Tips for Moms » Bill

Is Online Bill Paying Meant for Everyone?

Tips for Moms — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 12:48:24 +0000

In this age of technology where most things can be processed by the click of a mouse, online bill paying has become a fast, convenient, and easy way to pay bills, keep track of expenses, and save money. Is it for everyone? Obviously not – there are still those who prefer to write a check or acquire a money order to pay for their bills.

What are the pros and cons associated with online bill paying? It depends on the individual. Those who are familiar and comfortable with using a computer to shop and pay bills will continue to do so. Conversely, those new to computers may not be ready to shop or, for that matter, pay for anything online. It is a matter of trust.

There are still individuals who require a receipt for bill payments. For example, a money order has a receipt; writing a check and receiving the monthly statement is another way of determining what was paid for and how much.

With online bill paying, while it is true you can always check your account online as well as receive an email that the bill was paid on said date, there is something about this method that some individuals will find most unsettling.

Again, it is a matter of trust and choice. While online bill paying is convenient, easy, and saves time and money (not to mention reducing the amount of paper which helps our environment), there are some people who cannot quite grasp the concept.

With identity theft a major issue these days, one cannot help but understand why some individuals prefer to pay their bills the old-fashioned way. There are so many nuances in conducting bill paying online that it is essential one understands the mechanism to avoid this ongoing problem.

Here is a case in point. A woman used one credit card to pay for items on one website. On the day she purchased an item, a notice appeared on the website that something was wrong with her credit card. She immediately checked her account and noticed everything was in order. The next morning, however, she received an urgent email from the credit card company asking she call them immediately.

Upon calling the company, she was asked if she had ever charged anything to a website, the name of which she had never heard before. She told the company she hadn’t, and they immediately told her they were canceling her credit card and issuing another. Someone from the original website had obtained her credit card.

Now you may find this amazing, but this is how thieves work the system. The person charged one cent, that’s right, one penny to her account. When she asked the credit card company to explain why this individual only charged “one cent”, she was told that this is how identity theft begins. A person will charge a penny to the account, determine if the charge goes through, and then spend, spend, spend!

Is online bill paying safe? Largely, it is. However, there are times when an unscrupulous person within a particular company will take advantage of someone, and commit an egregious act that could set off a domino effect if not caught immediately.

What Should I Do If I Have a Counterfeit Bill?

Tips for Moms — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 02:25:16 +0000

If you have a counterfeit bill in your possession or if you suspect you have such a bill, there are certain criteria you should follow. Since this is a serious matter, the information provided herein is provided by the United States Department of the Treasury.

If you suspect a counterfeit note or have information about counterfeiting activity, please report it immediately to the U.S. Secret Service or to your local police.

For your personal safety, they also advise you to follow these measures:

1. Do not put yourself in danger.
2. Do not return the bill to the passer.
3. Delay the passer with some excuse, if possible.
4. Observe the passer’s description – and their companions’ descriptions – and write down their vehicle license plate numbers if you can.
5. Contact your local police department OR call your local U.S. Secret Service Office.
6. Write your initials and date in the white border area of the suspected counterfeit note.
7. Do not handle the counterfeit note. Place it inside a protective cover, a plastic bag, or envelope to protect it until you place it in the hands of an identified Secret Service Agent.
8. Surrender the note or coin only to a properly identified police officer or a Secret Service Special Agent, or mail it to your nearest U.S. Secret Service field office.

It should also be noted that if you have a counterfeit bill, you will not receive compensation for it.

To reiterate how you can detect if any of the bills in your possession are fake, here are the facts as posted by the U.S. Department of the Treasury:

* If you hold the new series bill (except the $5 note) and tilt it back and forth, please observe the numeral in the lower right hand corner as its color shifts from green to black and back.

* Hold the bill up to a light to view the watermark in an unprinted space to the right of the portrait. The watermark can be seen from both sides of the bill since it is not printed on the bill but is imbedded in the paper.

