition, we had the distinct pleasure of sitting down with David Weliver from Money Under 30. David’s story begins with that ever familiar refrain of under-earning and overspending.  Less than 5 years ago, he was renting a room in a house that he shared with [...]

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If You Love Your Kids, Don’t Open a Joint Bank Account With Them

January 24, 2012
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Opening a joint bank account with your child is a lot like getting a tattoo of your lover’s name – you’re going to regret it eventually. That sounds harsh, but it’s true. Just ask the millions of Americans stuck paying for their children’s debt. It’s understandable that as a good parent you want to make [...]

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Wealth Pilgrim – Best of the Best Blogger Series

January 24, 2012

The 40th edition of our popular Best of the Best Blogger series, we had the opportunity to interview Neal Frankle from Wealth Pilgrim. Neal is another highly successful blogger who’s had a long and winding financial road.  As is so often the case, Neal’s financial foundation was forged at a young age. His father was [...]

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11 Most Evil Things the Banking Industry Did in 2011

January 23, 2012
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It seems like every time we flipped on the news in 2011, the banking industry was finding a new way to blur the line between good business and reprehensible tyranny. Hardworking people, including war veterans, were kicked out of their homes illegally. Entire neighborhoods of vacant houses were destroyed. Meticulously orchestrated overdraft schemes ripped off [...]

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Is Suze Orman’s Prepaid Debit Card a Ripoff?

January 23, 2012
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When she announced the debut of her new prepaid debit card this week, personal finance guru Suze Orman told MSNBC, “I decided to create The Approved card after I heard from so many people who were being taken advantage of by the tricks and traps of the banking industry. I want to help people who [...]

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Out of Debt Again – Best of the Best Blogger Series

January 23, 2012

Next up, in the 39th edition of our Best of the Best Blogger series, we spoke with ‘Mrs. Accountability’ (AKA, Mrs. A) from Out of Debt Again. Bottom line, Mrs. A’s story is a remarkable story of perseverance. As the oldest of 7 children growing up in a “poor” family, Mrs. A had an upfront [...]

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