The financial news that actually matters
A credit freeze remains one of the strongest tools available against identity theft, and it costs nothing to use. Federal law requires the three national credit bureaus to freeze and unfreeze a credit file free of charge, yet many retirees still assume the protection carries a fee or a hassle large enough to skip it…
Four banks have failed somewhere in the United States so far in 2026, a small number by historical standards but a real one, and each failure ended the same way: a healthy bank stepped in over a weekend, insured customers kept their money without interruption, and the FDIC’s $250,000 coverage line did exactly the job…
Two unrelated data-breach settlements are both paying cash to affected consumers this fall, and neither requires a receipt to collect the baseline payment. A $35 million settlement tied to a years-old breach at a Labcorp billing vendor closes to new claims on September 3, while a separate settlement over a December 2024 breach at the…
Comcast has agreed to pay $117.5 million to settle a class-action lawsuit over a 2023 data breach that hit its Xfinity internet, cable and phone customers, and the claims window is still open. Eligible customers can request an estimated $50 with no documentation required, or file for reimbursement of up to $10,000 in documented losses…
A collections call about a decade-old credit card bill can feel harmless to settle with a small goodwill payment just to make it stop. In many states, that single dollar can undo years of legal protection. Once a debt passes its statute of limitations, a collector generally cannot successfully sue over it — but making…
Many older Americans add a son or daughter to a checking or savings account so bills get paid on time and money stays reachable if health declines. The bank teller rarely mentions what that signature actually does: it turns the account into shared property, with the child holding the same legal claim to every dollar…
A power of attorney is meant to protect an aging parent, giving a trusted person the legal authority to pay bills, manage investments, or handle banking when the parent can no longer do it alone. Consumer regulators warn the same authority can just as easily be turned against the person it was designed to protect,…
Federal prosecutors say the fight against overseas scam compounds has clawed back more money than most people realize, and the pace of recovery keeps accelerating. The running total, tracked in real time on a Justice Department webpage, has climbed past $800 million in less than a year — money prosecutors say was stolen almost entirely…
A $2.95 million settlement resolving a 2024 data breach at STIIIZY, the California cannabis retail and delivery brand, is now accepting claims from customers whose personal information was exposed in the incident. Eligible members of the settlement class can choose a documented-loss payment of up to $7,500 or a no-proof cash payment, and everyone who…
Walgreens is not disappearing from the corner, but the pharmacy chain is still trimming its footprint in 2026, and the closures keep landing hardest on neighborhoods where an older resident already has to plan a trip to fill a prescription. The company now expects to shut fewer than 100 stores this year, a fraction of…