Related Financial Services - The following Debt Consolidation Loan Directory listings of companies are offered to assist you with gaining control of your personal finances and the management of your money. Also, feel free to review the rest of the sub-directories on DebtConsolidationLoan.com to shop for other finance products, such as credit cards and mortgage refinancing.

• Credit and Debt Management - Too many credit bills for you to handle with your budget? Compare different programs and find the one that is the right match for your individual situation.
• Debt Settlement Service - If you have too many credit cards and other small debts and are unable to make your payments, this form of debt negotiation may be right for you.
• Debt Consolidation Company - If you have a large amount of  credit card and other debts, now may be a good time to consolidate your debt and lower your payments.

Fraud Alert

Beware of Phone-Based "Vishing" Scams

The FDIC has warned numerous times about "phishing" scams in which crooks send e-mails claiming to be from legitimate financial institutions, companies or government agencies asking consumers to "verify" or "re-submit" confidential information such as bank account and credit card numbers, Social Security Numbers, passwords and personal identification numbers. (The term "phishing" is a high-tech variation of the concept of "fishing" for personal information.) Now, the FDIC wants you to know about "vishing," which stands for "voice phishing."

In the typical vishing scam, consumers receive an e-mail supposedly from a financial institution or government agency asking them to call a phone number to provide bank account and other "needed" information using their telephone keypad. Once entered into the automated response system, the information can be used by the crooks to gain unauthorized access to bank accounts or commit identity theft.

The bottom line: Don't call telephone numbers provided in unsolicited e-mails to provide personal identification. When in doubt, contact your financial institution using the telephone number provided in your monthly statements or on the back of your credit or debit card — NOT the number listed in the e-mail.

FDIC Consumer News is published by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation

FDIC Consumer News is produced quarterly by the FDIC Office of Public Affairs in cooperation with other Divisions and Offices. It is intended to present information in a nontechnical way and is not intended to be a legal interpretation of FDIC or other government regulations and policies. Mention of a product, service or company does not constitute an endorsement.

Find current and past issues of FDIC Consumer News at http://www.fdic.gov/consumernews. Refer to this same index to locate the issues that are specially formatted for being reprinted in any quantity.

To receive an e-mail notice about each new issue of FDIC Consumer News posted on the FDIC Web site, with links to stories, follow instructions posted at www.fdic.gov/about/subscriptions/index.html.

Last updated on 11/08/2006

Make the correct decisions when shopping for banking, debt consolidation and related financial services. Educate yourself!

The Debt Consolidation Loan Directory has a growing library of free informative / educational financial resources for consumers shopping for many types of services related to the management of your money, such as consolidating credit card debts, fraud alerts and car insurance. There is no better way to make decisions regarding the management of your personal finances than to read and understand how they work. Please feel free to visit our consumer resource library for more information.

• Cell Phone Banking - New cell phones are constantly evolving and becoming more sophisticated. This includes adding the capability of handling online banking through your phone. This FDIC article discusses some of the possibilities and precautions you should take when using your phone for banking purposes.
• How to Protect Yourself with FDIC Insurance - Read up on what qualifications are necessary and how to determine if your deposits are covered by FDIC insurance.
• Direct Deposit Safer than Checks? - The US Treasury Department reports that a majority of surveyed consumers mistakenly believe that paper checks are safer than direct deposit.
• Consider the Fees! - Learn what to look for and examine the details of each banking account offer for possible fees, such as: inactivity, minimum balance and ATM withdrawal fees.

DebtConsolidationLoan.com is a service of Infinamic, Inc. All debt consolidation loans and financial services information is deemed reliable, but not guaranteed. Infinamic, Inc. is not responsible for the content and services, that may be provided to you, by following the links from this web site. Use this service at your own discretion.