Scam Credit Card

URGENT – APPROVED

CONGRATULATIONS, YOUR CARD HAS ARRIVED
CALL IMMEDIATELY TO ACTIVATE THIS CARD
Does this ad appeal to you? There are several companies that are currently operating in the Central Louisiana and the Ark-La-Tex area that are mailing, faxing, emailing and calling consumers. Don’t be fooled, if it sounds too good to be true, call your local Better Business Bureau, Inc.
Two companies that we have several inquiries about are Credicorp, Inc. and Capital Credit Alliance, Inc. They both have unsatisfactory records with the Better Business Bureau, Inc.
You may think you are applying for a credit card, however, the cards are NOT a general purpose credit card like Visa or MasterCard. They inform you that the Pre-approved Gold Credit Card is valid exclusively toward all credit purchases from the “Credit Provider”. This is misleading, must consumers do not know what that means. The credit provider is the company supplying the card. They mail you a catalog and you are only approved to purchase items from it. They also charge you an annual fee from $29.95 to $100.00 to receive the card. They give you a $6,000 - $10,000 credit limit with monthly installments.
It is alleged that their products are inferior or overpriced. We are not sure of the quality, however, any company whose deceptive advertising requires you to do research to find out what is actually being offered presents a problem.

Credit Card Fraud Warning Signs:

*They claim to offer a very high unsecured credit lines, even to those with bad credit.
*They claim to offer major Gold or Platinum cards with little or no interest for up to the first 3 years
*They offer customers non-existent vacations, free computers, and other benefits in addition to the credit card.
*Their offers contain no real bank name
*There is no contact phone number on the offer OR they only provide an 800 phone number, with no other phone number with a bona fide area code OR vice versa.
*There is no web site, and if there is a web site, there is no further contact information and password protected.
*The company only lists a P.O. Box address
*There is no county business license filed; It is not registered with the State's Corporation entity (if incorporated)
*There is no physical address for the contact of an agent (Even if the business is incorporated in another state, they must have a registered agent in each state in which they do business)

*The name of the company is similar to that of a legitimate bank.
*The offers say "for limited time" or "must act today"
*The letter or phone rep stating "for today only"
*They offer this only in return for auto bank payment, and do not accept checks by mail or credit card payments.

If you receive an offer and it has these warning signs, contact your local Better Business Bureau, your state's department consumer protection, the Federal Trade Commission, and even your state's Attorney General's Office.

Credit Card Tips

Credit cards can be helpful in emergencies or if you are able to pay off the balance each month, but be wary! Credit cards can also get you into trouble. Here are some helpful hints on using credit cards:

Fees

• Watch out for carrying balances. Some cards charge 20% or more in interest. (Interest is usually called "finance charges" on your statements.)
• Fixed rates aren't always fixed! A credit card company can change the rate by informing you 15 days before changing the rate.
• Look at your statement carefully and call the company right away if you have any questions.
• There is usually a large finance charge for cash advances and interest begins accruing as soon as you take the money out, not after the next statement closing.
• Be aware of annual fees. Many times you are charged $50 or more just to have the card.
• Watch out for introductory offers! When you receive a credit card offer in the mail with a low rate, it may expire in three or six months. Note when and by how much the rate increases after the "introductory offer" expires. You may not remember when it expires, but the card company will.
• Think about your purchases. If you are not able to afford the purchase now, chances are you won't be able to afford it in a month when the credit card bill comes in!

If you get behind

• Cut your recreational expenses.
• Call your credit card company. They may be willing to work out a repayment schedule with you.
• Develop a budget and stick to it! Everyone makes mistakes, but credit will follow you and hurt your eligibility for mortgages or loans down the road.
• Look into credit counseling services. Many offer educational programs or individual counseling sessions to help you get back on track.

The Disadvantages of Credit Cards

The key word for credit card use is ‘easy’. Credit cards make things easy: so easy to buy, so easy to order, so easy anywhere in the world. And so easy to get into debt and that’s a ‘downer’. Are there others?

A hill of beans
You can very quickly lose track of how much you’ve spent on a credit card. Lots of small purchases soon add up to a whole hill of beans and before you know it, there you are faced with a large sum on the bottom of your statement that you weren’t expecting and how to pay it off is a problem.

