Related Financial Services - The following list of company and services directories offer a wide variety of programs for consolidating bills and other similar services, such as a getting a mortgage refinance interest rate quote from a lender or an online quote for life or car insurance.

• Personal Loan Financing - This type of lending is most often structured as an unsecured debt. This means your personal property or house will not used as collateral. Your approval (or denial) will usually be based upon your payment / credit history and your ability to repay the loan. This type of credit is also often called a signature loan.
• Debt Settlement Negotiation - 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 Management Help - Do you have too much debt in order to manage it effectively? Compare this list of web sites offering debt management services that may be able to help you get your bills under control.

Fraud Alert

Fraudulent E-Mails Claim to Be From the FDIC

Con artists know that people trust the FDIC name. That's why the FDIC wants you know that, in recent months, thieves have used our name in fraudulent e-mails trying to obtain valuable information from consumers and businesses.

In some examples, e-mails appearing to be from the FDIC encouraged recipients to click on a link to "enroll" in an "FDIC protection system" to insure bank accounts. Once on that next page — a fake FDIC Web site — people were directed to provide confidential information about their online bank account. Other fraudulent e-mails claiming to be from the FDIC asked consumers to download software supposedly needed to prevent online banking fraud. In fact, doing so would install malicious software that can collect confidential information used to access online bank accounts or steal identities.

How can you protect yourself from these fraudulent e-mails? "First, remember that the FDIC does not e-mail consumers to request personal information nor does it provide software for banking or security purposes," explained Michael Benardo, manager of the FDIC's financial crimes section. "If you get this sort of e-mail appearing to be from the FDIC, you should assume that it is fraudulent."

To report a fraud or get additional information, send an e-mail to the FDIC financial crimes unit at alert@fdic.gov or call the FDIC toll-free at 1-877-ASK-FDIC (1-877-275-3342).

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 better decisions when shopping for banking, debt consolidation and related financial services.

The Debt Consolidation Loan Directory has a growing library of free informative / educational consumer resources for those shopping for many types of services related to the management of your finances, such as credit card consolidation, avoiding fraud and mortgage financing. There is no better way to make decisions regarding the management of your personal finances than understand how they work. Please feel free to visit our consumer information library.

• Fraud that Targets the Elderly - Senior citizens are often the targets of fraud and identity theft. Among the reasons: Some older people have considerable assets (including their own home and savings accounts), they're easy to find at home, and they can be swayed by fears of losing their financial independence. (source: FDIC).
• Vishing: Voice Phishing Phone-Based Scams - The FDIC has warned numerous times about "phishing" scams. This notice from FDIC informs you about "vishing," which stands for "voice phishing." It is very similar to the technique discussed above, except that "vishing" usually is initiated with an email.
• Warning: Identity Thieves Target Young People, Too - Criminals also target young people even though they may be too young to have a checking account or credit card of their own. Identity thieves can use a young adult's name, address and Social Security Number to open fraudulent accounts. This FDIC article offers tips on how to help protect young adults from this type of fraud. This advice is pretty good for adults, as well.

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