Mississippi Consumer Help Blog
The FDIC frequently hears from bank customers who have been or think they were the victims of theft or fraud. The FDIC Consumer News highlighted 10 scams that specifically target bank customers and provided some basic instruction on how to protect your money and personal information in the article I have linked to below. Be sure to click on “10 schemes”.
The topics included:
- 10 schemes bank customers should watch out for, beginning with the crime that occurs when thieves pose as government employees with false claims about needing a payment or valuable information, such as Social Security or bank account numbers;
- Basic defenses to consider in your everyday life, especially when engaging in financial transactions with strangers through e-mail, over the phone or on the Internet; and
- Resources to turn to for more information on how to avoid becoming a victim of financial scams.
I don’t normally devote a blog to recommending a website, but the FDIC (which stands for Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation) site has a wealth of information and resources available to consumers. For example, you could come to the FDIC for answers to questions about shopping for a mortgage to buy a home (which is likely to be the biggest single purchase you’ll ever make). The FDIC Consumer News helps answer questions on topics like how to get a good interest rate, the ability to negotiate with a lender, and how seniors may borrow money after owning a home by taking out a “reverse mortgage.”
You can also look at how the FDIC is working with banks, nonprofit organizations and other government agencies to bring more low- and moderate-income Americans into the financial mainstream by improving access to safe, secure and affordable banking services.
The Board of Directors of the FDIC is a 5 person Board that is appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate. The FDIC was created in 1933 and has been an essential part of our American financial system. In the 1920’s and 1930’s, bank failures rose and created a national crisis which wiped out so very many American’s savings and accounts. FDIC insurance started in 1934 and since then, no depositor of a failed bank has lost a single penny of insured funds.
The FDIC Consumer News can be read or printed with e-reader, they have a Podcast, videos, and more.
About FDIC Consumer News
The goal of FDIC Consumer News is to deliver timely, reliable and innovative tips and information about financial matters, free of charge. You can find both current and past issues at their site or even request paper copies by contacting the FDIC’s Public Information Center in writing at 3501 North Fairfax Drive, Room E-1002, Arlington, VA 22226, by emailing publicinfo@fdic.gov, or toll-free at 1-877-275-3342. To receive an email about each new issue of the quarterly FDIC Consumer News with links to stories, go to www.fdic.gov/about/subscriptions/index.html.
The FDIC encourages financial institutions, government agencies, consumer organizations, educators, the media, and anyone else to help make the tips and information in FDIC Consumer News widely available. The publication may be reprinted in whole or in part without permission. Please credit FDIC Consumer News. Organizations also may link to or mention the FDIC website.