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Oklahoma News |
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 Consumer
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Extortion Scam Alert: "Criminal Charges if you Don't Pay Up!"
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Oklahomans need to be aware of a telephone scam currently targeting cell phone users in which a caller from an unidentified number demands that you mu...
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Legal Aid Services of Oklahoma, Inc. - Oklahoma City Law Office - 11/09/2009 |
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Money Matters
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The FTC's web site MoneyMatters features a new video available in English and in Spanish.
The video highlights the rights of consumers whose debts ha...
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Legal Aid Services of Oklahoma, Inc. - 10/13/2009 |
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Insurance Commissioner Targets Companies
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National Home Protection Inc., fails to respond to an Emergency Cease and Desist Order issued against the company for attempting to solicit insurance ...
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Tulsa Business Journal - 07/10/2009 |
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Online Auction Fraud
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One in four complaints in 2008 to the Internet Crime Complaint Center involved online auction fraud.
Computers, sports memorabilia, rare coins, designer fashions, and even cars.
These are just a few of the items offered for sale every day on legitimate online auction sites. They're also just a small sample of the items used to lure unsuspecting victims into online auction fraud schemes.
Most of the one million-plus transactions that take place each day on these websites are legitimate; just a fraction actually result in some type of fraud.
See the full FBI warning at this page:http://www.fbi.gov/page2/june09/auctionfraud_063009.html
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FBI - 07/01/2009 |
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Oklahoma Bankruptcy Filings up by Double-Digit Percentages
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by Marie PriceThe Journal RecordOKLAHOMA CITY - The sweep of the nation's financial crisis extends into the federal courts, which have seen a rise in bankruptcy filings, congressional budget officials have been told.
Even in Oklahoma, which has been less hard-hit than some states, bankruptcy filings are up by double-digit percentages.According to data from the federal courts, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Oklahoma, where most cases are filed, experienced 5,740 filings during the 12-month period ending last September, an increase of 18.6 percent over the prior year. An increase of 14.7 percent was reported for the Eastern and Northern Districts.Sixth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Julia Gibbons, who chairs the Budget Committee of the Judicial Conference of the United States, recently outlined a budget request for the federal judiciary totaling $7.03 billion, an 8.7-percent increase, for federal fiscal year 2010.Although 86 percent of the $562 million requested increase is for base adjustments for items such as salaries and benefits, rent hikes, technology and the like, Gibbons told members of a U.S. House budget subcommittee that $80 million is for program enhancements.That includes additional staff and costs for FY 2010 workload increases, primarily in bankruptcy, probation and pretrial services, six additional magistrate judges and staff, technology improvements and other needs such as an hourly rate increase for non-capital panel attorneys, Supreme Court security, education enhancements and the startup cost of a new federal defender organization.Federal court officials expect bankruptcy filings to increase significantly in 2009, telling lawmakers that the 2005 bankruptcy law added docketing, notice and hearing requirements that make addressing bankruptcy petitions more complex and time-consuming.In her testimony, Gibbons said court officials project a 27-percent increase in bankruptcy filings for 2009, with totals to exceed the 1-million mark again, as they did last year. She said the 2005 law initially reduced filings, but there have been large increases over the past two years.Gibbons said the state of the economy, particularly as it affects home foreclosures and credit availability, is a major factor in the number of personal bankruptcies, which constitute most cases. However, she said the economic downturn has also caused an upturn in business bankruptcies, some of which are complex Chapter 11 cases.
