The ELEMENTS of money

Rats!

So I was "researching" on the web last night (and by researching I mean wasting time), when I found a story that kinda mad me laugh and cry at the same time. Now this is a true story. I'm not making this up and it was reported in a number of real news websites. The article was about a farmer who didn't trust banks (or anyone else for that matter), so he was hiding all his money in a bale of hay. He had saved about $12,000 and didn't want to keep the money in his house because he was afraid it would burn down. His friends tried to convince him to put the money in a bank, but he refused to listen to anyone.

I'm sure you know that this story isn't going to end well. So guess what happened to the money ... his life savings? It was eaten by rats! Not all of it, but about $4,000, chewed by pesky varmints. Now like I said, it is  kinda funny, but it's sad that this guy lost a part of his life savings.

If there is anything we can learn from this situation, it's that if you don't trust a bank, and you're afraid to keep money in your home, there's really only one alternative ... your credit union. I can honestly say that I've NEVER heard of a single credit union member lose their money because rats ate their cash. Not only do credit unions pay great interest, they're pretty clean too!

Catie

Second Life Banking - R.I.P.

In one of my past posts, I wrote about how virtual banks we're ripping people off in Second Life. Basically, they we're advertising incredible rates on savings accounts ... rates you could never get in the real world. The  hitch was that only Lindens were accepted. Well guess what ... these virtual banks failed and people lost millions of dollars. We're talking real money, not some play Monopoly dollars. Well after receiving multiple complaints by SL residents scammed by bank operators, the people who created SL, Linden Labs, just announced that virtual banking within SL is to be banned effective January 22 .

Hooray!

This is good news for people in SL, but I'm sure scammers will just try to rip people off in other ways. They always do. If I've said it once, I've said it a million times ... if you want to keep your money safe AND earn interest, keep your money in a credit union account.

see ya!

Catie

Can Hackers Steal Your Second Life Dollars?

Well it looks like we have a definite theme going on: online theft. My last post was about MySpace accounts being hacked, this time there's a warning about Second Life accounts. It was just reported that security researchers uncovered an software flaw that could let someone drain your SL account of your Linden dollars.

This is big news because as you probably know, Linden dollars are basically U.S. dollars. Make no mistake, if someone steals your Second Life dollars, you've just been ripped of in Real Life.

Linden Labs, the company behind SL, posted a response on their blog yesterday. In the blog, Linden Labs admits the flaw (it's a Quicktime problem), and outlines what you can do to protect your account. You should definitely check it out if you don't want someone stealing your SL money. After all, how are you going to buy new clothes for your avatar or tip your DJ without any Lindens?

see ya!

Catie

Hit By Debit Card Thieves

I just found out a friend of mine had his debit card stolen. Here's the crazy part: the actual card never left his wallet. Somehow, he used his card somewhere and the information was stolen. Within a few days, there were debit transactions even though he was in possession of the card the entire time. Luckily, his credit union realized what had happened, blocked the card and contacted him. Although it's was a pain in the neck, he didn't lose any money. Here's what he did:

1. Contacted his credit union as soon as his card was blocked.
2. Checked all the transactions that occurred recently on his checking account.
3. Went to the credit union to close his account and open a new account.
4. Filed a police report.
5. Filed a claim with the credit union for $350 that was deducted.
6. Transferred all his automatic debits to his new checking account (i.e. gym membership fee, Netflix)
7. Checked all his other accounts.

The credit union told him that he would get his $350 back. Because he acted quickly and went through the proper channels, he didn't lose any money. This is a great lesson on what to do if you think your account has been hijacked, or your identity stolen. Hopefully you won't have to go through this, but if you do, be sure to act fast.

Catie

Get your own identity ... leave mine alone!

OK, I admit that I'm getting kinda obsessed about identity theft. I just read a statistic from the FTC that said last year Americans spent 300 million hours resolving issues related to identity theft. I don't know about you, but I don't have ANY time to deal with someone stealing my identity. After all, it's mine and don't want to share it with anyone.

So I was on the elements website and came across a really good article on protecting yourself from identity theft.  I thought I'd share it with everyone. Here's what the article said:

1. Don’t give out personal information on the phone, by mail or  on the Internet unless you initiated the contact.
2. When you go out, only carry the cards and information that you really need.
3. Never carry your Social Security card with you.
4. If you have a job, talk to your employer to make sure all your personal  information is kept private.
5. Always review your credit union statements  immediately.
6. Shred personal papers, receipts and junk mail.

These suggestions don't seem too difficult, but as young consumers we just need to be diligent. The moment we drop our guard ... that's when we give identity thieves an opportunity to strike. If anyone else has other suggestions, I'd love to hear them.

Catie