So it sits there and costs you a fortune until slowly bit by bit you chip away at it ‘til it’s gone… hopefully. That’s a good scenario. There are plenty of people who have got very seriously into debt through credit cards. And it the fact that its so easy to do so that is their big disadvantage.
Keep it up

You may have trouble keeping up repayments on a credit card that’s got a substantial balance on it. Especially if you work in a job that provides regular overtime and suddenly that gets cut. It’s not always easy to keep up all those financial commitments and if you miss a payment or start paying late it can affect your credit rating.

How much?
Credit cards might be easy to use and give available money easily but you pay for that privilege. It’s the easiest and most expensive way to borrow money. Sometimes the cost isn’t worth the convenience.

Confusticated
Credit cards can be confusing with all the jargon used to describe different rates of interest for different transactions and for how long. Credit card companies in the UK are now obliged to feature an ‘honesty box’ on their advertising, showing clearly what APR they are charging for what credit transactions. This was in response to public demand and in an attempt to make these issues as clear as possible. APR itself was introduced primarily as a way for the public to be able to compare like for like on different financial products. But there is still the danger of getting very confused by it all.

Too many
Having too many credit cards can be a real headache. Once you start using different ones you will get into a right mix up about which pay dates are due when, so the least that can happen here is that you increase the chances of missing a payment date. Then there’s the temptation to start jumping payments from one to the next, but that’s really only a way of deceiving yourself and not facing up to the day when you will actually have to pay the debt back.
Your twin uses your card too, right?

Then there’s the whole issue of identity theft. As the UK’s fastest growing type of fraud it has to be taken seriously. Although the credit card companies are doing all they can to combat illegal activity by introducing chip & pin and security numbers some credit card owners still appear to lose all sense of logic when it comes to giving people confidential information about their cards.

A problem compounded
As we all know, interest charged to outstanding balances can be very high. Not only that, unless you read the small print you aren’t going to be prepared for the way interest is charged on your card. For example, if you move a balance across from one card to another that transfer will be at a very low rate. But if you go out and purchase something else with that same card the new purchase will be at a very high rate and it won’t ever shift off your card until the balance transfer sum has been completely paid off.

And so, as you whittle away each month at the balance, interest will be charged on top of interest and that’s compound interest; which is a great thing when you are investing, but not when you are trying to pay off a debt.
Conclusion

Today’s society is an “I want” culture and it’s an “I want it now” one at that. Only when we start to learn how to manage our finances and how to save earned money will we ever get rid of the awesome burden of debt that exists for so many in this country

Credit Card Benefits

No one likes to think about the dangers of the unexpected... but the fact is, every day the lives of thousands of people are affected as they become victims of accidents.

That’s why Chubb created the Worldwide Accident Protection series, a portfolio of accident insurance products for financial institutions. Chubb offers a wide variety of insurance products, keeping your program competitive while demonstrating your concern for the well being of your members and their families. Whatever your needs, our team of underwriters will customize a policy for the people you want to protect, strengthening your benefits program and enhancing the value of your organization.

Benefits Currently Available:

Accidental Death & Dismemberment In the event of a covered accidental death, dismemberment or the loss of eyesight, speech or hearing while on a common carrier, the insured person or beneficiary will receive a cash benefit. When the entire cost of the fare is charged to the insured persons account.

Trip Interruption/Cancellation Travel costs are reimbursed to the insured if the covered trip that was charged to the insured persons account is cancelled or interrupted, due to a covered circumstance.

Loss Damage Waiver This benefit will reimburse repair or replacement costs to a covered rental car involved in an accident if the automobile rental fee is charged to the insured person’s account.

Collision Damage Waiver This benefit will reimburse repair costs to a covered rental car involved in an accident if the automobile rental fee is charged to the insured person’s account.

Checked Baggage If checked and/or carried-on luggage is lost or damaged, the insured will receive reimbursement for covered items provided that the cost of the common carrier fare is charged to the insured person’s account.

Hotel & Motel Burglary If the cost of the hotel or motel room is charged to the insured person’s account and the insured person’s personal property is stolen from that hotel or motel room, the cost of the covered stolen property will be reimbursed.

How will you use your credit card?

The first step in choosing a credit card is thinking about how you will use it.

If you expect to always pay your monthly bill in full--and other features such as frequent flyer miles don�t interest you--your best choice may be a card that has no annual fee and offers a longer grace period.

If you sometimes carry over a balance from month to month, you may be more interested in a card that carries a lower interest rate (stated as an annual percentage rate, or APR).

If you expect to use your card to get cash advances, you�ll want to look for a card that carries a lower APR and lower fees on cash advances. Some cards charge a higher APR for cash advances than for purchases.