Credit Cards: Green Bandt to ban Hole in the Wall cash bandits.

You'll "get more green out of your ATM cash machine" soon if Andrew Bandt gets his private members bill over the line.

Bandt's bill has the attraction factor

Green Andrew is proposing a ban on those $2.00 ATM transaction fees for withdrawing cash.
Politicians from the entire spectrum are liking his tune and are backing Green MP Adam Bandt's private member's bill.
Bob Katter also stuck his boot into the Government and Opposition for skinny policy offerings, though Labor Treasurer Wayne Swan has been holding its cards close to it chest. He is expected to release his plan for banking reform later this month.
Though Independent MPs Andrew Wilkie, Tony Windsor, Rob Oakeshott and Bob Katter and unaligned Nationals MP Tony Crook said Mr Bandt's bill, now before Parliament, was the most promising proposal on banking, they have yet to see the Labor Plan, but I suspect that it will be more wide ranging in terms of offering real competition to the major banks than Andrew bandt's bill. Let's wait and see on that one.

Call to action to stir Wayne Swan

The calls to action increases the pressure on Treasurer Wayne Swan, who will next month announce banking reforms that could need the support of the crossbenchers.
The banks' all claim that politicians did not understand that funding costs were going up. Wilke says that this core claim is nonsense.
Mr Katter said the surge in banking chiefs' salaries also warranted attention and could be curbed through the tax system.
Mortgage Foreclosures unfair.
He called on the government to do ''something serious'' about the system of mortgage foreclosure, which was weighted in lenders' favour.

Summary of Bandt's Bill

As it stands, Andrew Bandt's proposed bill has three main areas of saings for Australian Credit users.

1. A crackdown on Bank Fees.
2. Mortgage Rates to move in line with RBA increases
3. A ban of bank transaction fees of $2.00 per transaction.

Whatever the outcome, it looks like Australia's Parliament is in for a lively time on the floor next year, and home buyers can look forward to more and better loan offers from nonbank players, lower mortgage interest rates and lower fees, no to low exit fees on their mortgages rates, and credit card losing unfair fees. Sounds good to me.

Bad Credit: Can you refinance your home when you have bad credit rating?

A lot of people are suffering from mortgage stress right now, and they need answers right now.
They can't afford to wait for the Government to create competition in the mortgage industry, they need to refinance now, or risk losing their home to the greedy banks.
And that poses a couple of questions about credit impairment

1. If you have bad credit now, and you can't meet your mortgage repayments, how can you refinance away from that lender and get a new home loan?
2. How do I find a lender who will set this sort of home loan for credit impaired homeowners?

Mr Mortgage has a section for Bad Credit mortgage loans

When you have bad credit it does not mean that you can no longer finance, or refinance your home, it simply means that you do not conform with regular bank loan guidelines.
There are plenty of other mortgage lenders out there that have mortgage products tailored for the the credit impaired who are looking at mortgage refinancing options.

How to reduce your monthly credit repayments using a bad credit home loan


One thing you must understand about non conforming loans is that they usually have a higher interest rate. This is to compensate for the riskier loan conditions that they non conforming lenders may have to face.
So how can you reduce your monthly repayments if bad credit lenders have higher interest loans?

Basically there are three methods to reduce your monthly credit repayments.

1. First you can increase the term of the loan. This allows to spread out the repayments over a longer period of time to make the repayments easier to make.
2. Secondly you can consolidate all of you high interest short term loans into the bad credit mortgage loan. If you have credit cards loans, car loans, personal loans, second mortgages, or so called interest free loans that can cost you up to 30% pain interest rates, then combining these loans with your mortgage refinance may be the best way to reduce your monthly repayments to a size that you are comfortable with. In fact many people get into the situation of being unable to meet their mortgage repayments because of all the other debts that they have. so this may be your way to ease your mortgage stress.
3. Obviously, combining points one and two above may give you your optimum solution.

Remember a Bad Credit Rating is not a life sentence


I think its important for you to realise that bad credit is usually temporary and soon you might be back on your feet again.
I mention this for two reasons.

1. Don't think ill of yourself just because your currently have a bad credit rating. It can pass.
2. Also the bad credit home loan solution that I have outlined above should be seen as a temporary fix, say for two to three years.

