This Week In Your Wallet: Can You Catch The Phish?
Have you ever won a contest you didn’t enter – or been sent an email from a company you do business with that didn’t look quite right? If so, then you probably received a phishing email – an email ridden with fraudulent information aimed at getting you to click on a phish, or link, that could lead you to a page of ads (aka “click fraud”), or worse, load malware onto your computer with the aim of stealing your financial information and identity.
My first two examples might be no-brainers, but phishing emails can fool even the savviest of Internet users, especially when they look like they’re being sent from the financial institution you bank with, the store you regularly shop at or the company you work for (these specially targeted ones are examples of a newer scam called spear phishing). That’s why TODAY show and I want to see how well you can catch a phish.
We created this quiz to test your spotting skills. You can take the quiz now and if you’d like, drop me an email or tweet me (@jeanchatzky) to let me know how you did. Then, this Friday, tune in for my segment to see the results and tips for protecting both your wallet and identity.
Quick Share: “Secret Sister” Scam Alert
In that same vein, there’s a holiday Facebook scam making the rounds called the “Secret Sister Gift Exchange.” Quite simply, it’s a social media version of chain letter gifting (which is illegal, by the wayl). Here’s how it works: You buy in by “gifting” $10 (or more) to the first “sister” on the list. You then add your name to the list, share it and wait for your gift(s) to arrive. Hint: They won’t. Continue reading on Credit.com.
Make Your Kid An Investor
Star Wars Lightsabers and Barbie Saddle N’ Ride Horses may top the “Hot Toy List” this season, but how about giving your kids, grandkids, nieces or nephews something they could use (and benefit from) for years to come — like an investment? Giving the gift of stocks or mutual funds is not only generous, but also a great way to teach kids and young adults about the importance of investing in the markets. There are a few rules that come with buying for minors, of course, but it’s possible. I tell you how on Bankrate.com.
Start by surveying your options on investment gift-giving sites, like SparkGift, UniqueStockGift and GiveAShare. On SparkGift, for example, you can buy shares or partial shares in stocks and mutual funds for gifts between $20 and $2,000 for a fee of $2.95 plus 3% of the gift value. Then – once you gift – comes the fun as you encourage your recipient to track the progress of her or his investment. Make it a habit to check the stock with them so that you can explain what they’re seeing a la venture capitalist, Chris Sacca, who makes it a point to check the market with his girls (ages 3, 2 and six weeks) every morning. As he says in an interview for Mashable: “‘…I ask my little girls what’s going on. ‘What do you see, green or red? What’s green mean: making money. What’s our favorite stock?’ They look down at Twitter. ‘Oh we’re losing money!’” It’s never too early to start.
It’s Time To Transfer
Have you been thinking about consolidating your debt onto a new credit card? If the answer is yes, then now’s the time to do it. With a Fed rate hike on the horizon (Magic 8 Ball says: next month), your window of opportunity for zero-percent offers might be closing. A new report from CreditCards.com found that balance transfers are pretty much the norm – 88 of the 100 cards surveyed were transfer-friendly and roughly 50% of them (40 total) had a 0-percent teaser rate. (Balance transfer fees are common, too. Fifty of the 88 cards had one – usually 3% of the transferred amount.)
Is this really worth the doing? If you have substantial debt on a card with a higher interest rate (think the typical 15% APR), then transferring to a 0-percent card and working to pay it off could save you hundreds of dollars in only a year. For example, let’s say you have a balance of $7,500 on a card with the 15% APR and work to pay it off over the course of a year. After the 12 months, you’ll have paid $8,123.25. But if you transfer that balance of $7,500 to a card with a 0-percent introductory rate and 3% fee (the most common offer found in the CreditCards.com survey), then your payments and fee would come out to $7,725 total at the end of the year — saving you close to $400 bucks. Head here to see the site’s top picks for cards.
Have a great week,
Jean
