Posts belonging to Category Common Cents Money & Credit

Scam Alert: Fake Calls from Consumers Energy

About once a month for the past few months we’ve gotten one of these scam calls. The Caller ID says “CONSUMERS ENERG” (because that’s the character limit of the screen) and the number is usually from the 517 area code. It’s always either a robotic voice or a recording of a person informing us that […]

Are You Part of the $425 Million Equifax Settlement? Here’s How to Find Out

The MLIVE article linked below summarizes how to find out if your credit information was stolen as part of the 2017 breach of consumer reporting agency Equifax and whether you qualify for part of the $425 million dollar settlement. The deadline for filing a claim on having your data stolen is Jan. 22, 2020 which […]

Is My Social Security Number Suspended??

Have you gotten a phone call recently informing you that your Social Security Number has been suspended due to suspicious activity? If so, you’re not alone. Ziggy himself has received a handful of calls like this in the last few days, and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has been getting reports of calls like this […]

Update on the Equifax Hack

Last week we discussed the theft of credit report data and other information affecting at least 143 million Americans from Equifax, one of the nation’s three main credit bureaus. Since last week some important new revelations have come to light and we wanted to share those with you to be sure you are aware of […]

The Equifax Hack: What You Can Do

According to the Federal Trade Commission, “If you have a credit report, there’s a good chance that you’re one of the 143 million American consumers whose sensitive personal information was exposed in a data breach at Equifax.” The breach, which occurred from mid-May through July and includes names, Social Security numbers, birth dates, addresses, and […]

Don’t Take the Bait: Avoid Scams and Spam Online

In today’s social media obsessed world, it can be all too easy to submit your information to scams, or fall victim to clickbait that hacks your account. On one hand, social media and the internet has empowered us to stay more connected than ever (and therefore value disconnection more!), but on the other, it can […]

Avoid Tax Time Scams

My insurance agent sent this out in his monthly newsletter and I thought it was worth sharing. Each year, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) releases a “Dirty Dozen” list of common tax scams. (If you want to read the whole list for extra credit, you can do so here.) The following ranked high in 2014, […]

Online Shopping Tips

It’s the holiday season and that means many of us are shopping for gifts for family, friends, and other loved ones. If you plan to do any of your shopping online, take advantage of these online shopping tips from Mary Hunt’s Everyday Cheapskate blog. As convenient as Internet shopping can be (stores never close, no […]

Over 40 Million Credit and Debit Cards Compromised at Target

If you keep an eye on the news you have probably already seen the story that was released today: Wall Street Journal Reuters Target’s Corporate Site What this means is that if you shopped at Target between November 27 and December 15 and paid with a debit or credit card you need to keep a […]

Rebuilding Credit After a Bankruptcy

Whether it was due to youthful financial irresponsibility, the dishonesty or indiscretions of a spouse or family member, or unfortunate circumstances beyond your control, your debt was a monster that you couldn’t tame and you decided that your only option was to declare bankruptcy. Now what? If you’re looking to get new credit you will […]