Once your credit has improved again, then there is no reason why we could not assist you in getting mortgage loans with lower interest rates. So refinancing to bad credit lenders is only step one of the process.
Once you are back on your feet again, refinance to a Low Interest Loan
For more info go to the bad credit section at Mr Mortgage
Author: Rick Adlam Mr Mortgage

Mortgage repayments: Why NSW has nearly half of Australia's home loan battlers

According to a Moody's latest investment report, New South Wales has 44 per cent of Australia's entire home loan delinquencies, and mortgagors in Sydney's fringe suburbs are most likely to lose their homes through mortgage stress.

Most of those are in Sydney's outer regions where more about 2.5 per cent of mortgages are more than 30 days behind in repayments, a Moody's Investors Service report said.

Australia's mortgage market is generally performing well, but not as well as four years ago

Australia's mortgage market has always performed well, with just a National figure of about 1.3 percent of mortgages in default due to slow mortgage repayments.
This figure is about ten times better than the US experience over the past two years, but is not as good as it was four years ago.

So why is Sydney having suburbs with double the National average?

1.  Overvalued house prices. Show me struggling homeowners and I'll show you overvalued homes. Many home buyers have paid too much for their homes and will suffer the most.
2. Commuting expenses. When you are in the outer suburbs you will be travelling longer to get to work, and that means high transport, car and petrol expenses, so you have less to spend on your mortgage. Rising petrol prices have not helped.
3. Starting families too early. Having kids is expensive and it means that many partners choose to stay home to care for their children. Starting a family may have been unplanned or seemed affordable two years a go with record low interest rates and the baby bonus. But the baby bonus doesn't go far and the the mortgage keeps rising. You cannot make mortgage repayment and feed a family on one income these days, so both partners need to be income earners.

The RBA tipped to raise interest rates

The troubles may be in front of those now struggling to meet mortgage commitments as the RBA is widely tipped to raise mortgage interest rates by up to 1.25% over the next twelve months and the Major banks looking to raise rates over this figure.
Softening house prices in these suburbs will not assist mortgage stressed homeowners to sell their way out of debt, so people behind in mortgage repayments will have to learn to tighten their belts over the next few years.

Mr Mortgage Advice. If you are struggling with mortgage repayments now, I suggest that you switch to a non bank mortgage lender with lower mortgage interest rates, and maybe a discounted one year mortgage rate to help you through the next twelve months. The major banks want to raise rates in addition to any Reserve Bank rate increases, so your need to out of that scenario now.

Will house prices really go up 20% over the next 3 years?

House prices are predicted to grow between 9% and 20% over the next 3 years. Mr Mortgage disagrees. Here's why.

Experts are rarely good at predicting the future because their minds are full of facts from the past. I have a problem with future house price forecasts and it is this almost never materialises.

When you have someone who has a vested interest in the result [QBE is a house insurance player] then take house price forecasts with a grain of salt.

A QBE "survey" compiled by BIS Shrapnel says house prices will growth between 9 and 20 per cent in Australia's capital cities over the next three years. Really? So I guess that means that you should be paying 9% to 20% more for your insurance then? I see!

The biggest problems I see with House prices forecasting using median house prices

1. The median price is not an actual price. Any house price survey relies on the notion of the median price of a home. These are the homes that are sold.
2. There are two problems with this.
   1. Many homes sold are new, and therefore are usually better than an established home and worth more to buyers.
   2. Most established homes are dolled up prior to sale [paint jobs, renovations, staging and the like]. They are "pushed" and "promoted" and "marketed" to fetch a higher price. Even then many are not currently selling.

We need a segmentation of median house prices

At least if we got a segmentation of house sales [new apartments, new homes, established homes etc, I would be more comfortable believing these figures. That won't happen because the output is designed to deceive buyers and sellers to believinghouse prices are higher than they are.

Here's an example of how median house prices distort true values.

A new apartment block is released for sale with the penthouses at 2.2 million a piece, and apartments from $400,000.

One of the penthouses is sold, and two older units down the road sell for $220,000.

How median house prices are calculated

The median house price is $2.64 million divided by three. That gives a median unit price of $880,000! Whilst this may seem a silly example it is how median house prices are calculated.

Home buyers might begin to believe that the older units down the road are worth more than $220,000, and the $400,000 are worth more too.

Can you see why median house prices is not a good guide?

What about interest rates affecting housing prices?

Australia's housing market [some say housing bubble] has so far fared better than most parts of the US and the UK markets.

