Be Careful of Identity Theft

According to some surveys, there are nearly a thousand victims of identity theft every hour. This large number is mainly due to the extensive use of online banking. As a result, you should really be careful if you are a person who constantly uses financial services on the internet.

Of course some banks may have fraud protection and you may not be liable if someone use your bank account to purchase. However, it will still require you some time to resolve the problem. You may need to apply for new credit cards and change all the information associated with the bank accounts. It will not be worth spending the time to do that if there are ways to protect yourself from identity theft.

In order to stay away from identity theft, you should take some measures. The first thing is to be careful of scams on the internet. For example, you may have received emails asking for your login information of your internet banking account. You should never reply to these emails with your login information.

Nine out of ten times they are only phising scams, this means that they are trying to get your account information by the scam emails. As a matter of fact some banks even warn their customers that they will never ask for the password of the online banking account of a customer!

Since the technology is so advanced these days, the scam emails may not ask you for your login information directly. Instead, they will give you links in the emails and ask you to follow the link to log into your bank account for maintenance or updating information.

You should never follow any link from these emails and enter the login information. It can be just a link to a fraud website and the theft can get your login information once you enter the password and log into your "bank account". The theft will just withdraw all the money you have in the account within a few hours! It may be already too late when you discovered that it has been a scam.

You have always bear in mind that when you try to log into your online bank accounts, you should try to type the url on the navigation bar instead of clicking links. If you have any doubt about emails that are sent from the bank, you should try to contact the bank in person before you make any decision based on the emails you receive. By doing that you will be able to be saved from identity theft.

The author has great interest in finance. You can check his website on Financial Planning and Forex Blog. Be sure to check Stock Market Analyzer and Life Insurance for Over 50s Tips.

Home Is Where The Money Is

In today's world, practically everyone is interested in having more money. Unfortunately, for too many folks it's become necessary just to make ends meet. Locating "extra" money is not as hard as it might seem, as long as you're looking in the right places.

When most people are looking for extra money, they try to figure out how to get more. Most people will work overtime, get a part time job, check out various money making ventures and even buy lottery tickets.

However, the best place to start is by looking at how you spend the money you already have. Many people can take anywhere from 10% to as much as 30% off of their spending by cutting frivolous purchases. The way to begin is by creating, then actually using, a budget.

When asking around, I've found very few people who create and use a written budget. In reality, there is little-to-no chance of being in control of your spending without using a budget.

The best way to start a budget is to begin with your regular monthly expenses. These would include such items as rent or mortgage, car loans, credit card payments and all other bills you pay regularly each month. Then you would account for your spending on such items as food, gas, prescriptions, etc. From there, you would add in other items such as car insurance, newspaper and magazine subscriptions and anything else that you pay quarterly, semi-annually, or annually and then calculate the monthly cost for those things.

Next, you need to account for all the other spending you do each month. So, for one month write down how every penny is spent. Now, this really is not as hard as you might think. Simply carry a small notebook and pen at all times and write down each purchase you make no matter how small or insignificant it may seem. It is in tracking this kind of spending where you'll find most of your potential savings.

Look over your spending in these areas and ask yourself it you really need or use all these things your hard earned money is going to. Do you really read that magazine or does it just sit on your coffee table until the next addition arrives? Do you use readily available coupons on the things you're already buying? If you carry a balance on your credit cards, are you make your payment as soon as the bill comes in or do you wait until it's close to the "due date"? That alone is one area where people fail reap huge savings.

If you're honest with yourself, you'll quickly discover the waste in your spending habits.

Finally, do you pay yourself first? "Do I what?!?" You're read that right. You should be paying yourself first every payday. It's the smartest way to build your savings. You can even start small with the extra saving you find in your budget. In a few short months you'll get used to not spending that extra money and you'll likely find in fairly easy to increase that savings amount.

If you have a computer you can easily set up a spreadsheet keep track of all these expenses, even if you don't, a hand written budget will work just as effectively. If you stick to it that is.

Get control of your spending and you'll find the "extra" cash you've been looking for.

Tom Schaffer is an escapee from the corporate world and is pursuing a life of affiliate marketing at http://www.jerseyshoremarketing.com. A great way to get your finances under control is this: http://www.jerseyshoremarketing.com/redirect77.html