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Security data breach equifax Equifax data leak could involve 143 million consumers Posted 25 minutes ago by Ron Miller (@ron_miller) Data leaks have become so commonplace that it’s incredibly easy to become numb to them, but credit reporting service Equifax announced a doozy today that when all is said and done could involve 143 million consumers. This is bad. It was a treasure trove of information for the bad guys out there and included Social Security numbers, birth dates, addresses and, in some instances, driver’s license numbers. As though that weren’t bad enough, 209,000 people had their credit card info...

No rules for Congressional Federal Credit Union - George Webb advisedNOTE: Listen to the audio - the visuals are not directly related. The information is presented in a sarcastic tone. If I'm not mistaken, this is the voice of Dave Acton, brother of George Webb. Here is a transcript of this three minute video/audio clip. Here's that famous Armageddon beer commercial. Oh, this is Dave, by the way. Oh, hey! Do you want to send money to a terrorist organization? How about $165,000? Wouldn't it be great if we could all get together and support terrorism? That would be...

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Illinois is on the verge of becoming the first state with a junk-bond rating following downgrades from two of the world’s largest credit-ratings firms. S&P Global Inc. warned that Illinois could be downgraded to junk status next month if it doesn’t solve its partisan gridlock. The state hasn’t had a budget for two years because of a standoff between the Republican governor and Democratic legislature.

Lawmakers hear odd arguments when attempting to reform the state’s underfunded pension system. The latest argument is that converting Michigan’s school employee pension program to a defined-contribution system will tarnish the state’s credit rating. For evidence that this is unlikely, Michigan can look to its own history, which shows that offering new workers defined-contribution retirement benefits instead of defined-benefit pensions can improve a state’s credit rating. Michigan closed its state employee defined-benefit system in 1997, meaning all employees hired after that date would receive 401(k)-style retirement benefits instead of defined-benefit pensions. In 1998 the state’s credit rating was upgraded. Credit...

When it comes to love, Martina Paillant won’t settle for someone who has a credit score below 700. “I need a man who has his life together and can pay his bills,” the 22-year-old Canarsie, Brooklyn, resident tells The Post. Paillant, who attends graduate school in Miami, asks potential suitors their credit scores by the fourth date. While some may call her snooty for checking someone’s FICO number before becoming Facebook official, she’s been focused on her finances since she was 16 years old and has a credit score above 800.

George Soros' family-office hedge fund, Soros Fund Management, initiated a new position in Synchrony Financial during the fourth quarter, the fund's latest regulatory filing shows. At the end of the fourth quarter, the fund held 7,127,865 shares, a position valued at more than $216.7 million, the 13F filing shows. Synchrony, a consumer financial-services company, is now Soros' second-largest equity position.

Crooks Using Bluetooth To Steal At Gas Pumps « CBS Dallas / Fort Worth http://dfw.cbslocal.com/2016/08/04/crooks-using-bluetooth-to-steal-at-gas-pumps/ DALLAS (CBS11) -Pump prowlers in Dallas are stepping up their game, stealing bank information in some cases instantaneously with a new device police are calling “scary.” Dallas Police recently discovered five different skimming devices that utilize Bluetooth technology. Bluetooth skimmer (Jeff Paul - CBS11) Bluetooth skimmer (Jeff Paul – CBS11) “I think that’s terrible,” said Tracy Schlossstein, a driver who uses one of the impacted gas station. Investigators said they found the devices buried inside the outside, credit card kiosks at four different ExxonMobil gas...

Standard & Poor's has downgraded its credit rating for Turkey deeper into "junk" status, citing the failed coup and political turmoil. The rating agency lowered its main sovereign rating for Turkey to BB/B from BB+/B, both of which are considered junk. S&P said it expects a period of heightened unpredictability in the country and maintains a negative outlook, which indicates that further downgrades are possible.

Credit rating agency Moody's has lowered Britain's credit outlook to 'negative' from 'stable' in the wake of the country voting to leave the European Union.Following the Brexit vote, it said Britain's economic growth will be weaker and warned the public finances will be weaker than previously forecast, meaning it will be harder to cut the deficit. A negative outlook means there is a greater danger of a country being downgraded. It is three years since Moody's cut Britain's AAA rating. It currently has the UK on AA+, the second highest rating.It said: 'During the several years in which the UK will have to...