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The Journal Record - 03/25/2009 |
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Companies Still in the Dark on I.D. Theft Deadline
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TULSA - In less than 60 days, nearly every company in Oklahoma will find itself facing federal identity theft mandates that remain relatively unknown despite several high-profile cases and extensions."Anyone that invoices anything is now a creditor," said Herman J. Luette, owner of IDT Consultants of Tulsa, in paraphrasing Federal Trade Commission interpretations of the Fair and Accurate Credit Transaction Act. "That leaves very few companies out."Although securing personal information has plagued companies since the personal computer and Internet changed business practices, the immediate issue focuses on the May 1 compliance deadline for the "Red Flag" provisions of FACTA.That deadline extended the original Nov. 1 date the FTC set for companies to develop and deploy an identity theft prevention program. Luette said the question of just who was a creditor had confused many executives, who had thought the rules applied only to financial institutions or credit information users.Even with the deadline looming, Luette doubts 1 percent of Oklahoma companies now comply with the new regulations, which requires firms to name an information security officer, establish privacy and safeguarding rules, train workers on both the rules and systems, and ensure that all of their third-party vendors comply with the laws, among other risk-mitigating steps."It's kind of like having a shredder - everyone has one, but how much do they use it?" said Gavin W. Manes, president and chief executive of the Tulsa digital forensics company Avansic.Although he's done what he can to spread the word, signing up 1,100 clients in Oklahoma and four other states, Luette doubts 90 percent of executives even know the laws exist."Normally, when we secure a server, the financials and the human resource files are immediately what a company wants to protect," said Tim Jackson, owner of Tulsa's information technology consulting and service firm Jackson Technical. "Beyond that, we don't see a lot of controls being set up."Manes said such security concerns dovetail with other federal regulations, such as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act and the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act. While the cost of noncompliance can be staggering - TJMaxx now faces more than $118 million in penalties and damages in its still-developing credit-card records case - Manes said many firms don't realize the risk they face under increasingly complex liability rulings that hold companies guilty until proven innocent."Companies definitely have a problem with data retention and management to begin with, and e-mail is the number one problem," he said.But the rules also reflect security risks that have nothing to do with electronic systems, he said - some as innocent as executives simply leaving correspondence sitting in piles on a desk, easily accessible by others."Many companies are well-prepared for an outside threat," said Manes. "A good percentage is prepared for an outside threat. But what about an internal threat, from employees? If they're not, they're going to be out of business."The cost of meeting those regulations starts with potential fines and grows from there.Firms proven guilty of noncompliance under FACTA may face fines of up to $3,500 per incident, with no limit to class-action lawsuits and assumed liability for costs with each individual identity loss, which Luette said average just under $93,000 per person.HIPAA, which addresses health records, boosts that fee limit to $250,000, plus up to 10 years in jail."A lot of people don't even realize they keep medical information," he said - not realizing their workers' doctor's notes, insurance claims or workers' compensation reports may fall under HIPAA.Gramm-Leach-Bliley lifts fines to $1 million per incident, plus the jail terms, removal of officers and liability in both civil and criminal cases.Luette, a certified identity theft risk management specialist whose business has jumped 30 percent since the fall financial meltdown, said victims of identity theft face an average time of 607 hours to work through the resulting problems."Companies could be held liable to pay wages for that lost time," he said.In practical applications, the cost of compliance often depends on the individual company's infrastructure."It increases your administrative overhead significantly," said Jackson.It also may raise hardware and software costs as firms increase and protect stored data.Since the most common security breaches come from employees mistakenly clicking on bogus malware warnings from infected Web sites, Jackson said firms should employ internal protection systems and teach employees how those systems work, so that workers understand what to pay attention to.Firms also must educate workers on how to secure user names and passwords. That marks one service Luette's firm provides - a free one, if companies subscribe to legal and liability coverage offered through Kroll Inc. and Pre-Paid Legal Services.Such password fears point to what Manes sees as the biggest risk factor - human error."Even though you have a new law that says you have to protect information, we're constantly creating new ways to access that information," he said. "I don't think it's as simple as installing an alarm system and responding to it when it goes off. Real-time detection is highly unlikely."Luette agreed, noting that it can take 12 to 18 months for victims to realize their personal information has been stolen."I can not wait for this litigation to get filed," said Manes, whose firm often gets hired to investigate such crimes as identity theft. "We are working on a case right now that, in a weird sidebar notion, something like this could have prevented. In the end, a human overrode this detection system, so there's no way to know. But I would challenge an automated way to perform some of this stuff, because in the end a human's going to make some mistake and that mistake's going to cause liability."
