Banking & Credit Cards
How banks, credit cards, and payment systems work. Covers products, rates, fees, regulations, and what consumers need to know to navigate the banking system.
Latest in Banking & Credit Cards
A family code word can stop the AI voice-cloning scams that fake a grandchild’s emergency call
Criminals armed with cheap AI voice-cloning tools are calling grandparents, mimicking a loved one’s voice, and demanding emergency cash transfers. Two federal agencies, the FBI’s...
U.S. Series EE savings bonds double in value if you hold them 20 years
Savers who bought Series EE bonds after May 2005 at rock-bottom fixed rates are now approaching the 20-year mark, the point at which the U.S....
Flagstar Bank customers hit by a data breach can claim up to $25,000, with an August 11 deadline to file
More than 1.5 million people whose personal data was exposed in a Flagstar Bank network breach can now file claims worth up to $25,000 each,...
FMC customers can claim about $75, or up to $5,000 for losses, from a data breach by August 31
People affected by the FMC Services, LLC data breach that occurred on July 26, 2022, face a closing window to file claims for roughly $75...
A 70-year-old lost $84,000 to a fake McAfee security agent before police arrested the suspect mid-pickup
A 70-year-old Camarillo, California, resident lost $84,000 after someone posing as a McAfee security agent convinced the victim that hackers had compromised their bank accounts....
Scammers posing as Amazon and federal agents drained over $1 million from East Coast seniors, and three men are now under arrest
Three men are now in federal custody after allegedly draining more than $1 million from seniors in Virginia and Maryland through a scheme that paired...
A 76-year-old retired lawyer lost $740,000 in three months after scammers talked him into moving his savings to a “safe” account
A 76-year-old retired lawyer watched $740,000 drain from his accounts over three months after scammers convinced him to transfer his retirement savings into what they...
A 66-year-old wired $200,000 of his family’s savings to scammers who dangled a fake $7 million payout
A 66-year-old man sent $200,000 in family savings to scammers after they convinced him a $7 million prize was waiting for him. The scheme follows...
A phone-scam ring drained more than $5 million from 400 older Americans before agents shut it down
Thirteen people have been charged for running a phone-based “grandparent scam” that stole more than $5 million from over 400 older Americans, most of them...
A payable-on-death beneficiary lets a bank account skip probate and reach heirs directly
Bank account holders who add a payable-on-death beneficiary to their deposit agreements create a direct transfer channel that bypasses probate court entirely. Three states, Massachusetts,...
A Florida woman lost $200,000 to scammers before police staged a sting to catch the courier at her door
A Florida woman handed over $200,000 in cash to scammers who contacted her through fraudulent calls and electronic messages before local police set up a...
Banks must make at least $225 of a deposited check available the next business day under federal rules
Anyone who deposits a check at a bank or credit union is protected by a federal floor that limits how long the institution can withhold...
Government impersonation scams drained nearly $798 million last year, and no real agency demands gift cards
Americans lost $789 million to government impersonation scams in 2024, part of a record $12.5 billion in total reported fraud losses that year. The Federal...
A free credit freeze at all three bureaus blocks new-account fraud
Any consumer in the United States can place a credit freeze at Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion at no cost, blocking lenders from viewing the frozen...
The FTC is mailing $2.8 million in refunds to homeowners charged by a phony mortgage-relief operation
Nearly 1,821 homeowners who paid upfront fees to a fraudulent mortgage-relief operation are receiving refund checks from the Federal Trade Commission, with payments totaling more...
Comcast and Xfinity customers can claim cash and free identity protection from a $117.5 million breach settlement by September 14
Roughly 35 million current and former Xfinity customers whose personal data was exposed in a 2023 breach now have two months left to file claims...
12,400 older Americans each lost at least $100,000 to scams last year, and a few habits guard your savings
At least 12,400 Americans age 60 and older each reported losing $100,000 or more to fraud schemes last year, with average individual losses topping $38,000...
The $35 overdraft fee is mostly gone at big banks, but small banks and credit unions still charge it
Consumers at the largest U.S. banks have seen the traditional $35 overdraft fee all but disappear after federal regulators rewrote the rules governing how those...
Top high-yield savings accounts now pay 4.50% while the national average sits at 0.38%
Savers who keep cash in a standard bank account are earning a fraction of what top-tier alternatives now pay. The gap between the best available...
Gold-courier scams drained $262 million from Americans as senior fraud losses hit $7.7 billion
Older Americans lost roughly $7.7 billion to cyber-enabled fraud last year, and a fast-growing slice of that total came from a single, brazen tactic: imposters...