In the US for instance they have 30 year fixed interest rates retailing at under 5% pa., and they could go lower to help keep people in their homes, let alone prop up the housing market. No such luck here in Australia.

Australia's mortgage interest rates will rise over the next twelve months

We face a home mortgage interest rate in Australia of over 8% over the next 12 months.

Whilst the "experts say fix your mortgage interest rates now, that's fine if you are buying now or if you have a variable mortgage already. If you are buying in 12 months time that is not going to help you because I believe that rates will be as much as 1.25% higher than they are now.

Result? I see "median" house prices moderating, and home prices for Joe average softening over the next 12 months.

What Mr Mortgage believes.

Anytime is a good time to buy a house that is well priced and what you need to live in, and is affordable, if you intend to live there for more than 5 years. If not its better to rent and invest the savings and housing costs. If you are an investor, there are better places to park your money.

Australia's "Housing bubble" will not pop but lose some of its froth and just shrink to a less inflated size.

Lower returns for property investors, and more certain yields and easier picking elsewhere will keep investors out of the housing market, and moderate home values.

Future house prices will not be a mirror of our past. The RBA has it eye on house prices and the board will do what ever it takes to keep a lid on the housing market to ensure affordability for future home buyers.

The baby boomer influence has run its course in the general housing market, and as they move out of established housing this will take more heat out of house prices.

Author: Rick Adlam Mr Mortgage

US Mortgage foreclosures in Sub-prime mess deemed fraudulent due to "robo-signers"

As many as 40 US state attorneys general are expected to join forces to announce an investigation into the mortgage-servicing industry on fraudulent foreclosures to pressure financial institutions to rewrite large numbers of troubled loans.

Mortgage document fraud by "robo-signing"

The move comes amid recent allegations that mortgage-servicers, which include units of major banks such as Bank of America submitted fraudulent documents in thousands of foreclosure proceedings nationwide.

The banks have countered saying that the document issues are technical and mostly the result of papers approved by so-called robo-signers with little review—and don't reflect substantive problems with foreclosures. 

Foreclosures on hold, as banks heed the consequences.

Members of the US Congress have called for a suspension of all foreclosures until the documentation issue is resolved.

Some are saying that mortgage servicers that have lied to courts by filing incorrect paperwork and should suffer the consequences of their fraudulent actions.

The attorneys' general immediate aim is to determine the scale of the document problems and correct them. But several of them have said that the investigation could force the lenders and servicers to agree to mass loan modifications or principal forgiveness schemes. 

Other possibilities include financial penalties or changes in mortgage servicing practices.

Mortgage lenders and servicers have largely resisted reducing principal on mortgages, instead focusing on interest-rate reductions or term extensions. Banks say they are worried about lawsuits from investors, some of whom could lose money in a principal write down.

A recent action by Massachusetts attorney general successfully pressured Bank of America to reduce mortgage-loan balances by as much as 30% for thousands of borrowers, using the threat of a lawsuit to get a settlement, though documentation problems were not at issue then.

The States could use their respective laws against unfair and deceptive acts and practices, and well as actions under states' various foreclosure laws or tighten those laws.

In 2008, Bank of America settled charges brought by 15 attorneys on accusations of predatory lending in its Countrywide Financial unit, granting loan modifications worth $8.4 billion to thousands of homeowners. That may be the tip of the iceberg if these new actions have bite.

Ohio became the first State to sue a mortgage servicer, when he filed suit against GMAC Mortgage LLC. The suit named GMAC employee Jeffrey Stephan, an alleged "robo-signer," who said that he signed off on thousands of court documents related to foreclosures without even reading them.

Mortgage Lenders and Mortgage Servicers suspend foreclosures

GMAC announced that it was suspending foreclosures in the 23 U.S. states where judges are required to sign off on them. 

J.P. Morgan Chase and Co.'s home mortgage unit and Bank of America have both suspended house foreclosures, with the Bank of America now suspending foreclosures in all 50 states of the US.

Some State attorney generals would like to look beyond the narrow issues raised by the robo-signing, with claims that servicers are initiating foreclosures while the lenders are in the process of modifying the loans.
Author: Mr Mortgage

Greedy banks to raise your mortgage interest rates above the RBA moves

CBA, Westpac, NAB and ANZ are tipped to raise mortgage rates over any RBA rate rises to fatten record profits.

