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Tech support scams becoming the top phishing threat to consumers
NortonLifeLock published a report detailing the top consumer cybersecurity insights and takeaways from July to September 2021. The latest findings show tech support scams, which often arrive as a pop-up alert convincingly disguised using the names and branding of major tech companies, have become the top phishing threat to consumers
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Nebraska Collection Agency Transitions to NMLS
Companies holding a Nebraska Collection Agency Branch License are required to submit a license transition request through NMLS by December 31, 2021. The Agency asks licensees to wait until they receive a communication from its office before filing the transition application.
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Australia’s central bank tells Buy Now Pay Later firms to drop surcharge ban
SYDNEY, Oct 22 (Reuters) - Australia's central bank on Friday said that buy now, pay later (BNPL) firms will no longer be able to prohibit merchants from passing-on surcharges for their services, levelling the playing field with banks and credit card providers.
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California Passes Suite of New Privacy Laws
California continues to be at the vanguard of privacy protection. On October 11, 2021 California’s Governor Newsom signed several bills addressing privacy and data security. These new laws go into effect January 1, 2022 and include:
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Navient Receives Approval to Transfer Department of Education Servicing Contract to Maximus
Navient’s proposal to transfer the loan servicing of 5.6 million U.S. Department of Education-owned student loan accounts to Maximus has received all necessary approvals, according to a news release from the ACA International member company in Wilmington, Delaware.
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Fifth Circuit Extends Stay on CFPB Payday Loans
On October 14, the Fifth Circuit issued a one paragraph order to extend a stay on Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) payday lending regulations currently challenged by the Community Financial Services Association of America Ltd. and the Consumer Service Alliance of Texas. The stay will allow small dollar lenders to postpone the June 2022 compliance date.
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FTC Staff Report Finds Many Internet Service Providers Collect Troves of Personal Data, Users Have Few Options to Restrict Use
Many internet service providers (ISPs) collect and share far more data about their customers than many consumers may expect—including access to all of their Internet traffic and real-time location data—while failing to offer consumers meaningful choices about how this data can be used, according to an FTC staff report on ISPs’ data collection and use practices.
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Debt cancellation and free tuition proposals target student loan crisis in first big push to expand college access since World War II
Most Americans see college as excessively expensive, but it wasn’t always that way. Over the last decade, the cost of attending a four-year public college or university has grown significantly faster than income. Deep cuts in state funding for higher education contributed to substantial tuition increases and pushed more of the costs of college onto students, according to an analysis by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a nonpartisan research group based in Washington, D.C.
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CFPB Orders Tech Giants to Turn Over Information on their Payment System Plans
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued a series of orders to collect information on the business practices of large technology companies operating payments systems in the United States. The information will help the CFPB better understand how these firms use personal payments data and manage data access to users so the Bureau can ensure adequate consumer protection.
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CFPB’s New Director is No Fan of Banks
Rohit Chopra, who helped Elizabeth Warren set up the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau about a decade back, has returned as the head of the agency. He's a true believer in consumer protection, cringes at repeat offenders, and worries about technology's unintended consequences. “Chopra has a reputation for cracking down hard on financial services companies accused of consumer protection law violations,” says Michele Alt, Partner and Co-Founder at Klaros Group, and a veteran in the legal section of the Comptroller’s Office.
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Funder and Servicer of Online Trading Academy Payment Plans Will Forgive Debt in Settlement with FTC
The funder and servicer of the payment plans used by consumers to pay for expensive and often ineffective investment “trainings” from Online Trading Academy (OTA) will be required to offer debt forgiveness to consumers under a proposed settlement with the Federal Trade Commission.
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5-year personal loan rates plunge to lowest point since mid-August
Borrowers with good credit seeking personal loans during the week of Oct. 11, 2021, prequalified for rates that fell for both 3-year terms and 5-year terms compared to the previous week's fixed-rate loans.
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Updates to Public Service Loan Forgiveness
Under PSLF, federal student loan borrowers can receive loan forgiveness in exchange for 10 years of work in a public service field. That may sound simple, but meeting the detailed requirements has proven more complicated than many realized. To qualify for PSLF, borrowers must have the right type of loan, be enrolled in a qualifying repayment plan and make 120 qualifying on-time payments while working full time at a qualifying public service organization.
