ABA: 5 Ways to Protect Your Small Business from Ransomware Attacks
WASHINGTON — Small businesses are becoming popular targets to a form of malware known as ransomware. Ransomware is used by cybercriminals to freeze your computer or mobile device, steal your data and demand a “ransom” — anywhere between a couple of hundreds to thousands of dollars — be paid. Ransomware infiltrates enterprise networks and servers and individual laptops or computers, leading…
FDIC: Financial Services Site in Spanish Launched
En Español The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) today launched a new Spanish-language website with links to the agency’s available resources in Spanish as the nation observes Hispanic Heritage Month. The new website, “Recursos para Consumidores en español,” features links to webinars and video presentations that cover topics such as deposit insurance, consumer protection, and…
CFPB: We’ve Issued a New Rule to Help Protect Consumers Using Prepaid Accounts
Prepaid accounts are one of the newer ways to store and spend your money. These include prepaid cards that you buy in stores or digital wallet accounts that you get online. With most prepaid accounts, you can spend the money you’ve loaded in advance for daily expenses or withdraw cash from an ATM. You can also…
CFPB: Project Catalyst Research Pilot – Tools for Saving
Over the past three years the Bureau has launched a series of initiatives focused on empowering consumers with resources and tools to help increase their financial capability and to build savings. These efforts include “Your Money, Your Goals,” a nationwide effort to provide financial education and tools to those working in low-income communities. It also…
CFPB: How to Avoid Credit Repair Scams
Repairing your credit history after a setback can feel overwhelming. Unfortunately, that’s why some credit repair companies use confusing and misleading messaging to target anxious consumers who are just trying to get their financial lives back on track. Over the past several months, more than half of people who submitted complaints with the CFPB about…
CFPB: Don’t Let Malicious Mail Make Off with your Money
According to the Department of Justice, older people are losing millions of dollars to mass mailing fraud schemes, often by sending $20 or $30 at a time. These mail scammers use any means they can to convince victims to send them money, credit card details, and personal information like Social Security numbers. These offers often promise…
CFPB: The Significant Impact of Student Debt on Communities of Color
Rising student debt is one of the more painful aftershocks of the Great Recession. Millions of Americans lost their jobs and homes, while others lost much of their household wealth. This decrease in household wealth has continued to put a strain on the ways families pay for higher education expenses, often shifting the burden of…
CFPB: Be Your Family’s Financial Action Hero During an Emergency
Is your family prepared for a natural disaster, like a major flood or earthquake? It’s hurricane season, and, with memories of devastating storms like Hurricanes Sandy and Katrina, you might already be stockpiling supplies or planning an evacuation route. But there’s something else that should be on your list, too: emergency financial planning. And one…
ABA: 7 Tips to Help Older Americans Keep Their Money Safe
The ABA Foundation recognizes National Grandparents Day with tips for choosing a financial caregiver WASHINGTON — In recognition of National Grandparents Day on Sept. 11 and as a part of its Safe Banking for Seniors program, the American Bankers Association Foundation is offering tips to help older Americans and their loved ones choose the right…
CFPB: 4 Strategies to Help Youth Achieve Financial Capability
Today, we released a report, “Building Blocks to Help Youth Achieve Financial Capability,” which describes how young people acquire the “building blocks” of financial capability to help them navigate the financial marketplace as adults. The building blocks are: 1) executive function, 2) financial habits and norms, and 3) financial knowledge and decision-making skills. These building…