Homeowners and home buyers are being warned to brace for their favourite bank to lift their mortgage interest rates by more than any rate rise from the RBA.
So if the Reserve Bank of Australia sees a rate rise as important, then expect a double whammy from the bank you have your mortgage loan with.
The RBA is widely tipped to lift rates by 0.25 of a percentage point next week, but your bank may ask you to pay more on your home loan, with some saying they will up rates by a total of 0.4%. [Mr Mortgage disagrees with this view by the way.]
Ant increase in mortgage rates will hurt mortgage stressed homeowners and put off a lot of home buyers, but the banks don't see this as their problem.
They have been writing heaps of quality loans, and now see this as a time to lock in the good times and not worry about writing new business.
So the big banks can afford to lose a lot of mortgage customers and still make a killing with the their extra margins in place on the remaining mortgage loans.

We have all heard the Banks excuses for increasing mortgage rates.

The banks have complained that the higher costs of funding their loans is squeezing their profit margins.
The banana smoothie story. Remember the Westpac Bank analogy of the banana smoothie vendor?
But Treasurer Wayne Swan has attacked any banks thinking of double dipping, saying they have reported solid profits. Mr Mortgage says they have all made record profits, but are addicted to ever increasing profits, so good luck with your plan Wayne.

Although the four big banks' total first-half profit climbed by $1.3 billion this year, they have complained that their profit margins are being squeezed because it costs them more to borrow from overseas than before the financial crisis. This beggars the question, so where did the record profits come from?

The RBA dismisses banks excuse to rise mortgage interest rates

The Reserve Bank of Australia yesterday dismissed the banks' concerns about their operating margins, saying they have shown little sign that they are under pressure and the interest rates they charge already have been enough to make up for the higher costs they pay for overseas funds.

Why your bank will raise its mortgage rates higher than the official cash rate increase

Your bank will raise its mortgage loan interest rates higher than the RBA increase simply because the big four banks simply have no effective competition.

The non bank mortgage lenders were all but wiped out in the wake of the Global financial crisis. This is the reason we are now paying higher mortgage rates than we should be.

Until the Government gets serious about a Government sponsored mortgage industry, initially for first home owners building new homes, then we will continue to have the banks ripping us off  with higher mortgage rates and be perpetually seeing house prices rise due to housing shortages.

Author: Mr Mortgage

Credit Cards: CabCharge pays $15m in trade abuse case

CabCharge gets off lightly in credit card scam

If you elect to pay by non cash means in a cab in Australia, you goy stung 10%.
Well now the 10 per cent surcharge on taxi fares for non-cash payments could be lifted after CabCharge admitted breaching the Trade Practices Act by abusing its market dominance.

Credit cards business closed to competition by CabCharge unlawful

CabCharge admitted it had taken advantage of its position in the market to refuse requests from competitors to process Cabcharge cards on their electronic payments systems.
The company also admitted to predatory pricing by installing its fare meters free or below cost, squeezing rivals out further.

CabCharge agrees to pay $15 million in fines

It will pay penalties and costs of $15 million after agreeing to a settlement with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission [ACCC] yesterday in the Federal Court, avoiding a lengthy court battle that was due to begin next month.
The ACCC chairman, Graeme Samuel, said the settlement was a ''clear message to Cabcharge it had gone too far'' and would lead to greater scope for competition in the industry - and lower prices for taxi customers.
''Generally where you can get some competition in the marketplace you tend to find service levels increase and prices reduce for consumers,'' Mr Samuel said.

''You could see potentially service providers saying to cab drivers and cab owners 'We can offer you a better deal than Cabcharge can offer', and Cabcharge will have to meet that competition.''

CabCharge slugs 10% on every credit card transaction

Cabcharge levies a 10 per cent surcharge on every fare processed on its systems paid by credit card, bank debit card or through its proprietary charge card and vouchers.
Its long-standing and popular charge account has helped it become the dominant player in the industry. It has its machines installed in 96 per cent of taxis across the country, though its rivals have increasingly encouraged operators and drivers to install their machines additionally, offering them a cut of the 10 per cent surcharge.

