Friday, September 19, 2014
Occupy movement buys student loan debt, forgives it
The Occupy movement has introduced a new twist in the debt
collection world. It has bought some bad
student loan debt for pennies on the dollar and then forgiven it. NPR has a story on the matter by Anya
Kemenetz here. This is only privately funded debt, not
federal loans. Generally, student tlon
debt cannot be cleared by bankruptcy.
This does seem indeed very “pro-active”. When I worked for RMA as a debt collector in
2003 while still in Minnesota, one person with “only” a $65 “small balance”
asked if I would pay his debt! Sounds Biblical.
Some debtors blamed their problems then on September 11, as if a
collector (not living in NY or DC) calling them hadn’t heard of it.
Wednesday, September 03, 2014
Home Depot is the latest big retailer to have a major breach
Home Depot is the latest company with a security breach,
apparently affecting debit cards, up to 40 million customers, Wall Street
Journal story here.
I purchased a small GE replacement refrigerator on a credit
card from a Falls Church VA store last spring without incident.
The use of more modern chip technology in both debit and
credit cards is beginning to seem more critical and many banks will have it
available by 2015.
Update: Sept. 19
Home Depot offers a statement on the breach here.
Bloomberg Business Week has a detailed story explaining the hack, and how it could affect consumers. It predicts that 70% of affected consumers may find at least one fraudulent purchase, likely of a big ticket item. The story also explains the practice of "friendly fraud".
Update: Sept. 19
Home Depot offers a statement on the breach here.
Bloomberg Business Week has a detailed story explaining the hack, and how it could affect consumers. It predicts that 70% of affected consumers may find at least one fraudulent purchase, likely of a big ticket item. The story also explains the practice of "friendly fraud".
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