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Pandemic Stifles Holiday Shopping as Many Americans Report Living Paycheck to Paycheck
More than 30% of respondents feel financially unprepared for the upcoming holiday season. 43% feel more financially stressed this holiday season compared to previous seasons, citing inflation as the leading cause of financial stress. Three-fourths of respondents plan to spend the same amount or less this holiday season compared to last. Yet, 23% of respondents expect that they will go into debt to pay for gifts this holiday season
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CFPB Joins Other Financial Regulatory Agencies in Issuing Statement on Discontinuation of LIBOR
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) joined four other federal financial regulatory agencies and state bank and credit union regulators today in issuing a statement highlighting the risks posed by the discontinuation of LIBOR (originally an acronym for London Interbank Offered Rate). The CFPB is urging banks and nonbanks alike to continue their efforts to transition to alternative reference rates to mitigate consumer protection, financial, legal, and operational risks.
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One of the biggest student loan companies in the US gets approval to shut down its services
The Education Department on Wednesday approved student-loan company Navient's request to shut down its federal services, becoming the third company to do so this year before student-loan payments resume in February.
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AG Ferguson: Company that peddled robocall blocking services illegally robocalled Washingtonians
SEATTLE — Attorney General Bob Ferguson filed a lawsuit today against a Corvallis, Ore.-based company, Global Grid Telecom, and its owner for illegally robocalling Washingtonians with deceptive recorded messages. Ironically, the calls attempted to sell a purported robocall-blocking service.
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Are Americans Getting Better at Credit Card Debt? New Survey Shows Positive Signs
New data seems to suggest that Americans have been getting better at credit card debt as average balances declined significantly during 2020, according to the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau (CFPB), and Americans say they are very confident in their abilities to pay off their credit card debt, according to a new survey.
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CFPB Report Indicates Consumer Credit Card Use Trends Returning to Pre-Pandemic Levels
On September 29, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) released its biennial report to Congress regarding the consumer credit card climate. The report shows that the market’s growth during the last few years reversed course in 2020.
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FCC Acting Chairwoman Circulates “Robotext” Proposal
Acting Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel announced today that she had circulated to her Commissioner colleagues “a proposed rulemaking that would require mobile wireless providers to block illegal text messaging….”
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S&P/Experian Consumer Credit Default Indices Show Composite Rate Stable In September 2021
NEW YORK, Oct. 19, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- S&P Dow Jones Indices and Experian released today data through September 2021 for the S&P/Experian Consumer Credit Default Indices. The indices represent a comprehensive measure of changes in consumer credit defaults and show that the composite rate was unchanged at 0.39%.
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CFPB adds new section on information technology to Supervision and Examination Manual
The CFPB has added a new section to its Supervision and Examination Manual titled “Compliance Management Review-Information Technology.” The new section supplements the existing section on Compliance Management Review to provide examination procedures to be used by CFPB examiners to assess information technology (IT) and IT controls as part of a Compliance Management System (CMS) review.
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Owner of Debt Collection Company Pleads Guilty to Corruptly Providing Benefits to Public Official
CHICAGO — The former owner of a debt collection company pleaded guilty today to a federal criminal charge for corruptly agreeing to underwrite certain expenses for a special event hosted by the former Cook County Circuit Court Clerk.
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Student loan forgiveness is a lot closer for some borrowers, and they are pumped
The U.S. Department of Education has begun sending emails to thousands of teachers, nurses and other public servants to tell them they could have some of their federal student loan debts erased months — and even years — earlier than borrowers had expected.
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CFPB and FTC File Amicus Brief with Appeals Court to Overturn FCRA Case
On October 14, 2021, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau CFPB), Federal Trade Commission (FTC), and North Carolina Department of Justice filed an amicus brief with the U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals to overturn a district court decision in a case involving the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), according to CFPB news release.
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Student, Medical Debt Vex Collections Firms Under Consumer Rules
Debt collection firms are running into outdated billing procedures, particularly in student loans and medical debt, as they look to revamp their consumer communication practices as required by new federal rules.
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CFPB Penalizes JPay for Siphoning Taxpayer-Funded Benefits Intended to Help People Re-enter Society After Incarceration
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) today took action against the prison financial services company JPay for violating the Consumer Financial Protection Act (CFPA) by charging consumers fees to access their own money on prepaid debit cards that consumers were forced to use. JPay also violated the Electronic Fund Transfer Act (EFTA) when it required consumers to sign up for a JPay debit card as a condition of receiving government benefits – in particular, “gate money,” which is money provided under state law to help people meet their essential needs as they are released from incarceration.
