Finance Globe

Imposter scams are growing in popularity among crooks.For the first time, these scams made the top ten list of consumer complaints, according to the 2010 annual report released by the Federal Trade Commission. The FTC warns consumers to be alert to scammers posing as people or organization they know and trust. They may use phone calls, emails, letters, faxes or even text messages in their attempt to trick you out of your money.To avoid falling victim,...

Despite all the education on the importance of protecting our sensitive personal information - identity theft must to be paying off for crooks because the crime remains at the top of the list of consumer complaints for 2010. Identity theft continues to be the most reported complaint for the 11th year in a row, according to an annual report released by the Federal Trade Commission. Out of the over 1.3 million complaints received by the FTC...

Savvy taxpayers often put a lot of thought into ways to legally reduce their tax bill. But taxpayers thinking about arguing to the Internal Revenue Service about whether they are truly obligated to pay their fair share of taxes should think again. The IRS released a public announcement advising individuals and groups to avoid wasting time and money with frivolous tax arguments that will only result in penalties for the taxpayer. Arguments heard by the IRS...

Time is running out for over one million people who haven’t claimed their refunds for the tax year 2007.According to the Internal Revenue Service, refunds totaling $1.1 billion owed to people who did not file a federal income tax return in that year.The law provides a three-year window of opportunity for most taxpayers to claim federal refunds from prior tax years - the 2007 return must be properly addressed, mailed and postmarked by the April 18th...

The housing market continues to stabilize even though the pace of pending home sales slipped by more than analysts had expected in January, according to an industry report released on Monday. The pending home sales index declined 2.8% last month, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported. Market analysts had predicted a decline of 2.2%. NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun said, “The housing market is healing with sales fluctuating at times, depending on the flow of...

Many taxpayers can easily do their own tax returns, and tax software can help make preparing your tax return go even more smoothly.Have you heard of Free-File?Free-File is available for low and moderate-income taxpayers through cooperation with the Internal Revenue Service and a large number of tax software providers. Free-File programs are available for taxpayers with an adjusted gross income that is less than $58,000.Each tax company has its own taxpayer qualifications to use their Free-File...

While getting back a tax refund can be exciting, it’s not always bad to owe a little money when you file your taxes. If you are due a big refund, that means that you’ve let the federal government hang on to your money all year long. And depending on your financial situation, that money could have been used to pay off a credit card balance, for investments and retirement savings, or even for those little luxuries...

A debt and mortgage relief operation that allegedly sent 5.5 million illegal spam text messages has been halted by a federal judge at the request of the Federal Trade Commission. The unsolicited text messages were allegedly sent over a 40-day period by the defendant, Phillip A. Flora, at an average rate of 85 texts per minute ‘round the clock. The FTC calls the number of texts in such a short period, “mind-boggling.” According to the FTC’s...

In late December, the IRS had informed taxpayers who were affected by recent tax law changes to wait to file their returns until notified that the IRS was ready for them, which was estimated to be around mid-February.On Monday, IRS began to accept and process both e-file and paper tax returns claiming itemized deductions on Form 1040, Schedule A, as well as deductions for state and local sales tax, higher education tuition and fees and educator...

As a young person with little work experience, you might not really know what kind of work you like to do. While you may not expect a job to be enjoyable, know that working in the right environment and doing something you enjoy can make your first job a positive experience. Knowing yourself is the key to choosing the right type of job for you. Ask yourself a few questions to help narrow your job choices...