Why That Annoying Fraud Alert Is Still a Good Thing
As credit card fraud has skyrocketed, issuers suspecting suspicious activity have become increasingly vigilant – sometime maybe too vigilant.
In many cases, fraud alerts are preventing consumers from making legitimate purchases. More than two-thirds of Americans who have received a fraudulent activity alert from their credit or debit card issuers have received at least one that’s inaccurate, according to a new study from CreditCards.com.
Still, card issuers have good reason to be cautious. This week, credit card scoring and analytics firm FICO said that the number of attacks on debit cards used at ATMs hit the highest level in 20 years during the first quarter of 2014
Related: How to Beat Credit and Debit Card ID Thieves
Americans remain extremely concerned about their personal data when shopping in stores, so many accept the inaccurate fraud alerts as a necessary hassle. “Most consumers we have spoken with seem to be okay with this trend,” CreditCards.com senior industry analyst Matt Schulz said in a statement.
You can avoid having your card blocked from legitimate purchases by calling your issuer or visiting their Web site to let them know you’ll be traveling, since purchases made from a new geographic area often send a red flag to card companies. Some issuers also offer text message alerts, so you can quickly and easily unblock a card for your transactions.
If you think you’ve been a victim of fraud (or if your cards have been physically lost or stolen), call your issuer immediately – most have 24/7 call centers dedicated to fraud.
Small Business Owners Say They’re Raising Worker Pay
A record percentage of small business owners say they are raising pay for their workers, according to the latest monthly jobs report from the National Federation of Independent Business, based on a survey of 10,000 of the group’s members. A seasonally adjusted net 35 percent of small businesses say they are increasing compensation. “They are increasing compensation at record levels and are continuing to hire,” NFIB President and CEO Juanita Duggan said in a statement accompanying the report. “Post tax reform, concerns about taxes and regulations are taking a backseat to their worries over filling open positions and finding qualified candidates.”
The US Is Running Short on More Than 200 Drugs
The U.S. is officially running short on 202 drugs, including some medical staples like epinephrine, morphine and saline solution. “The medications most vulnerable to running short have a few things in common: They are generic, high-volume, and low-margin for their makers—not the cutting-edge specialty drugs that pad pharmaceutical companies’ bottom lines,” Fortune’s Erika Fry reports. “Companies have little incentive to make the workhorse drugs we use most.” And much of the problem — “The situation is an emergency waiting to be a disaster,” one pharmacist says — can be tied to one company: Pfizer. Read the full story here.
Chart of the Day: Could You Handle a Sudden $400 Expense?
More Americans say they are living comfortably or at least “doing okay” financially, according to the Federal Reserve’s Report on the Economic Well-Being of U.S. Households in 2017. At the same time, four in 10 adults say that, if faced with an unexpected expense of $400, they would not be able to cover it or would cover it by selling something or borrowing money. That represents an improvement from 2013, when half of all adults said they would have trouble handling such an expense, but suggests that many Americans are still close to the edge when it comes to their personal finances.
Kevin Brady Introduces Welfare Reform Bill
The Tax Policy Center’s Daily Deduction reports that Rep. Kevin Brady (R-TX), chair of the House Ways and Means Committee on Friday introduced The Jobs and Opportunity with Benefits and Services (JOBS) for Success Act (H.R. 5861). “The bill would rename the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program and target benefits to the lowest-income households. Although the House GOP leadership promised to include an expansion of the Earned Income Tax Credit as part of an upcoming welfare reform bill, this measure does not appear to include any EITC provisions.” The committee will mark up the bill on Wednesday.