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Mortgage originations will drop 33% in 2022 as interest rates rise, according to industry forecast
Rising interest rates will result in a sharp drop in refinance demand in 2022, meaning a lot less business for mortgage bankers, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s just-released annual forecast. It predicts total origination volume will drop 33% to $2.59 trillion.
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Attorney General Bonta: Predatory Lending and Illegal Rent-a-Bank Schemes Have No Place in Our Financial System
OAKLAND – California Attorney General Rob Bonta joined 20 attorneys general in urging the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Federal Reserve, and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (collectively, “federal bank regulators”) to explicitly disavow rent-a-bank schemes in their forthcoming guidance for banks on risk management when engaging with third parties.
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Mortgage interest rates to begin trending up: MBA forecast
Mortgage rates could soon begin to increase as the economy improves, and the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) forecasted in its economic outlook that the downward trend for interest rates has come to an end.
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Outdated hospital billing practices present challenge to meeting new debt collection rules
Outdated billing practices, particularly in hospitals and physician offices, are causing some issues for debt collection firms as they revamp their consumer communication practices as required by law, Bloomberg Law reported Oct. 19.
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Low-to-Moderate Income Consumers Present $300 Billion Growth Opportunity for the Mortgage Industry
Low-to-moderate income (LMI) consumers have traditionally been overlooked in the mortgage market and trail non-LMI consumers in terms of homeownership. A new study from TransUnion (NYSE: TRU) suggests closing this gap could yield mortgage lenders as much as ~$300 billion in refinance and purchase originations.
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Nearly 10 million borrowers are about to see a change in student loan service—here’s what that means, the good and bad
On Friday, the Department of Education’s Federal Student Aid office announced a stricter set of standards for student loan servicers, the companies the government pays to oversee the billing and collection of student loan payments.
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Court Delays CFPB Payday Rule as Industry Challenge Continues (1)
Payday lenders won a bid to delay a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau rule limiting their access to customers’ bank accounts to collect payments.
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Attorney General James Directs Unregistered Crypto Lending Platforms to Cease Operations In New York, Announces Additional Investigations
NEW YORK – New York Attorney General Letitia James today announced new efforts she is taking to protect New York investors, and the trading markets more generally, from exploitation by high-risk virtual currency schemes.
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FTC Issues Annual Report to Congress on Protecting Older Adults
The Federal Trade Commission has issued its latest report to Congress on protecting older adults, which highlights updated findings from the Commission’s fraud reports showing trends in how older adults report being affected by fraud.
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CFPB enters into second settlement with reverse mortgage provider
Last week, the CFPB simultaneously filed a lawsuit against American Advisors Group (AAG) in a California federal district court and a proposed stipulated final judgment and order to settle the lawsuit.
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U.S. Department of Education Increases Servicer Performance, Transparency, and Accountability Before Loan Payments Restart
The U.S. Department of Education today announced stronger standards for performance, transparency, and accountability for its student loan servicers aimed at protecting borrowers. Six loan servicing companies – Great Lakes, HESC/Edfinancial, MOHELA, Navient, Nelnet, and OSLA Servicing – will be held to these higher standards starting early next year.
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DeSantis suspends debt collections for unemployment overpayments ‘indefinitely’
TALLAHASSEE — Facing criticism over the latest unemployment debacle, Gov. Ron DeSantis on Friday ordered the state’s jobless agency not to send Floridians to debt collectors if they’ve been issued an “overpayment” notice for their unemployment claims.
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Medical identify theft woes can be more dangerous than financial identity theft
Technology can be wonderful when used properly. However, we also must recognize that technology has made life more complex and potentially more dangerous, particularly in protecting our sensitive information. In the past, shredding statements or tearing carbon copies was a sufficient way to protect our sensitive information.
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CFPB Debt Collection Rules Pose Test for Medical, Student Debt
Debt collection firms are running into outdated billing procedures, particularly in student loans and medical debt, as they look to revamp their consumer communication practices as required by new federal rules. Starting Nov. 30, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s rules, the first federal regulations for the industry, require debt collectors to provide consumers with a clear description of the amount of money they allegedly owe and whom they owe, among a host of other changes.
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Receivables Management Association International
Aria Resort & Casino
Las Vegas , Nevada
February 07 -
10 ,
2022 916 482 2462
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