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The Journal Record - 03/09/2009 |
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Oklahoma House Passes Vehicle 'Lemon Law' Bill
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by Tim TalleyLegislation that strengthens consumer protections for residents who buy defective cars and trucks was overwhelmingly approved by the Oklahoma House Tuesday, but one of the measure's strongest supporters said she fears the bill may get a bumpy ride in the Senate.
The so-called "lemon law" bill clarifies existing state law regarding how manufacturers respond to consumers who buy defective vehicles and puts the consumer on a more equal footing when negotiating with a manufacturer, said the measure's author, Rep. Rex Duncan, R-Sand Springs.
Among other things, the bill gives consumers the choice of a refund or replacement of a defective vehicle. Currently, the choice of reimbursement or replacement is at the discretion of the manufacturer.
It also places a standard in state law for a manufacturer's charge for mileage on a defective vehicle and prohibits a manufacturer from charging for mileage if the lemon is simply replaced.
"Oklahoma consumers deserve the level playing filed that this bill gives them," said Angie Gallant of Broken Arrow, a consumer who has advocated for greater consumer rights since she fought with General Motors (nyse: GM - news - people ) for 10 months in 2004 to get her defective Chevrolet Malibu replaced.
A spokesman for the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers in Washington, D.C., Wade Newton, said the group has been involved in developing the legislation and is concerned about matters that affect consumers and manufacturers.
"I guess you would say we are neutral," Newton said. "Consumer satisfaction is tremendously important to automakers. Automakers compete to keep consumers satisfied."
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The Associated Press - 02/25/2009 |
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Fine Print Tells the Evil Story
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By PHIL MULKINS World Staff WriterPublished: 2/4/2009 2:24 AMLast Modified: 2/4/2009 3:01 AM
Tax season is here, and attorneys general across the nation are warning consumers to beware the pitfalls of "refund anticipation loans," or RALs.
Refund Anticipation Loans: Each year 10 million Americans, eager to get their tax refunds, sign up for RALs that promise short-term loans backed by and repaid from a pending federal tax refund. RALs provide quick cash, but their interest rates can reach 100 percent or more. RALs diminished the refunds of 8.67 million American taxpayers in 2007, costing them $833 million in loan fees and $68 million in other fees.
The Center for Responsible Lending Web site ? tulsaworld.com/PredatoryLending ? says RALs are loans offered at annual interest rates of up to 700 percent. Also, they speed up the refund process by only a week, compared to what consumers can expect by filing online and having their refunds direct-deposited into their bank accounts. The center is a nonprofit, nonpartisan research and policy organization dedicated to protecting home ownership and family wealth by working to eliminate abusive financial practices such as predatory lending.
Earned Income Tax Credit: RALs prey on cash-strapped working families, especially those who qualify for the Earned Income Tax Credit. In addition to the dollars lost because families don't know about the EITC or can't get the help they need to file a tax return, these families lose even more when they use RALs.
Research by the General AccountingOffice and IRS indicates that 15 percent to 25 percent of households that quality for the EITC do not claim this credit. Using the most conservative of these figures, more than 3.8 million households nationwide missed out on the EITC dollars they were entitled to. See if you qualify for the EITC at tulsaworld.com/EITCclueless.
RALs rile AG: Oklahoma Attorney General Drew Edmondson annually warns Oklahoma taxpayers about applying for RALs. He says consumers considering these loans should carefully review their options before signing up for such a loan, as it could leave them with empty pockets.
IRS e-file: The electronic filing system available to taxpayers makes RALs unnecessary and costly. Filing your taxes electronically through IRS e-file, as the Internal Revenue Service annually urges us to do, will have your refund to your bank account within a few of days of the refund being accepted by the IRS.
With RALs, there is always the risk your tax return will be rejected and you'll be stuck paying back the loan at high finance charges ? but without getting the refund the loan was based on.
Fine print: Edmondson encourages consumers who decide to get an RAL to carefully read the fine print before signing the loan documents.
