We’re about to find out how effective a major implementation of encryption really is. Target’s quite tardy admission that it’s lost encrypted PIN codes along with millions of credit card numbers might be one of the largest public tests of encryption were ever seen. Remember, a person with a debit [Keep reading]
Brian Krebs connects the dots and spins an amazing tale about a hacker who he things is involved in selling the stolen Target credit cards. And, he says, someone offered him $10,000 not to print it. Using a combination of deep searches, cached versions of websites, and his own archives [Keep reading]
I’m hearing a lot of screaming from the hills about chip-enabled credit card right now: Why Europe has had them for 10 years, and how silly that Americans don’t have them yet. Well, there’s some good reasons why shoppers in the States don’t have chip-and-pin yet. Here’s the most important [Keep reading]
When I published my book Stop Getting Ripped Off, I wanted to include some ideas that go way beyond the tired, old financial advice that can fit on an index card. My “two-card” credit card strategy for occasional overspenders is one of those ideas. have a “clean card” and a “line of [Keep reading]
Do you find credit card rewards programs confusing? Are your points easy to spend? Or are they like airline miles, so laden with restrictions that they seem, well, pointless? Federal regulators say they are looking into the issue, which is making card issuers nervous. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau chief Rich [Keep reading]
What will happen this week if the U.S. government has maxed out its credit cards, as is expected to occur on Thursday? Here’s the truth: No one really knows. It’s quite likely Oct. 17 will come and go and no one will notice. Markets may yawn that day, and Americans [Keep reading]
Federal regulators said Thursday that banking giant JP Morgan Chase must refund $309 million to 2.1 million credit card holders for alleged deception in credit card “add-on” services like credit monitoring and ID theft protection. The “abusive practices” took place during a seven-year span from 2005 to 2012, according to [Keep reading]
American consumers owe less and are paying their bills on time more, the New York Federal Reserve said in a report released Wednesday. The results certainly sound cheery, but debt data is notoriously subject to interpretation. What’s true for you is also true for the country: Some debt is good, [Keep reading]
I wrote yesterday about a surprising new trend — those plastic cards at checkout counters that look like credit cards but used to be hidden fee Trojan horses are actually a much better deal these days. There’s more competition now, because big banks like Chase are selling pre-paid debit cards, [Keep reading]
Bob Sullivan