Fraudulent Bank Scam

Looking for a Credit Card for Christmas Shopping? Before you submit a credit card application, first review the main points which will help you choose the right credit card for your needs.

What Charges You'll Make - If you're going to use the credit card mainly for booking airline reservations and hotels, it might be best for you to get a travel credit card that offers sky miles and hotel points or cashback. If this will be an emergency credit card only, then your main concern may be for a low interest rate credit card with low fees.

When You'll Repay Charges - Will you pay off credit card charges in full every month, or will you carry a balance month to month? If you're going to carry a balance, you want the lowest possible interest rate as well as a low introductory rate. But if you'll payoff balances in full every month, then interest rate really doesn't matter so no annual fee and/or a long grace period would be a bigger concern. If you're going to carry a balance, be concerned about how the finance charge is calculated. The most common method is the Average Daily Balance, which means that the daily balances are added together and then divided by the number of days in the billing cycle. Stay away from credit cards that compute the balance using two billing cycles, as this method costs more money in financing fees.

What Amount You'll Charge - If you're going to use the credit card for all your monthly expenses, then you need a card that has a high credit limit and a high cashback percentage.

More info about Interest Rates, Credit Limits, Incentives, Fees and Penalties

Interest Rates - The interest rate (Annual Percentage Rate) APR can either be a fixed rate or a variable rate that is tied to another financial indicator, most commonly the prime rate. With a fixed rate credit card you know what the interest rate will be every month, whereas a card with a variable rate can fluctuate. Of course, even the interest of a fixed rate card can change based on certain events, such as paying your credit card bill late, exceeding your limit, or simply because the credit card issuer decides to change it after providing you ample advance notice.

Credit Limit - This is the amount of money the credit card company will let you charge to the card. This amount varies depending upon the card offer and your credit history. Be sure to get a credit card with an ample limit, because getting close to your max can hurt your credit score. Just remember that you don't have to max out your limit just because it's available.

Incentives - To compete for and to gain customers, many credit card companies offer rewards. Even if you normally use cash, why not use your credit card and then use the cash to make the payment during the grace period? You still won't pay interest and meanwhile you'll rack-up rewards. A credit card with 5% cashback will earn you $5 for every $100 charged. If your total bills come to $2,000 per month, you'll earn a free $100 every month. Look for a rewards program that you'll use and which offers flexibility, such as cashback or travel.

Fees and Penalties - Compare common charges such as late fees, overlimit fees, balance transfers, cash advances, and for making payments by telephone. Regarding balance transfers, look for credit card offers with no transaction fees and zero percent interest for at least 12 months.

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Fraudulent Bank Scam

By Credit Federal | Published 12/31/2005

Review other fraud and scam alerts.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) has advised the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) that persons representing themselves as employees of Brink (or Brink's) National Bank of Texas are contacting other persons via telephone or e-mail. The OCC states that the representatives have referred to several different schemes, which appear to be advance-fee frauds. Worthless, counterfeit official bank checks may also be provided in this scheme. The contact information provided for Brink (or Brink's) National Bank of Texas includes an unlisted cell phone number originating with a Texas cell phone service, and an e-mail contact through a "@yahoo.com" address. The Web site used by this entity has been suspended.

Brink (or Brink's) National Bank of Texas is not chartered by the OCC, and is not authorized to conduct the business of banking. All nationally chartered banks must be FDIC-insured. However, the FDIC does not insure the deposits of Brink (Brink's) National Bank of Texas. To search for FDIC-insured banks, use the following link: www2.fdic.gov/idasp/main.asp.

Additional information about this matter that you believe should be brought to the OCC's attention may be forwarded to:
Mail: Office of the Comptroller of the Currency
Enforcement & Compliance Division, MS 8-10
250 E. Street, SW
Washington, DC 20219
Fax: (202) 874-5301
Email: occalertresponses@occ.treas.gov
Internet: http://www.occ.treas.gov

Information about counterfeit items, cyber-fraud incidents and other fraudulent activity may be forwarded to the FDIC's Cyber-Fraud and Financial Crimes Section, 550 17th Street, N.W., Room F-4004, Washington, D.C. 20429, or transmitted electronically to alert@fdic.gov. Information related to federal deposit insurance or consumer issues should be submitted to the FDIC using an online form that can be accessed at http://www2.fdic.gov/starsmail/index.asp.