CabCharge forced to agree to Compliance of ACCC

The court ordered Cabcharge to comply with a compliance program involving beefing up its internal controls and training to ensure it did not contravene the act again. It will also be subject to external audits.
Mr Samuel said the penalty would deter CabCharge from repeating its behaviour.
''They now know what constitutes a breach of the act and misuse of market power.''
In a joint submission with the ACCC tendered to the court, Cabcharge said it had been unaware it was breaching the act but now accepted its actions were ''serious in nature and extent''.
The submission said the contravening conduct was undertaken at ''the most senior level of the corporation'', including its prominent executive chairman, Reg Kermode.
Mr Samuel said the settlement had reaped the highest penalty imposed by the commission for the misuse of market power.

Were CabCharge rewarded for bad behaviour?

Based on the amount ripped off from the public, many are saying that CabCharge out out of jail in that the fine was tiny compared to the money made from the scam and this was reflected in CabCharge's share price surging over 10% higher.

You will need to claim losses yourself

The ACCC did not quantify any loss or damage to consumers or competitors, saying it was ''not likely to be readily ascertainable''.
Whilst CabCharge denied its behaviour had contributed to any such loss or damage if you paid the amount you would have suffered.
Any individual, business or Government Department who has suffered a loss or damage, or who wants to get a refund on the 10% surcharge should contact CabCharge now.
Source: Mr Mortgage

Australia's Mortgage rates to stay on hold? IMF says it should!

IMF say to Reserve Bank of Australia leave interest rates till European debt situation is clear.

Mr Mortgage has been saying for months that interest rates should not rise till after the new year when the World Economy has played out [amongst many other reasons]. This last fewweeks everyone and his dog has been saying rates will rise in October. We have been asking why should rates rise at all this year?
Countless other so-called experts, as reported in all the media, have been saying a rise is on for October. Many Bank economists have switched to the October rate rise will happen theory.
With the financial markets now betting on a mortgage rise, and all  the big banks trying to talk up a rate rise because they will make a killing on the currency markets, the pressure is on the RBA. When rates do rise the Big banks can then slip in their own mortgage rate rises on top of the RBA's  and hope their customers don't notice. But there are too many families in Australia that will suffer mortgage stress if rates do Increase.
The major banks are using mortgage interest rates as milking cows for record profits.

This is the biggest beat up I have seen since the Iraq War WMD.

Why the RBA will leave official rates on hold.

1. European Debt crisis should hold off interest rates raises till into next year.
2. The RBA enjoy second guessing the financial markets who seek to profit on their decisions. They are Independent and like to remind the markets of this.

The IMF agrees with Mr Mortgage on the absence of reason to raise rates.

Well the IMF now agrees with Mr Mortgage, and says a bust may be closer than anyone expects, with a risk that the sovereign debt crisis in Europe may again throw world financial markets into turmoil. This is the second recession that many having been saying could happen. In other words, the US recovery is a "dead cat bounce".Where is the job growth, the housing market recovery, and the shoppers in the US picture? Was the US stimulus too small to work? And will the US Fed go negative with Interest rates? And if they do will the $AU dollar be overpriced?

IMF advises RBA to hold off on lifting Mortgage rates

The IMF advised the Reserve Bank of Australia to hold off lifting interest rates. "The Reserve Bank has scope to wait for the outlook to become clearer," the fund said. There is no impending disaster to happen if it leaves rates as is.
The RBA board is meeting next Tuesday and was widely  tipped to increase rates from the current 4.5 per cent to 4.75%.
But as many people know, the Reserve Bank of Australia's Governor and Board likes to foil currency gamblers who try to second guess Board decisions. The RBAwins when currency traders lose.
In any case a resulting higher dollar is bad for Australia in many ways, as it hurts exporters, farmers and tourism in Australia.
Expect to see the dollar crash in value in the coming days, as the bets on an interest rate rise are switched.
Author: Mr Mortgage

Lowest interest rates ever for NYS's Mortgage Agency

New York State's mortgage agency interest rates are the lowest in its 40-year history for 30 year fixed rate mortgages, thanks to US treasury bond initiative

Whilst the national average rate on a 30-year fixed rate mortgage stopped hitting record lows the first week in September, the NYS mortgage agency betters them.

30 year fixed rate mortgages from 4%pa for owner occupied homes
The State of New York Mortgage Agency offers lower then market rates for low to middle income mortgage applicants. now touts fixed rates of 4 percent, and for Long Island households with one or two people, the total income goes up to $122,160.

First home buyers offered 3.5% pa mortgage rates if they earn less than $71,260 pa

To encourage first home buyers into the housing market NYS Mortgage agency is offering first time home buyers a low mortgage rate of 3.5 percent per annum for first time home buyers who earn less than $71,260.