They should contain a schedule of all charges and fees, a listing of all charges for electronic filing, the length of time by which the loan money will be received, who is responsible for repaying the loan and fees if the tax refund is less than expected, the annual percentage rate, loan fees and maturity date.
For fast tax returns, e-file or Free File
Free File: You may qualify to file your taxes electronically for free if you make $56,000 or less a year. Free File is a popular IRS program. See FreeFile at tulsaworld.com/FreeFile.
e-File: If not, you can still e-file your taxes for a small fee. Find out which software programs are e-file authorized. See "Individual e-file electronic tax filing program overview" at tulsaworld.com/e-File .
Step 1: Get all your tax information together. You'll save time and won't have to stop in the middle of preparing your current year tax return to find a missing document. You'll need Social Security numbers for yourself, your spouse and any dependents and Forms W-2 from all employers you and your spouse worked for in 2008.
Needed documents: You'll need Forms 1099 for Dividends, Retirement or other income or any Form 1099 with Income Tax Withholding. You'll need receipts for expenses for Itemized Deductions (Schedule A) and receipts and records for other income or expenses. Have your bank account numbers handy (to authorize direct-deposit for a fast refund or to pay electronically if your don't get a refund). You need your prior year's "adjusted gross income" amount or prior year PIN if using a "self PIN" as your signature.
Step 2: Choose the method of e-filing that works for you: using a tax professional who can e-file your return for you (see tulsaworld.com/ProfessionalE-Filer ), using your personal computer to file it or using FreeFile, if you qualify.
Step 3: E-file it! If using a tax preparer, be sure to take all your information with you, and don't forget to ask for IRS e-file. Use the IRS preparer locator service at tulsaworld.com/PreparerLocator to find the "authorized IRS e-file provider" nearest you. If using your personal computer to file your taxes online, just answer the simple questions in your tax preparation software and it will do the rest for you. For faster refunds, or to pay when YOU want to, have your bank account number handy.
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The Tulsa World - 02/06/2009 |
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Heartland Data Breach
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News Alert! Heartland Data Breach
Nearly two dozen new institutions have come forward and informed their customers that their credit or debit c...
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Legal Aid Services of Oklahoma, Inc. - 02/03/2009 |
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New Rules for Credit Cards
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By LAURIE WINSLOW World Staff WriterPublished: 12/19/2008 2:25 AMLast Modified: 12/19/2008 3:03 AM
Credit card users should get some relief now that federal regulators have voted to crack down on what some have called "unfair" practices by card issuers.
Among other things, the new regulations will limit credit card issuers from raising interest rates on existing balances unless the customer is 30 days or more late in paying the minimum.
The rules also require that consumers receive a reasonable amount of time to make their credit card payments and prohibits payment allocation methods that unfairly maximize interest charges.
On Thursday, the Office of Thrift Supervision, the Federal Reserve and the National Credit Union Administration approved the regulations, which take effect on July 1, 2010.
Consumer advocates laud the reform, while some banking groups caution that it could increase costs for cardholders.
"I think overall those changes should be helpful to the consumer, but it is still important that they read the print, even if it not as fine," said Charlotte Richert, family and consumer sciences educator for the Oklahoma State University Extension Service in Tulsa County.
The new rules also should lead to clearer credit terms with easier-to-understand credit card applications and monthly statements.
Margo Mitchell, president and CEO of Credit Counseling Centers of Oklahoma, likewise thinks the changes are "great."
"Credit cards have been regulated for years.... I think what drew the ire of so many people was when the universal default policywent into effect," Mitchell said.
The universal default allowed lenders to raise interest rates on customers who were past due on payments with other creditors or bills. It didn't matter if the person had never missed a payment with that particular credit card issuer.
"Their position was you were a greater risk, and that made consumers angry," Mitchell said.
"I would hear people say, 'Can they do that?' ... They would say. 'I've always paid that credit card on time, and now they've doubled my rate.' It had to do with another bill they were past due on," Mitchell explained.
