Smartphone and social media users may be opening the doors to an increase in identity theft.   Identity thieves are gaining ground after a drop in fraud reports in 2010, according to Javelin Strategy & Research. In 2011, 7.7 million Americans — about one in 20 adults- – were hit with credit and debit [...]

The New York Times recently ran a fascinating piece about all the information retailers are collecting about their customers. The article focused particularly on Target, which is doing some pretty sophisticated surveillance of shoppers. By analyzing your purchases over time, the retail giant is able to tell what life changes you’re going through and offer [...]

United-Continental Airlines is offering a new way to get rid of unwanted gift cards — cashing them in for extra air miles.   It’s called the Mileage Plus Gift Card Exchange, and it accepts more than 60 kinds of used or partially used gift cards from frequent-flier members from brands including Wal-Mart, Best Buy, Sears, [...]

When I finished school, I was one of the lucky ones. A combination of scholarships, help from my generous family and a full-time job offer soon after graduation made what debt I had manageable.  Even so, I had to resort to some creative measures to stretch my paycheck — sharing a 500-square-foot apartment with another [...]

Last November, the grassroots Bank Transfer Day movement encouraged consumers fed up with big banks to switch their accounts to smaller institutions with fewer fees. The movement garnered a sizeable following, more than 60,000 Facebook likes and about 3,400 Twitter followers. But did it work?   A recent survey from Javelin Strategy & Research puts [...]

At my neighborhood grocery store, there is a table trimmed with pink and red gauze. Hard at work are several employees, dipping strawberries in chocolate. There are also shelves loaded with various heart-shaped gifts, conveniently located near the entrance for the last-minute shoppers who will be ducking in on the 14th. I call this the [...]

Bank of America, still smarting from the public backlash that torpedoed its proposed $5 monthly fee for debit cards last year, is rolling out a new idea to boost card activity — a program called BankAmeriDeals.   While the program hasn’t started yet, the idea is that customers will be offered discounts on future purchases [...]

  I admit, I’ve been getting lazy when it comes to penny-pinching. Turns out, I’m not alone. Americans might be slipping back into old, expensive habits, according to a recent poll.   Since 2009, Harris Interactive has been asking Americans what they’ve done to save money in the past six months. This week, it released [...]

  U.S. credit card holders just got one step closer to using cards with chips instead of magnetic stripes. MasterCard has announced a plan to transition to the "chip and PIN" technology that is already the norm in Europe.   By the end of April 2013, MasterCard plans to have replaced its existing magnetic stripe [...]