Freddie Mac rate average up at the same time

At the same time the US Federal Government mortgage loan entity Freddie Mac gave an average fixed rate percentage for a 30 year fixed mortgage rate of 4.35 percent per annum for the same week. That was slightly up from the previous week's 4.325% pa, which had been the lowest since Freddie Mac began tracking this rate in 1971.

Lower Mortgage rates make buying a home in New York more affordable

Home buying in the State of New York will be more affordable for low to middle income home buyers, with the NYS mortgage agency delinquency rate 5 times less than the national average.

US Federal bond issues allow States' housing agencies to lower their home mortgage loan rates

State housing finance agencies across the US sell bonds to the federal government, and before Labor Day the U.S. Treasury Department announced it would allow Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae to buy such bonds at lower interest rates. These savings allowed State of New York Mortgage Agency to lower its rates to borrowers.
To find out more about New York State Mortgage Agency, click here.
Source: Mr Mortgage

Registered Finance Broker uses Ponzi schemes to swindle clients out of $6 million.

Ponzi schemes nets $4m for female finance broker in Mormon Swindle.

All scam artists have a common trait.
They swindle their own because its easier. They are most trusted and liked within their own sub-cultures. Why try to con random victims when you can target  people who trust you and like you?
In this case its a Mormon woman in Perth conning other Mormon women in Perth. The second trick is to offer something too good to be true. In this case ultra high interest rate returns [yields].

50 year old Perth based female registered finance broker invents a Ponzi Scheme
A 50 year old has been charged with 24 charges related to defrauding many Perth residents of more than $4 million by selling shares in an invented land development scam she called "Mormonville", according to Perth Police.
The 50-year-old female registered finance broker is said to have selected her victims aged from 43 to 73 with many of them being age pensioners.
WA police said the woman in Perth's south, set up "illusory schemes" in 2007 to fund her personal investments and affairs.

The Finance Broker Hatched swindle in 2007, which became more targeted to Mormons as she no doubt discovered that's what victims liked to hear.
The woman deceived and mislead people to invest by offering exceptionally high rates of returns with little or no risk to invested money," a police spokeswoman said. This is the footprint of all Ponzi schemes.
The swindle allegedly grew from her selling investments in 'part-shares' of land but later evolved into a scheme that she advertised as Mormonville, which claimed to be a village-type development for members of the woman's own church.

Swindler grosses $6 million.
Victims were scammed out of between $40,000 and $400,000 each for a total of $4,212,388, according to police reports.
Those targeted ranged between 43 and 73 years of age, with many relying on the age pension as their sole sources of income.
WA Officers of the Fraud squad confirmed that between early 2007 and mid-2008, the woman acquired $6 million from victims and then drip feed small amounts of the money to meet the monthly 'dividends' to investors so as to give the deception of a legitimate operation. This is how Ponzi schemes usually operate.

This provided the illusion of real investment, and engendered more trust. Yet the alleged swindler spent the majority of the funds on her personal investments according to sources.

The Global Financial Crisis brought down the scam
The Finance Broker's swindle was undone by the Global Financial Crisis spooking any new victims, with the banks being able to give Government Guarantees on bank deposits. With new money not coming into her clutches, the dividends went unpaid, and soon the Ponzi collapsed.

Things to watch out for in Ponzi Schemes
You are in line to be scammed if you do these things:

1. You don't get a second opinion with a competent stranger. [someone who is removed from benefiting from the scheme, and has the expertise to judge the investment.]
2. The person running the scheme is trusted or is referred to you from someone you trust. It could be from your investment adviser, your lawyer, your accountant or your bank manager. This makes it seem unnecessary to do due diligence.
3. You have a lot in common, Ethnicity, language, faith, work, family background, gender and age group. You trust the person so well you don't think it necessary for you to take due diligence and have your legal representative or financial adviser to check it out. In fact it could be your account or lawyer who is promoting the swindle.
4. The offer seems too good to be true, but is made to seem very plausible. ["These sort of deals are normally only available to the rich, who keep it quiet." "The rich get richer and the poor get poorer. Here's why"]  
5. It pushes your "Greed Button". You reason, or are told to reason that you'll have your money back soon and then your investment will be free and clear. ["Double your money and take it away." or " Have your cake and eat it too!"]
6. Pride. You been told to hand over your financial affairs to your children and you want to show them you know how to manage money.

