Economic Business Articles

Send a money order instead of a check (which had your account number) or your credit card information. If you do use a credit card, report any unusual charges or any payments you made for a product that did not arrive, to the credit card company.

To prevent identity theft, always check your account statements carefully each month. Report any suspicious activity or any charges you don’t recognize at once. Also check your credit report regularly and immediately investigate any new credit accounts you do not recognize – this is the best way of detecting and acting on identity theft.

Each bureau uses a modified version of the Fair Isaacs scoring method. Equifax has the BEACON system, Experian has the Experian/Fair Isaac Risk System, and TransUnion has the classic FICO Risk Score system. It is important to know that each bureau uses a slightly different scoring method because scores will be different.

The banking industry is running scared. They think you won’t be able to keep up with your credit card payments in 2009 as the nation continues to work its way through this economic meltdown.

While the mortgage crisis is the most vivid example of how dishonesty and greed leads to financial destruction, it is by no means the only example.