Unclaimed Property Blog

Every day, millions of banks around the country are inundated with customers who are there to make deposits, withdrawals, some are there to get loans and others are there to cash checks. In a perfect world, all of that banking activity would be right on the money, leaving no dollars or cents behind. Unfortunately, we don’t live in a perfect world and that means that banking lost funds are a stark reality. Every day banking leads to lost funds and hopefully more people learn about the phenomenon so that we can finally do something to stop it.

You have a debit card that can be used as a credit card. Have you ever wondered if there is a difference in the usage of this card for debit or credit purchases? Read on and you will discover there is a difference sometimes.

When checking out at the register the cashier will ask if it is credit or debit. Perhaps you do not really see that there is a difference in this since the money comes directly out of your checking account either way. Well that decision to debit, using your PIN number or credit by signature can effect your bank charges.

Ever go to a store and realize you do not have enough cash in hand for even that small purchase. Then to make it more embarrassing the clerk says you have to have a $15.00 minimum purchase to use your credit or debit card? Is this legal?

OK, let’s assume a lot of the smaller merchants don’t know the rules for accepting cards from Visa and MasterCard, rather than they don’t follow them.

The “safe” in safe deposit box may not be as safe as you think. Do you know the rules on these boxes?

You have a safe deposit box with a bank. This has the appearance of being safe. However, what happens when you have not been to the box in years? What about if you were to die unexpectedly? Are your possessions really protected?

So how can you protect yourself and your possessions if you have a safe deposit box? Consider taking the following actions:

Most of us know about phishing. Now it is time to learn about rats.

Computer criminals have recently become much more sophisticated in their attacks against online banks. The Internet is now becoming infested with RATs “remote access Trojans”, these programs feed on online banking passwords.

Trojan horse programs have traditionally garnered their way onto computers by posing as desirable free software, such as electronic greeting cards or file-sharing programs. The malicious programs are hidden, and just like the Greek soldiers hidden in the famous wooden horse, they jump out to attack once they are safely inside. Sometimes they are pushed onto computers without any interaction at all, through various software vulnerabilities. If this is the case, you would likely have no way of knowing your machine has been invaded and infested.