Credit Card Security: How to protect yourself from credit card fraud

The WorldWide Web is a game changer when it comes to using your credit card for online shopping That unfortunately means that it is also a rich new resource and playground for cyber criminals.
Due to lack of security, one in 10 of Australia's internet users are now losing money to online identify fraud over the past year with losses totalling $1,286,000,000, reports VeriSign, a major player in the SSL Certificate industry.
That's an average of $1,000 per fraud victim of the 1,300,000 people affected, with more being lost in the 18-24 year old profile.
This is a 30% jump on the amount of money lost online in 2007.

Eight things that you can do to protect your personal and credit ID online.


1. Don't use your credit card to make purchases online. Use a Debit card instead. This will limit your losses to what money is left on the card. If you only transfer funds to it as required, then any losses will be tiny.
2. Keep your firewall, virus and phishing scanner software up to date and run them when online.

You could consider changing to an Apple computer. They are much more secure and less prone to virus and Trojan attack, but not immune. Try the iMac, the Mac book or the Power Book when you next update. There are a lot of other benefits also. You may want to keep the iMac for the Internet only, and the PC for desktop only duties. For business use Microsoft applications are easy to use. As PCs are so cheap these days, maybe you should use one for desktop work only and use your Mac for online work.
3. Use an encrypted keyboard. This ensures that keyboard readers are foiled.

You could also use a bank that uses a scrambler for your pin numbers. The scrambler randomly changes each pin number to a letter, each time you login. So your pin is scrambled each time you enter it. And will be different the next time you log in. This foils keyboard readers.

4. Ensure that you are putting your personal info into an encrypted form with a secure certificate. You can tell this by the address line in the browser starts with https: instead of http:
This is essential as even a trusted site can have your details stolen is it does not secure your information.

4.Even if you use a PC, don't use Internet Explorer for web surfing or purchasing. Install a more secure browser. Try Google Chrome, FireFox, Safari or Opera instead.
Apple's Safari for instance gives a warning when the security certificate is not known. Heed this warning and ensure you trust the site before proceeding.
This warning is when the browser detects a generic security certificate, not necessarily a bad site to transact with. For instance I have noticed that Melbourne IT, Australia's peak Internet names registrar uses a generic certificate, and I obviously trust Melbourne IT so I proceed with the transaction.
If the SSL certificate is issued by Verisign, Geo Trust or Thawte these are recognised as authentic and verified by the issuer, and show as such. These site also come with a guarantee.

5. Use a third party payment method for buying from unknown sites. Small companies understand they don't have the trust factor that major online brands command, and some cannot afford the security vigilance required online today, so most will opt for a third party payment solution as a way to ensure they don't lose business opportunities because of this lack of trust.
Third party payment options include PayPal, Digital River, e-Junkie, and 2Checkout. This means that your details will not be going to the merchant, but the trusted intermediary who are better placed to protect your information. I have used all of these to pay for goods online. Paypal is the best known, some merchants offer two so you can choose one, and I have used e-Junkie and 2Checkout where a choice is offered. Again, when you go to the transaction area, make sure that you are on the right site by checking the URL address in the browser window, and that it is in fact a form protected by an SSL certificate.

6. Always check your credit card/ debit card statements and determine that all transactions on there were authorised by you, and notify immediately your credit card issuer if there's something on there that you don't recognise. Also take your time. There may be transactions that you have forgotten about.

7. Try to resolve any errors with the merchant before contacting your bank. Your bank will give you more credence if you do, and relate the conversation to them.
Even honest companies make mistakes, and I have had Amazon make a couple of double orders when I did not want this to happen.

Another time I pulled out of my order without confirming the transaction, and somehow it went through. These were quickly resolved by Amazon for me.
8. Beware the free offer. Do not go for any free sample offers that come up. These can be bate traps for getting your credit card info.
 I did once. It went from a free offer, to a $1.95 postage [to get the credit card details], to $11.95 when it was transacted. I rang to cancel immediately and was told I could not. If I allowed the transaction to continue you were then slugged $68.00 for a second months supply. I rang my bank, who cancelled the transaction, and issued me with a new card. In 11 years of buying online it was the first time I was scammed. And this is typical of scams. They take a few dollars at a time.