I recieved a complete your application form in the mail today for a Barclaycard Visa credit card. Never heard of them and never applied. They want a original utility bill with address to verify my address. The letter has no phone number,no Internet site,and no street address.Just a P.O. box in Delaware. Anybody ever hear of this company or had dealings with them?

The warning signs of a credit slowdown are beginning to appear. Late Friday, the Federal Reserve's weekly H.8 report showed that growth in lending for commercial and industrial (C&I) loans has significantly cooled off in recent weeks. According to Bespoke Investment Group, the annualized quarter-over-quarter growth rate of C&I loans fell to 15.17% based on Friday's data. Just two weeks ago this was 19.34%.

Saudi Arabia's credit rating has been downgraded by Moody's because of the long and deep slump in oil prices. Moody's Investors Service said Saturday that it also downgraded Gulf oil producers Bahrain and Oman. It left ratings unchanged for other Gulf states including Kuwait and Qatar. Saudi Arabia is the world's largest oil exporter. Moody's cut the country's long-term issuer rating one notch to A1 from Aa3 after a review that began in March.

Just received my new debit card from my bank. It has a chip in it. Is this the Mark of the Beast?

The world's credit boom is beginning to show dangerous signs of unraveling, ushering in a period of fresh turmoil for the over-indebted global economy, the Bank of International Settlements has warned. The globe's top financial watchdog called time on the world's debt binge, noting that debt issuance and cross border flows in emerging economies slowed for the first time since the aftermath of the global credit crunch at the end of last year. With financial markets thrown into fresh paroxysms in 2016, oscillating between extremes of "hope and fear", the over-leveraged world was finally approaching a day of reckoning, said...

Uh oh - here we go again. Do you remember the subprime mortgage meltdown during the last financial crisis? Well, now a similar thing is happening with auto loans. The auto industry has been doing better than many other areas of the economy in recent years, but this "mini-boom" was fueled in large part by customers with subprime credit. According to Equifax, an astounding 23.5 percent of all new auto loans were made to subprime borrowers in 2015. At this point, there is a total of somewhere around $200 billion in subprime auto loans floating around out there, and...

KYLE BASS: There's a 'ticking time bomb' in China Julia La Roche Feb. 10, 2016, 3:29 PM Hedge fund manager J. Kyle Bass, the founder of Dallas-based Hayman Capital, has a warning about a "ticking time bomb" in the Chinese banking system. Over the last ten years, China's banking system has grown from less than $3 trillion to $34 trillion, equivalent to around 340% of Chinese GDP. To put it in perspective, the US banking system had about $16.5 trillion of assets heading into the financial crisis, equivalent to 100% of US GDP. "Credit has never grown faster or larger...

The twisted tale of Gravity Payments CEO Dan Price continues to grow more and more convoluted as time goes by. There was a time when the public – particularly the heavily progressive, SJW segment of it – were carrying Price on their shoulders like the second coming of Jesus.

Dear Bank of Japan, how do you spell unintended consequences: •PLANNED MARCH SALE OF 10-YEAR JAPANESE GOVERNMENT BONDS THROUGH BANKS TO BE CANCELED AMID EXPECTED BELOW-ZERO YIELDS - NIKKEI •JAPAN'S MINISTRY OF FINANCE IS EXPECTED TO ANNOUNCE WEDNESDAY THE FIRST-EVER DECISION TO CALL OFF SALES OF 10-YEAR JGBS- NIKKEI Here is the full Nikkei report on this absolute stunner of a development: The planned March sale of 10-year Japanese government bonds through banks to retail investors, municipalities and others will be canceled amid expected below-zero yields following the Bank of Japan's recent move to adopt negative interest rates. The Ministry...

Ok Freepers, so my question is are these services (LifeLock and others) worth it? Or are they just a waste of money? Can anyone recommend a particular one based on personal experiences? Reason I ask is one of my credit cards was apparently hijacked today. No fraudulent charges but they did manage to change my profile info and password for online access. Received an email from the bank saying my personal info was changed and if I didn't do the changes contact the bank at the number on the card. Sure enough they had successfully changed all the info including...