In this weekends Your Money column, I look at the question of whether United States consumers are vulnerable to the sort of phone shenanigans that tabloid reporters in Britain seem to have been engaged in for some time.

Whatever the methods used there, its becoming increasingly clear that people in United States are vulnerable to something called caller ID spoofing. In essence, someone uses a service to make it appear that a call is coming from your phone number. The column explains how the process might be (pretty easily) used to listen to your voice mail or find out what youve spent (and where) on your Bank of America or Chase credit cards.

The moral of the weeks reporting efforts for me? Im no longer throwing out credit card receipts and will be shredding them instead.

Complete article…

Moody’s downgrade of Japan’s sovereign debt appears to be a nonevent in the world of ETFs, with the bellwether iShares MSCI Japan Index Fund (NYSEArca: EWJ) falling a bit, but hardly enough yet to consider it anything significant.

Moody’s lowered the Japanese government’s rating to “Aa3” from “Aa2,” or three notches below a risk-free triple-A rating. Part of the limited reaction is because the Moody’s action brings its rating in line with competing ratings from Standard & Poor’s and Fitch. Also, Moody’s said in a press release that Japan’s outlook is stable, largely because so much of the country’s debt remains in the hands of Japanese investors.

EWJ, a fund with $7 billion in assets, fell 1.14 percent to $9.52 a share, according to data compiled by IndexUniverse. The competing WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity Fund (NYSEArca: DXJ) eased 0.8 percent lower to $32.21 per share. DXJ has a bit more than

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Payday loan companies have grown to a considerable number throughout UK and the payday industry is continuing to expand as more lenders are stepping into it. Although enough advertising is being done on print as well as electronic media about these loans, yet there are some questions that people in UK generally ask to clear their concepts regarding payday advances.

Ques: Is it true that Payday lenders don’t ask for any credit check?

Ans: Yes. Payday companies don’t ask for your previous credit scores as such a demand is only made by lenders dealing with middle or long-term loans, which are secured loans. Payday loans are secured against the borrowers next paycheck, so lenders don’t need to ask for any kind of surety.

Ques: What is the criterion of applying for payday cash?

Ans: The criteria is minimal, however, it might differ to some extent, from one lender to another. Typic

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This second program requires participants to pay 25% of the highest amount in the account from 2003-2010, along with the back taxes, interest, and other penalties.  Without the voluntary disclosure program, the penalty can easily be more than is in the account.

We all know that, used properly, credit cards can be great tools. Unfortunately, its also easy to fall into the debt trap, making mistakes that can result in paying a lot in interest. If you want to be able to make the most of your credit card, and avoid the pitfalls of credit, do your best to avoid these 5 credit card mistakes almost everyone makes at least at first:

1. Not Tracking Your Spending

When you have a credit card, since its not coming out of your checking account, many people dont think its necessary to track spending. The problem with this is that you can be unpleasantly surprised by how quickly it all adds up. Taking the time to track your credit card spending can keep you on your toes and within your budget. If you dont know your current balance, you could easily go over your limit, incurring fees.

2.

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