By following this advice you should be able to use your credit cards [or preferably your debit card] online and not become another victim of Identity fraud.
Author: Rick Adlam of Mr Mortgage

Mortgage home loans interest rates head north

Home mortgage rates could soon be 8%pa if the RBA believes the economy is stable and banks don't get sorted by legislation and greater competition.
With Australia missing the Global Financial Crisis boat and the economy powering ahead first home buyers and home owners could soon face mortgage home loan rates around the 8%.
This scenario will depend on a number of factors including:

• Mortgage home loan competition. Unless we see a vigorous embracing of securitised mortgage  lenders by both mortgage brokers and home buyers and homeowners, the banks with creep up their margins on the official cash rate. Major banks margins are nearly 3%, and that is over 1% on what is was three years ago at the height of a competitive non bank lending industry. 
• Legislation. Senator Bob Brown, leader of the Greens Party has introduced a bill that looks to cut mortgage interest rates and fees and charges on all lending other credit products to fair levels. Will the banks will be lobbying hard to stop this as this will white ant their mortgage home loan record profits.
• The RBA decisions over the next twelve months. The Reserve bank of Australia is the body that will steer Australia into a low inflation, low unemployment economic future. Balancing home loan affordability with consumer spending and business demand is a hard task, given that one of Australia's biggest challenges is the housing shortage that is driving home prices, and the size of the average home loan ever higher. 
• Government housing policy. Basically we don't have the policies to drive the home building industry to address our current housing shortage. The fundamental problem is that developed land is too expensive and in too short supply and takes too long to be approved by State and Local Governments. A Government policy at State or Federal levels to acquire and develop land for residential land has to be a priority. This will take the heat out of established home prices and make homes more affordable.
• Marketing tactics by developers. Even when land was plentiful, land developers used unfair tactics in my view with the aim to push prices higher by "creating artificial scarcity". This practice needs to be stopped, and more competition in the land development brought about.

By addressing these issues, housing will be less expensive, even if mortgage home loan interest rates go higher.

And by addressing the root cause of house prices going higher, by building more housing stock sooner, one of the main reasons for RBA interest rate rises, home price increases, will be removed, according to Rick Adlam, Mr Mortgage home loans. 

Green your credit card at your local ATMs and shave your debts

With new credit cards ATM transaction charge changes proposed by Greens Senator Bob Brown, you could soon save hundreds on all those "foreign" Bank ATM fees.
And the only one's who'll complain about it our those who profit from this rort.
The real cost of credit card fees and charges
It is estimated that this alone will save Australia's bank customers  $600 million a year in direct fees.
When you add all the interest that is then extracted from bank customers, and then honour fees because this may put accounts over their limit, we are looking at over a billion dollars saved under legislation to be introduced in Federal Parliament next week banning $2 ATM fees.
Total fees and charges reductions targeted in the introduced legislation by Greens Senator Bob Brown can be as high as $5 billion a year charged in bank fees and charges.
Bob Brown claims this will put an end to profiteering by banks on mortgage fees.
The Greens' new Bill called the "Banking that serves the Community" Bill allows basic fee-free accounts, fair price mortgages and up-front disclosure of exit fees on mortgages.
Bob says that he feels that the proposed laws will put the power back in the hands of bank credit card customers and be a welcome force in keeping banks honest.

The most recent data from the Reserve Bank shows that there were more than 25 million cash withdrawals at foreign ATMs in February, representing $50 million in added credit card fees.
The proposed Bill also requires banks to show that any exit fees from mortgages reflect a reasonable cost and do not just act to chain customers to lenders.
Mr Mortgage home loans supports these changes.

Mortgage Broker top performer now faces jail over massive home loan fraud

A few short months ago a New Zealand mortgage broker was hailed as her company's top performer in a low mortgage location, now the 43 year old mother faces 10 years behind bars after being convicted of fraud. 
The mortgage broker pleaded guilty in a Wellington District Court to using scissors and a photocopying machine to create false documents to write more than NZ$15 million in phoney mortgages.
Some unsuspecting clients have lost their homes and others are struggling to continue to make their mortgage payments.
The woman's branch office starred as the best performing in the company, supported by the fake mortgages, between September 2006 and July 2008 - and it was this that lead to her undoing.
Never meet your heroes
The parent company began an audit into her loan applications because her branch's outstanding performance was at odds with its geographical location.
Most of the loans obtained through the woman's actions are being repaid.
She has been remanded on bail until 27 January for sentencing.