June 2010 Archives

On Sunday, U.S. authorities arrested 10 suspected Russian spies, according to Reuters.They were spread across four cities in the eastern part of the country, and an 11th suspect was arrested in Cyprus, but was released.

These spies "were accused of gathering information ranging from data on high-penetration nuclear warhead research programs to background on CIA job applicants," according to Reuters. The scariest part? Many of them "lived quiet lives in American suburbia for years." I'm sure many of their neighbors were shocked when they found out they had been living next to a scheming spy.

Coincidentally, according to a 2009 survey done by the Identity Theft Resource Center, identity theft is not always conducted by a stranger. While 63 percent of survey respondents didn't know who the thief was, a shocking 24 percent "identified the thief as a relative, friend or roommate, or an ex-spouse orsignificant other." Another 10 percent said their identity theft problem had to do with an employee of a business that had their information in some capacity.

Now this doesn't mean you need to sleep with one eye open. Just remember that things aren't always as they appear, and some people may have malicious intentions or be more desperate than you realize. Just be more cognizant of your important personal data and who has their hands on it.

As the Internet grows, so does the amount of sensitive data floating around. Day after day, hundreds of thousands of usernames, passwords, dates of birth and yes, even credit card numbers drift around somewhere on this crazy thing we call "the Internet." And as those numbers grow, so does the risk of that data falling into the wrong hands.

So the U.S. government, the ol' watchdogs they are, wants to improve the security of your online information by creating an "identity ecosystem" through the use of personal identifiers. In a draft released June 25, 2010, the government proposed that Internet users create their own personal digital certificate or identity card to prove who they are before they complete an online transaction. The identifiers would be offered to consumers by online vendors.

Nearly two years ago, I blogged on this site about some of the financial challenges I faced while on a two-week trip in Europe. Other than pay toilets and the large minimum amount required to use a credit card, an issue I frequently encountered in France was the lack of acceptance of American credit cards on the metro ticket machines.

Chip-and-PIN credit cards feature an additional layer of security. They work differently from the traditional magnetic swipe cards; rather than being swiped, they are inserted into a reader and the user enters a PIN number, much like they would for a debit card. They are so secure and widespread in Europe that, if you use an old-school swipe card there, they heavily scrutinize you.

Jim at NetBanker has a recent blog post about this very topic. He discusses the modern Velib bike-sharing program in Paris, which allows anyone to rent a bike through automated, unmanned kiosks across the city. You can subscribe for 5 euros a week or 29 euros annually, and that gives you the first 30 minutes of any ride free (and then it begins charging you hourly). The catch? They only accept credit cards and debit cards, and you guessed it -- they only take chip-and-PIN cards. He suggests a new product that would allow financial institutions to capitalize on this need.

This week, CNN Money released a list of five global tourist spots in major turmoil. All of the cities have weathered some sort of disaster, and their tourism industries are really hurting. While it's very unfortunate for the places that are affected, my guess is that if you're looking for some good travel deals this summer, you can find them here.

One such place is Florida, where many tourists are now afraid to visit due to its proximity to the oil spill. Tar balls have washed ashore in Florida's Panhandle, but much of the 825 miles of beaches are just fine. Hotels are being more flexible with cancellation policies should that change.

One destination is for sure safe: My list!. Read on for my favorite credit card- and debt-related blog posts from the past week!

On Monday, Apple CEO Steve Jobs made a much-anticipated presentation at the Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco: He announced the birth of the iPhone 4, which will become available to consumers June 24.

The original iPhone was released in 2007, but the new fourth generation puts that model to shame. It'll be be 24 percent thinner, have a longer battery life and have a camera lens on the front to enable video conferencing. The 5 megapixel camera will also be able to shoot HD video, which can be edited directly on the phone. You'll also be able to run more than one application at a time. According to Jobs at the conference, this version is the "biggest leap since the original iPhone."

Why am I telling you thigs? Because I want one.

Bad.

Oh, but do I really need one? We consumers are constantly faced with these types of difficult decisions, and if we give in more often than we should, our credit card bills will suffer for it.

I had a different topic in mind for this week's roundup, but then I came home yesterday and checked my mail. Once piece was in a regular-sized envelope but was strangely heavy and textured, so I decided to open it.

It's from the Children's Hunger Relief Fund. "Every penny is so important!" the letter claims. "Just 3 cents a day from Children's Hunger Relief Fund can help provide hope for an African child."

Oh really? Is that why there are three real pennies glued onto this letter?!?

I'm not kidding. The letter says that three cents is all that's needed to help a hungry baby, yet they gave me three cents. Three cents that I don't need, nor do I want; who carries pennies these days, anyway? I would rather they just keep it and give it to the poor starving children themselves! I can't fathom who thought it was a smart idea to send thousands or millions of Americans several actual pennies each, which possibly cost them more in postage. They should have just saved the freakin' pennies and given them to the people who actually need them; not the obese Americans who probably just threw the letter away without realizing it even contained money. Sometimes, one of the challenges in life is to know when to save those pennies. Is that sale really worth splurging on (if it is really a 'sale' at all)? Is it worth going into debt for your wedding? Should you sell your goods in a garage sale and make some change, or just give it away to Goodwill? The following roundup of my top 10 favorite blog posts from the past week includes articles that talk about these very topics, in addition to plenty of other tips and trivia on saving money and being smart with your finances. Enjoy!

We keep it real at CreditCards.com, and that's something I like to flaunt. We got tricked-out cubicles, doubled-stacked Google listings and a kitchen full of mad-legit noms. So mad-legit, in fact, that my co-worker and I decided to write a song or two about our employment.

Inside this blog post, you'll find the very first CreditCards.com EP. For those who don't know, EP stands for extended play, and contains more songs than a single, but not as much as a full-length album.

We made two songs: "CreditCards.com," which discusses credit card swag, SEO, iStock and everything else that makes our work so awesome, and "Pancakes and Sausage on a Stick," a sobering love ballad about a very important member of our team that sometimes goes missing.

We also took the time to craft a video for "CreditCards.com" so you could get a glimpse of what really goes on in our offices. It's full glistenin' rims, life sized credit card clothing, boardroom arguments, and lots of cameos of the editorial and marketing team. Check it out!