skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Friday, March 29, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The latest on the Key Bridge collapse, New York puts forth legislation to get clean energy projects on the grid and Wisconsin and other states join a federal summer food program to help feed kids across the country.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Republicans float conspiracy theories on the collapse of Baltimore's Key Bridge, South Carolina's congressional elections will use a map ruled unconstitutional, and the Senate schedules an impeachment trial for Homeland Secretary Mayorkas.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

How to Dodge Scams, Stay Financially alert in the New Year

play audio
Play

Tuesday, December 27, 2022   

Financial experts in North Carolina say credit card and online shopping scams are prevalent year-round, and recommend monitoring your bank account transactions as a daily habit in the New Year.

More than 10,000 North Carolinians collectively lost nearly $100 million to scams in 2021.

Daniel Rathfelder, vice president of card services for Coastal Credit Union, explained ATM skimmers loaded onto point-of-sale devices remain of one of the top techniques fraudsters use to steal card information.

"It is a year-round problem. We're seeing different attacks," Rathfelder explained. "People are doing card testing to see if they can get authorizations through cards, that happens regularly."

According to a report released by North Carolina's Attorney General Josh Stein, there were more than 1,600 complaints filed with the North Carolina Department of Justice last year related to card scams.

People who suspect a scam should call their bank or credit card company and notify them of suspicious charges, and report it to the FBI's internet crime complaint center at ic3.gov, or call North Carolina's consumer hotline at 919-716-6000.

Rathfelder emphasized online communication cannot be verified, and recommended rather than using ads or pop-up chats to make purchases or share information, do a Google search to verify a business through a website.

"There's a lot of texts, online scams, email, direct messages through different applications now; Snapchat, LinkedIn, Facebook," Rathfelder outlined. "All of those are really prone to artificial intelligence bots."

He advised speaking with your credit union or bank on ways to boost card security.

"That's the most prevalent way people are getting scammed right now," Rathfelder stressed. "Set up alerts for transactions -- every transaction if you want -- over zero cents. That's helpful."

Nationwide consumers lost nearly $6 billion to fraud last year, an increase of more than 70% from 2020, according to the Federal Trade Commission.

Disclosure: Coastal Credit Union contributes to our fund for reporting on Budget Policy and Priorities, Civic Engagement, Community Issues and Volunteering, and Consumer Issues. If you would like to help support news in the public interest, click here.


get more stories like this via email
more stories
The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments this week about the popular abortion pill Mifepristone and will weigh in on whether the U.S. Food and Drug Administration was correct in how it can be dosed and prescribed. (Ascannio/Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Missouri residents are worried about future access to birth control. The latest survey from The Right Time, an initiative based in Missouri…


Social Issues

play sound

Wisconsin children from low-income families are now on track to get nutritious foods over the summer. Federal officials have approved the Badger …

Social Issues

play sound

Almost 2,900 people are unsheltered on any given night in the Beehive State. Gov. Spencer Cox is celebrating signing nine bills he says are geared …


The U.S. teaching workforce remains primarily white while the percentage of Black teachers has declined. However, the percentage of Asian and Latinx teachers is rising.(WavebreakMediaMicro/Adobestock)

Social Issues

play sound

Education advocates are calling on lawmakers to increase funding for programs to combat the teacher shortage. Around 37% of schools nationwide …

Environment

play sound

New York's Legislature is considering a bill to get clean-energy projects connected to the grid faster. It's called the RAPID Act, for "Renewable …

Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021