Finance Book

You must be feeling the pinch of increase in the prices of gas.  High prices are same for everyone and you cannot escape. However, you may be facing a more devastating trouble while filling gas at the pumps – identity theft.

Identity thieves at the gas pumps try to install an electronic device called skimmer.  It is a tiny device installed outside the gas pump, particularly on the payment area.  You may be in a hurry while filling gas and may not look at the pump carefully.  Such skimmers may be in the form of tiny cameras to capture the pin numbers of customers or they may be in the form of fake keypads mounted on the top of the original ones to capture the keystrokes and the pin code.

Thieves take advantage of the fact that there are no attendants at the pumps.  They will keep on collecting information on credit cards with these skimmers and either will sell this information to others or use such information to make purchases on-line.  Sometimes they may make duplicate cards with the account numbers of the victims.  In any way, they will siphon your money very quickly.

This fraud recently became visible and may spread countrywide if the pump owners are not careful.

Well you cannot do anything to prevent installation of skimmers at the pumps, but you can certainly protect yourself by taking the following precautions -  

1.    Avoid using ATM cards at the pumps – The safest form of payment at a gas pump is always cash but it may not be feasible all the time.  However at least you can limit the risk by avoiding the use of ATM cards.  These cards are linked directly to your checking account and it is very hard to recover the money once it goes out of your account.  Even if the fraud is detected on your account, the account may be closed or frozen by your bank and you will not have access unless the matter is resolved.

Instead of ATM cards, you should use credit cards.  Fraud with credit cards is much easier to handle because the credit card companies will take quick actions to prevent losses.  Also by law, your liability for fraudulent use of credit card is limited to $50.  This may not put a big hardship for you.

2.    Always try to select a pump which is close to the cashier. Installing skimmers on these pumps may be difficult for the identity thieves.  If you are unable to get a pump close to the cashier, you can wait for some time but never take a pump which is far away from the cashier.

3.    You have to be careful about the payment.  If you use only one gas station most of the times, it will be easier for you to get accustomed with the features of the pumps there.  Just have a look at the pad and around that place to find out whether there is anything suspicious.  If you suspect anything, immediately point it out to the cashier, explaining your doubts.

4.    Always select a pump with a sealed sticker.  In this manner, you can reduce the risk of using tampered pump.  If you feel the seal of the pump is broken or slightly damaged, avoid using it and inform about it to the cashier.  If on a particular gas station you find many pumps with the damaged seal, avoid using such gas station.

5.    You should check your credit card statements routinely.  By doing that, you will be able to know quickly about the unauthorized entries.  Realizing quickly the clues of identity theft is important for preventing huge damages.

You cannot avoid filling gas at the pumps.  However, if you are watchful and particular about some small things, you can reduce the risk of identity theft to a great extent.

By: Chintamani Abhyankar

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If you’re hugely in debt, you are definitely looking for a way to manage your debt. This is possible either through self-help efforts or by getting some help from a trained expert from a debt reduction management company. It’s all up to you how you help yourself, but you should follow some advice from books, magazines and other sources if you want to reduce your debt and financial burden.

So, would you like to manage your debt? Here’s how.

1. Debt consolidation.
Debt consolidation is one of the solutions for you if you want to make paying your debt easier. While it does not change how much you owe – so for example, if you owe something like $40,000 to some lenders, you will still need to pay that much but this time, you will only have one lender to pay – you will get to pay much smaller rates, making it easier to pay off your debt.

2. Cut back on expenses, and make more money as much as possible.
This means many things. This means lowering your spending on things that are not needed or can be replaced with cheaper alternatives to help you save money. For example, stop unneeded subscriptions to magazines and cable. Stop buying new stuff every time. Stop using your credit cards when you go out. Stop eating out every lunch time. The money you save from doing these will go towards your debt payment and will help in your debt elimination efforts.

On the other hand, make more money as much as possible to increase your monthly payment. This is possible by having a secondary job or a business which can increase the amount you pay for your debt and at the same time, you should keep paying off your debt and not incur any more.

3. Set up a payment plan with your creditors.
Arrange a payment plan with your creditors so it will be easier for you to pay off your debt. Just explain first if you will do this, that your situation is only temporary and you are going to follow your agreement. When you pay off your debt, you should remember that you have rights, too, and there is a law that protects you from debt collectors. The Fair Debt Collection Practices prohibits debt collectors from calling the debtor before 8 am, after 9 pm, and when they know that your employer does not approve of their calls. It protects debtors from harassment. Also, they should honor your written request telling them to stop harassing you.

4. Avoid defaults and foreclosures
Most car loan agreements allow creditors to repossess your car if you’re on default. If you want to get it back, you need to pay the available balance as well as the towing and storage costs. So if a default is highly possible, sell the car right away and pay off the loan from the profit you made instead of being on default, which is worse, because it will be marked on your credit report.

On the other hand, you should also avoid foreclosure if you are paying off your mortgage loan. If you can’t pay off your home loan, you can solve this problem by talking to your lender and see if he will agree to another payment plan with you. A lot of lenders are willing to suspend your payment schedule or set up a longer payment term. But if that’s not possible, you may try contacting a housing counseling agency. Some of them offer free assistance to anyone who has problems paying off their mortgage loans.

5. Use the service of a debt help settlement company.
A debt help settlement company is there for those who are too overwhelmed by their large debt problems. You will need their help if you:

a. avoid calls and mails from debt collectors because you want to avoid their harassment
b. you don’t want to go out because you feel bad about your financial state
c. you just don’t know exactly how to pay off your mounting debt that seems so big you can’t do it on your own

You should first do some snooping before you give your financial information to a debt reduction management company. But you should prepare, though, to follow their advice, because your debt help counselor will follow up on you to make sure you help yourself and reduce your debt.

There are many other advice regarding debt management and settlement. Visit my blog for more tips on personal finance.

By: Marie Roxas