NGA MONEY: How safe is my money and my information?

Hey there my friends...

Are you safe?- irstaxlawattorney.com

Have you ever swiped your debit card at the local Walmart or ordered a new pair of shoes online and had to enter in all your information? I'm talking name, address, security code on the back of card, social security number, etc. Is all of that always necessary? How safe is this information once it leaves the consumer?

I came across an article on the Federal Reserve website talking about a situation with TJX Companies Inc.:

Fraud is a very real threat to the payments system’s efficiency. According to one recent report, 71 percent of surveyed organizations experienced payments fraud in 2007, and over one-third of those firms reported financial losses stemming from the fraudulent activity.2 As another example of the size of the payments fraud problem, in a 2007 data breach involving TJX Companies Inc. (the holding company of retailers T. J. Maxx, Marshalls, Winners, HomeGoods, TK Maxx, A. J. Wright, and HomeSense), 45,700,000 credit card and debit card account numbers were stolen, along with 455,000 merchandise return records containing customer names and driver’s license numbers. Latest reports allege that an additional 48 million people have been affected for a total of over 30 percent of the entire U.S. population. The situation has cost TJX Companies Inc. more than $130 million in settlement claims. The breach was a worldwide effort perpetrated by criminals from the United States, Eastern Europe and China. The U.S. Department of Justice has arrested 11 people in this case, which is the largest hacking and identity theft case ever prosecuted by the department.

Say NO to fraud!- fraudsandscams-philippenes.blogspot.com

 Payment Fraud is not something that you want to take lightly and being careful with your personal information is very important in this advanced day and age of technology. Can you imagine going to pay your monthly cable bill only to find out that your account has been zeroed out? Or applying for a new credit card only to find out you have a house in your name that you have no idea about? That would be a feeling that would make a person feel so violated and unsafe that they may not ever use these methods of processing transactions again.

Have you ever had a case of fraud of any type happen to you? Share your experience and tell us how you overcame it.

Written by Mark Joseph