For years, Congressman Joe Garcia had all his financial information publicly posted as part of his campaign filings. Now he said that as a result he has been a multiple victim of identity theft. “You have to understand this can happen to anyone,” the Miami Democrat explained. “It happened to me.” Garcia announced on Apr. [...]
In our consumer-based economy, when shoppers feel like spending, business gets a boost. But when they worry about rising prices and stagnant salaries, business usually slows down. And as is usually the case, Wall Street reacts accordingly. Brickell investor Herman Valerius is happy that Wall Street has been setting new records recently. But he also [...]
If you are a South Florida homeowner, you’re likely in the state’s Citizens Insurance program. If you are, you should be aware of an exclusive CBS4 Investigation that found hundreds of thousands of policyholders might have been overcharged by the state-run company. Some Insurance Industry insiders believe the consumer losses could be in the millions [...]
Miami salesman Miguel Rodriguez couldn’t find gas for much less than about $3.99 a gallon on Presidents Day. “It’s not easy,” he admits. “Four dollars a gallon is very difficult to work with.” As it turns out, South Florida consumers increasingly are feeling the effects of more than a month’s worth of rising gas prices. [...]
Here’s some rare good news for taxpayers. The acting head of the IRS has announced a massive national crackdown to prevent billions of dollars in taxpayer refunds from being stolen by scammers nationwide. And the agency also is apologizing to identity theft victims over how long it is taking for scammed taxpayers to get their [...]
Retailers agree that this past holiday shopping season was better than the previous year. However, as the U.S. economy improved, the influx of post holiday bills also may be a lot worse than past years. The main question for a lot of consumers now is: “How can you pay them off as painlessly as possible?” [...]
These days, most people have enough common sense to be cautious about opening emails from someone we don’t know and know enough not to open suspicious attachments. But now computer crooks have found a way to target us on search engines. Jim McGrath’s computer recently was held for ransom. While searching online, his PC froze, [...]
Although spending during the holiday season is expected to increase, your debt doesn’t have to. Even if you took advantage of the Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales, I have some helpful tips to help you get the most bang for your buck next Christmas season: • Shop after 6 p.m. the evening before a [...]
Florida restaurant inspectors recently announced some major changes in how they will start checking out kitchens. These changes are meant to improve food safety statewide and do a better job guaranteeing safer food. Starting Jan. 1, changes will be made in the way restaurants are inspected and how consumers are warned about possible allergens in [...]
Now that we’ve enjoyed our Thanksgiving turkey and pumpkin pie, Christmas is just weeks away. According to the National Retail Federation (NRF), if the Christmas projections are accurate, total sales for the year will be $586.1 billion — about $23 billion more than last year’s sales. Although spending this holiday season is expected to increase, [...]
According to United States Attorney Wifredo Ferre, tax refund fraud has been keeping federal prosecutors busy around South Florida. “Identity theft and tax refund scams are like a tsunami that is barreling towards us,” Ferre told me. For scam victims like South Dade’s Lauri King, waiting for help from the IRS is getting harder and [...]
If you are one of the thousands of South Florida homeowners insured by the state-run Citizens Insurance program, you may have received a letter from them recently, or from another insurance company that you’ve probably never heard of. It is all part of a recent effort by Florida Gov. Rick Scott and the Florida Legislature [...]
Fall trees and autumn leaves in September may mark the start of fall, but October marks the start of the economic fourth quarter and the beginning of a rise to the U.S. recovery. While the sun may shine brightly on our dampened economy, there still remains some cloudy days ahead. Matt McGrath, Coral Gables financial [...]
With increasing expenses going towards attaining a higher education, and a decreasing amount of available resources to fall back on, it’s more important than ever to understand the dynamics of managing student loans before and after graduation. Increased loan debt not only dampens the economy but potential income as well. Here is some helpful information [...]
