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cbsnews.com : In the new year, credit card companies are demanding new higher minimum payments. If you are wondering how to deal with such a change, personal finance adviser Ray Martin has some good advice and he's dropped by The Saturday Early Show to share it. Why are credit card companies raising their minimum payments? This increase in the minimum payments comes as a result of guidelines recently issued to the credit card companies by federal banking regulators. In the past, credit card companies required customers to pay an average of just 2 percent of their total credit card balance, which meant constant debt for many consumers. The 2 percent minimum payment only covered interest and other fees, so it could often take a lifetime to pay off the principal balance. The new guidelines state that monthly minimums should cover interest, any fees or extra charges and at least 1 percent of the principal amount. So essentially, we're seeing a jump from a minimum payment of 2 perc...

newsinferno.com : Credit card scam artists have come up with a new tactic to steal consumer’s personal information; they trick people into giving out their three-digit security number issued by credit card companies on the back of their cards. The con is a real problem since the thieves already have consumers’ actual credit card numbers. This gives the criminal instant credibility with the victim when soliciting them. According to Diana L. Taylor, Superintendent of the New York State Banking Department: "As credit card use has continued to skyrocket, there are more and more people – online merchants, store clerks, waiters – who have access to your credit card number. This scam works so well because, prior to making the call, the scammer has already illegally obtained the consumer's credit card number. By asking only for the three-digit security number during the phone conversation and providing phony badge and control numbers, the scammer sounds legitimate to the unsuspecting...

asianpasificpost.com : Ms. Shen earns about C$1,000) a month. But she has chalked up some C$200,000 in debt by swiping her 10 credit and cash cards. “Two years ago, I started using my credit and cash cards to obtain cash advance to pay bills because my husband‘s company wasn‘t doing well,“ said the 50-year-old Taiwanese woman, who declined to give her full name. “But I didn‘t know that the interest rate was so high,“ she told the The Straits Times. The paper said Shen is among some three million “credit card slaves“ in Taiwan, a worsening social problem that has sparked calls to tighten lax rules governing the competitive consumer lending market. Rollover credit debt hit NT$492.9 billion (C$17.3 billion) in October, up 10.2 per cent compared to last year, according to official figures. Credit is rolled over when a card holder pays only the minimum sum, which ranges between two to five percent of total spending, allowed every month. The phenomenon has sparked concerns, with the local m...

chron.com : Fashion model Beverly Peele has been charged with identity theft for allegedly buying about $10,000 worth of housewares, appliances and furniture with someone else's credit card numbers. Peele, who has been featured in magazine ads and appeared in the movie Sweet Friggin' Daisies and a George Michael music video, was arrested Monday and charged with two counts of grand theft by access card, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said Friday. The complaint alleges Peele charged furniture, a refrigerator, a washer and dryer, bedding and other items for her home on credit cards that were in a wallet she found in a supermarket. Investigators said she returned the wallet to the owner, but first apparently copied the numbers on the charge cards. Peele, 30, was released and is scheduled for a court appearance this coming week. © 1985 - 2002 Hearst Newspapers Partnership, L.P. All rights reserved.