Recently, we had a member who received a debt consolidation offer in the mail. She was preapproved for a $90,500 signature loan at a rate of 3.87% to consolidate high interest credit card debt. Understandably, she was concerned that she received this mailing and more so, a preapproval for a loan she didn’t want or more importantly, need.

Every year, a large number of students choose to apply for scholarships worldwide. These scholarships provide a convenient alternative for students who find it difficult to continue their higher education due to the rising cost of academic expenses.

We are living in a world that is completely password driven.  A world where a mix of letters, numbers, and special characters makes a huge difference in whether you can access personal information, communicate with your friends or make purchases online.

It was announced on July 30, 2019 that a hacker gained access to more than 100 million Capital One customers’ accounts and credit card applications earlier this year. At this point, Capital One is saying that the vulnerability has been fixed and that it is “unlikely that the information was sued for fraud or disseminated by this individual.” However, the company is still investigating. It was noted that “no credit card account numbers or log-in credentials were compromised and that over 99% of Social Security numbers were not compromised.”

Though phone scams sound old and outdated, they still are common today. Primarily, people who are over fifty years of age are victimized through telephone fraud. Every year people lose money to telephone scams. Scammers act very friendly, and will sweet talk the money out of people any way they can. 

It can be awkward when a friend asks you for a loan, especially when you’re not sure if you should do it. Even when you want to help, there are times when it’s better to decline. Here are a few situations when you should tell your friend that a loan just isn’t possible at the moment.

At First Alliance Credit Union we are all about helping our members find ways to be financially successful.  One important step in financial success is keeping your money and identity safe! This is why we are excited to partner with LegalShield to offer discounted Identity Theft Protection Plans to our members as one of many membership benefits!

Ever feel like you’re drowning in paperwork? If you do, you’re not alone. Every month, the average American gets bombarded with a flurry of bills, bank statements, credit card statements, mortgage statements and loan statements. Depending on the time of year, you might get a couple of W-2 forms added to the mix.

If you have ever been on the Internet, you have seen advertisements offering free trials for everything from whiter teeth and bigger muscles to jewelry and appliances. While offering a free trial of a product or service is perfectly legal, consumers should still be wary. The fine print of those offers end up costing consumers hundreds of dollars. It’s important to understand how free trial offers work so you can avoid feeling scammed by less than honest business practices.

Do you know what to do if you see unexplained charges on your debit card or credit card? Do you call your card carrier or the merchant first? Does it mean your identity was stolen? There are a lot of questions that arise when you see unexplained transactions on your statements. The good new is you can dispute the unexplained transactions on your accounts.