For your reference, FDIC Special Alerts may be accessed from the FDIC's Web site at www.fdic.gov/news/news/SpecialAlert/2005/index.html. To learn how to automatically receive FDIC Special Alerts through e-mail, please visit www.fdic.gov/about/subscriptions/index.html.
Christopher J. Spoth
Acting Director
Division of Supervision and Consumer Protection

Distribution: FDIC-Supervised Banks (Commercial and Savings)

NOTE: Paper copies of FDIC Special Alerts may be obtained through the FDIC's Public Information Center, 801 17th Street, NW, Room 100, Washington, DC 20434 (1-877-275-3342 or 202-416-6940).

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Fraudulent Bank Scam - by <a href=http://creditfederal.com>CreditFederal.com</a> Review other <a href="http://creditfederal.com/search/search.cgi?Terms=fraud">fraud</a> and <a href="http://creditfederal.com/search/search.cgi?Terms=scam">scam</a> alerts. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) has advised the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) that persons representing themselves as employees of Brink (or Brink's) National Bank of Texas are contacting other persons via telephone or e-mail. The OCC states that the representatives have referred to several different schemes, which appear to be advance-fee frauds. Worthless, counterfeit official bank checks may also be provided in this scheme. The contact information provided for Brink (or Brink's) National Bank of Texas includes an unlisted cell phone number originating with a Texas cell phone service, and an e-mail contact through a "@yahoo.com" address. The Web site used by this entity has been suspended. Brink (or Brink's) National Bank of Texas is not chartered by the OCC, and is not authorized to conduct the business of banking. All nationally chartered banks must be FDIC-insured. However, the FDIC does not insure the deposits of Brink (Brink's) National Bank of Texas. To search for FDIC-insured banks, use the following link: www2.fdic.gov/idasp/main.asp. Additional information about this matter that you believe should be brought to the OCC's attention may be forwarded to: Mail: Office of the Comptroller of the Currency Enforcement & Compliance Division, MS 8-10 250 E. Street, SW Washington, DC 20219 Fax: (202) 874-5301 Email: occalertresponses@occ.treas.gov Internet: http://www.occ.treas.gov Information about counterfeit items, cyber-fraud incidents and other fraudulent activity may be forwarded to the FDIC's Cyber-Fraud and Financial Crimes Section, 550 17th Street, N.W., Room F-4004, Washington, D.C. 20429, or transmitted electronically to alert@fdic.gov. Information related to federal deposit insurance or consumer issues should be submitted to the FDIC using an online form that can be accessed at http://www2.fdic.gov/starsmail/index.asp. For your reference, FDIC Special Alerts may be accessed from the FDIC's Web site at www.fdic.gov/news/news/SpecialAlert/2005/index.html. To learn how to automatically receive FDIC Special Alerts through e-mail, please visit www.fdic.gov/about/subscriptions/index.html. Christopher J. Spoth Acting Director Division of Supervision and Consumer Protection Distribution: FDIC-Supervised Banks (Commercial and Savings) NOTE: Paper copies of FDIC Special Alerts may be obtained through the FDIC's Public Information Center, 801 17th Street, NW, Room 100, Washington, DC 20434 (1-877-275-3342 or 202-416-6940). This article provided courtesy of <a href=http://creditfederal.com target=_new>www.CreditFederal.com</a>, a personal credit resource of good or bad credit credit cards and loans.

Credit Tip: Need a high limit for Christmas credit card charges? If you have bad credit, consider a personal loan by refinancing your mortgage. Even if you have cash to buy Christmas presents, we recommend using a prepaid card to make purchases because it's safer than carrying cash.