Bill Hardekopf, CEO of LowCards.com and author of "The Credit Card Guidebook," notes that consumers have complained for years about many of the practices targeted by the reforms.
"It has always been extremely unfair that credit card companies were able to raise rates 'at any time for any reason' with only a 15-day notice. Or how they could apply the payment to the lowest interest rate while milking interest on the highest interest rate for as long as possible," said Hardekopf in an e-mail.
Potential downsides could exist behind the good intentions. In order to recoup costs, credit card companies might increase annual fees or adjust interest rates, say some.
"The new regulations will be expensive for the credit card companies to implement, and they will pass those costs off to all credit card holders. Someone is going to have to pay for this, and that's the downside," Mitchell said.
The American Bankers Association, for instance, has cautioned that the rules may increase costs for most card users and reduce credit availability, especially for consumers with lower credit scores or limited credit history.
The changes could cost the banking industry more than $10 billion a year in interest payments, according to a study by the law firm Morrison & Foerster.
While the Independent Community Bankers of America supports some of the changes outlined in the reform, it disagrees with others.
For example, the ICBA supports the credit card disclosure modifications because they will lead to "clearer, simpler, and more complete disclosures" that will help consumers better understand how their credit card accounts operate.
"We are deeply disappointed by the agencies' decision to prohibit banks' ability to re-price for risk.
Removing the ability to re-price as the borrower's risk profile increases will cause higher rates for all consumers and will make it more difficult for marginal borrowers to continue to have access to credit," said Karen Thomas, executive vice president of government relations for the ICBA, in a release.
For people who are trying to eliminate credit card debt altogether, none of these rules are a factor, Richert said. They can avoid loopholes by continuing to pay off debt.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Credit card reform benefits
You can save money in interest payments by paying off highest balances faster. Issuers currently apply any payment above the "minimum" to the balance with the lowest interest rate.
Regulations will require issuers to apply payment to the highest interest rate or proportionally to all balances.
More time to react and adjust to changes in terms. Currently the issuer can change the terms of your card with a 15-day notice. The regulations increase the notice to 45 days.
More time to make a payment. Regulations will require 21 days to pay your bill.
You will know when to expect a rate increase. Issuers may increase rates at the end of a specified period, provided the rate increase was disclosed at the opening of the account.
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The Tulsa World - 01/07/2009 |
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Special Veterans Court Started
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Military personnel returning from combat zones have their own court should they have to deal with alcohol and drug problems.But it is not a place where they will receive a slap on the hand for wrongdoing and a pat on the back for serving their country.
They must successfully complete the program or be faced with the criminal justice system.
Tulsa Mayor Kathy Taylor, representatives of the Tulsa County 14th Judicial District Court, Veterans Health Administration and Veterans Benefits Administration launched the Veteran's Court as a rehabilitative court for individuals charged with non-violent crimes and misdemeanors.
It is not intended for those facing "criminal felony" charges.
Returning veterans suffering from PTSD, depression and other combat related issues often do not get needed services to help them return to civilian life, Taylor said. Today 60 percent of Oklahoma's National Guard troops are on some form of active duty. They need a homecoming and a welcome in recognition for the service they have performed in the defense of their country. Some need a place to go to deal with the traumatic events they experienced.
Veteran's Court came together because of work by VA Medical Center Director Adam Walmus, Judge Sarah Day Smith, the Tulsa County Drug Court Team and the Mayor's office represented by Matt Stiner.
Men and women returning from serving their country do not need to be placed in the David L. Moss Correctional Center because they made a mistake ? or series of mistakes ? in their transition from the military, said Smith.
'With 158 veterans arrested in Tulsa County during October, there clearly is a need for this new therapeutic court,' Judge Smith said. 'The Veteran's Treatment Court offers a unique partnership between the Veteran's administration and other organizations to provide treatment, compassion and hope to the men and women who served our country and are struggling in the criminal justice system.'
The Tulsa County Public Defender's Office will assign two full-time attorneys to the division.
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Tulsa Business Journal - 12/11/2008 |
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