The financial news that actually matters
Homeowners who were talked out of their money by a mortgage-relief operation are getting some of it back. Federal regulators are distributing refunds to victims of a scheme that promised to lower mortgage payments and prevent foreclosures but delivered neither. The case is a useful window into how these frauds operate, how government refunds actually…
Most people know they can freeze their credit at the three major bureaus to block new loans and cards. Fewer know there is a separate reporting company that banks consult when someone tries to open a checking or savings account, and that a person can freeze that file too. Locking it down closes a gap…
A single lawsuit can threaten savings built over a lifetime, and standard home and auto policies cap how much they will pay to defend against one. For a relatively modest premium, an umbrella policy extends that protection well beyond the underlying limits, shielding a retiree’s assets from a large liability claim. It is one of…
Generosity makes people a target. Fraudsters pose as charities, especially after disasters or during the giving season, counting on a donor’s goodwill and a moment of urgency to divert money meant for a good cause. A short verification step before giving ensures a gift reaches a legitimate organization rather than a scammer’s pocket, and it…
A crime that seems old-fashioned has surged back with modern intensity. Thieves steal checks from the mail, chemically erase the ink to change the payee and amount, and cash them for far more than the original bill. Because the theft starts at the mailbox, a few careful habits about how and where mail is sent…
A device no bigger than a card reader, slipped over the slot on a gas pump or ATM, can quietly capture a debit card’s information in the instant it takes to pay. The stolen data can then be used to drain an account or make counterfeit cards. Because the theft happens invisibly, the best protection…
Tax-related identity theft can hijack a refund and tangle a person in months of paperwork, all because a thief filed a fraudulent return using a stolen Social Security number. The IRS offers a free tool that shuts that door: a personal identification number that must accompany any return filed in a person’s name. Once it…
Inflation is a quiet threat to anyone living on a fixed pool of savings, steadily eroding what each dollar can buy. Among the tools designed to counter it is a government bond that adjusts with the cost of living rather than being ground down by it. For retirees worried about their money losing value over…
Turning a lifetime of savings into a paycheck that lasts is one of retirement’s hardest puzzles. Withdraw too much and the money runs out; withdraw too little and a person needlessly scrimps. A long-standing rule of thumb offers a starting point, and while it is far from a guarantee, understanding it helps a retiree think…
A helpful quirk of retirement-account rules gives savers extra time to boost last year’s savings. The window to contribute to an individual retirement account for a given tax year does not slam shut on December 31; it stays open until the tax-filing deadline the following spring. That extension offers flexibility that can lower a tax…