* Hold the bill up to a light to view the security thread. You will see a thin imbedded strip running from top to bottom on the face of a banknote. In the $10 and $50 the security strip is located to the right of the portrait, and in the $5, $20, and $100, it is located just to the left of the portrait.

* If the bill is held up to an ultraviolet light, the $5 bill glows blue, the $10 bill glows orange, the $20 bill glows green, the $50 bill glows yellow, and the $100 bill glows red – if they are authentic.

* There is minute micro-printing on the security threads: the $5 bill has “USA FIVE” written on the thread, the $10 bill has “USA TEN” written on the thread; the $20 bill has “USA TWENTY” written on the security thread; the $50 bill has “USA 50″ written on the thread; and the $100 bill has the words “USA 100″ written on the security thread. Micro-printing can be found around the portrait as well as on the security threads.

* Very fine lines have been added behind the portrait and on the reverse side scene to make it harder to reproduce.

* Compare the feel and texture of the paper with other bills which you know are authentic.

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Setting Up Online Bill Paying

Tips for Moms — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 10:47:42 +0000

Setting up online bill paying is quite simple. There are a number of ways you can request this service.

For credit card payments, all you need to do is to go to the credit card company’s website and check to determine if they offer this service. If so, you are required to provide your name and address, bank account number, username and password. Once this process is completed, you will receive an email every month from the company letting you know your bill payment is due.

This is the most convenient service offered by most banks. While most of the credit card companies offer automatic payment, wherein a certain amount is deducted from your checking account each month, you may not wish to utilize this service for obvious reasons.

The credit card companies, for example, give you the option of either paying the minimum, more than the minimum, or pay the bill entirely. In fact, they also provide a monthly calendar that you can use to let them know when to deduct the said amount from your account. These unique features allow you to pay down your debt conveniently and without any hassle.

While we are all concerned about identity fraud, you can access your account anytime to determine if any charges have been posted to your account that are suspicious.

Moreover, if you applied for fraud protection when you set up your initial account, you will receive a phone call and/or email from the credit card company if there have been numerous charges made to your account or charges deemed out of the ordinary by the company.

In addition to setting up online bill paying for credit cards, you are afforded the same opportunity with your telephone bills, mortgage, car payments, and insurance as well. For example, if you decide to pay your telephone bill online you have to call them and arrange it by telephone. They will advise you what documents are needed to set up automatic payments.

Not only are these services designed to reduce the amount of paper produced by processing bills and writing checks, it is also a convenience that many of you will find saves time and money. No more writing checks, applying postage, and mailing them before the due date – now you can easily conduct your entire bill paying from the comfort of your home.

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How to Cancel Online Billing

How to Cancel Online Billing

Tips for Moms — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 02:44:29 +0000

If you are paying any bill online and you wish to cancel this service, here are the basic steps you can follow.

For example, if you are paying a telephone bill via automatic payment, contact your telephone company and request that the service is to be canceled.

If you are paying for credit card bills online, the process is quite easy. While most companies allow you to cancel online by simply looking for the “cancel service” or by locating it through reading the FAQ section of the website, other credit card companies request that you call them directly.

Direct contact is a safety precaution. In this way they will ask for the credit card number and the last four digits of your social security number to ensure you are the person to whom the card was issued.

For all other billing payments made online, you can utilize either method. You can either call the company or cancel the service directly online. If you do cancel, try to do so before your billing cycle. This is especially true with utility companies, who will charge your bill pro rate if you should cancel in the middle of the billing cycle. Any company you call will let you know when to expect a paper bill in the mail.

Otherwise, the safest way to cancel any service of this kind is to notify the company directly. In this way you will be able to obtain the name of the person with whom you are speaking and ask any other questions that may arise.

In addition, you will need to have the paper bill be sent again to your home. Thus, your name and address will be required as verification.

After you’ve canceled the service, keep the site bookmarked until you receive your first paper bill. This is in case you need to check your statements online before the cancellation process has commenced.

Canceling online billing is easy. For your own records, it’s a good idea to print out the last two monthly statements so that you can check the accuracy of the paper bill when it arrives.

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Online Bill Paying vs Paper Bill Paying

Tips for Moms — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 20:58:00 +0000

To date, there are literally billions of checks that are written annually to pay for bills. Conversely, companies can save hundreds of millions of dollars by offering online bill paying to their customers. Online bill paying versus paper bill paying – which is better?

If you consult environmentalists, they would argue that a paperless society would save more trees and produce a cleaner environment. If you talk to those who have been victims of identity theft or are unwilling to use a computer to pay bills, they too have a valid argument.

When you consider the costs involved in writing checks and envelopes, buying postage, and the amount of time consumed, those who are in favor of online bill paying may be in the majority.

Obviously, security is a major factor when conducting any business online. However, for those who have been utilizing the computer to shop and pay bills, it is a cost-effective process they have come to appreciate.

But for those who have always paid for bills by writing a check or buying a money order, it isn’t so easy to make the switch. Nor would they want to even if they had the opportunity to do so.

Perhaps online bill paying and paper bill paying both have a place in our society. There are certain bills that most of us would not want to pay online. This is understandable. However, recently there has been a different kind of identity theft which has begun to emerge as a new problem: stealing mail from mailboxes.

In some cities, mail can only be taken to the post office, but in other cities, mail is delivered and picked up. A recent incident in a New York suburb is evidence that identity theft can happen at any time, whether you own a computer or not. On one occasion, a young man was seen taking a piece of mail that was to be picked up by the postal worker.

Luckily, a neighbor happened to witness this event and yelled out to him and he dropped the envelope. It contained payment for a credit card bill. Another individual in the same neighborhood wasn’t so lucky. Both the local police and the postal authorities were notified regarding the incident.

So which of the two forms of payment can one rely upon? While online bill paying has its problems, paper bill paying has many as well. For those who have been victims of identity theft, paper bill paying may seem safer. For those who have never had a problem with online bill paying, this is the method of choice.

It is really a matter of perspective, convenience, and trust.

Five Tips for Online Bill Paying

Tips for Moms — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 13:33:23 +0000

Identity theft is a major concern for anyone using the internet. Here are five tips for online bill paying that can afford you a fast, easy, and effective method to pay your bills without concerns.

1. When setting up an account with a credit card company, for example, ensure that the company has the most advanced online security available. They should have encryption software as well as a sign-out session if there is no activity after ten minutes.

Take a few minutes to read their security page and the information given therein. If you have any questions whatsoever, call the company directly.

2. If you have enrolled in a credit card company’s online bill paying program, you will receive an email each month letting you know payment is due. Do not sign on from the email link.

Bookmark the site after you’ve enrolled in the program and use the bookmark as your link to the company website. Oftentimes, you may receive an email from a credit card company asking you to verify your account. This is a bogus email. Do not respond or click on the link provided. Instead, call the company and ask if they have sent out an email to you asking for verification.

3. When you do sign on to the company site, have your username and password readily available. Conduct your business as quickly as possible; this includes checking your account.

After you sign out, clear your cache on the computer so that the information is cleared from your history. On AOL, for example, you can click on Setting, scroll down to Toolbar Settings and click on “Clear History Trail Now”. This will clear all of the URL sites you have visited during your time online. This is especially important if you are using a cable modem.

4. After you’ve paid your bill, you will receive an email on or close to the date you have chosen for payment. Make sure you do receive the email. If you do not, call the company in question and ask why an email was not sent. Also, go to your online account and check to ensure payment was posted.

5. Change your password monthly. Some credit card companies offer a security number that you can utilize after you sign on. For example, you would sign on using your regular username and password and then a new box will appear asking for the security code number. Check with your online bill-paying companies to determine if they offer this service.

Any steps you can take to decrease the possibility of online theft are worth it. Ensure you have the best security software available; run weekly scans of your computer, and change your password every month.