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The federal government is now involved in a credit card skimming scheme that affected a number of customers who patronized a Tulsa McDonald’s drive-thru.

One worker has already admitted to using a handheld credit card skimming device over the course of three weeks in order to snag the credit card numbers. The employee then sold the numbers he acquired to Daniel Jefferson. Jefferson and three accomplices then had access to nearly 282 credit card numbers, which were found on the accuseds laptop.

Credit card skimming devices are not an uncommon scam affecting credit card holders. The mechanism is used to capture the important details of the customer’s credit card with a simple swipe and many times consumers have no idea their cards have been skimmed during a normal transaction. The

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People struggling with bad credit know how difficult it is to get approved for a new credit card. But what if you were given the chance to open a new credit card with the agreement that you’d pay off an old debt? Would you accept the offer?

In December 2011, the Wall Street Journal reported a credit card arrangement just like this. Consumers with bad credit were able to get a new credit card, but it required them to pay several hundred dollars per month toward an old debt. Is it worth it?

How Old Debts Become Duds

After a certain amount of time, creditors and collectors lose their power to pursue you for a delinquent debt. The statute of limitations, which determines how long you can be sued for a debt, is different for every state, but ranges from 3 to 15 years. In most cases, the statute of limitations on debt is six years or less. If a collector sues you for a debt you haven’t touched in several years, all you have to do is prove that the statute of limitations has passed and the case will probably be dismissed.

Then there’s the credit reporting time limit which dictates how long delinquent debts and other negative information can appear on your credit report. That time limit is seven years for most negative data and ten years for bankruptcy.

Making Old Debts Anew

Once the statute of limitations has run out and a debt has fallen off your credit report, debt collectors realize they have little hope of ever collecting a debt from you. But, accepting a new credit card attached to the old debt reinvigorates that debt. You’re on the hook again. If you fall delinquent on your payments a second time, the debt collector can sue you and report the delinquency on your credit report. But, on the bright side, if you make your payments on time and handle the debt responsibly this time around, you may qualify for a better credit card offer.

Getting New Credit Despite Your Bad Credit

Whether you feel morally obligated to pay back the debt or not, signing up for an offer like this isn’t the best way to get your credit back on track. There are other ways to get a credit card that don’t involve reaffirming your old obligations.

Even if you find it hard to get approved for regular credit card or retail credit cards, a secured credit card is usually the best option. Secured credit cards require you to make a security deposit to secure the credit limit. The Capital One Secured Mastercard has an offer that lets you pay $49 or $99 for a $200 credit limit, if you qualify. Worst-case scenario, you’ll have to come up with at least $200 to secure your credit limit. It’s not bad considering you might have to pay that amount or more monthly if you accepted a credit card deal from a debt collector.

Don’t let a debt collection credit card offer fool you. If you know you have bad credit and you haven’t been successful at getting your credit card applications approved, you should be suspicious of any credit card offers you receive. Read the fine print thoroughly, several times if necessary, and make sure you know what’s expected if you decide to accept the offer.

Cutting down on overhead costs for credit cards is a great way to keep finances manageable but it often means choosing between different features.

Both low interest and low or no annual fee credit cards can help to make credit cards more affordable and often the best of these features will not be combined onto one card.

Deciding whether to opt for a low fee or low rate card can be a struggle for anyone because each comes with different potential benefits and disadvantages.

To help you get a better idea of which choice could be better for you, here is a look at how both of these kinds of credit cards can work for or against you.

Low Fee Credit Cards

People could be paying hundreds of dollars in annual fees for their credit card (or cards) without ever thinking about it.

While some are happy to pay the extra money, especially when rewards are involved, these fees eat away at money that could be put towards repayments or savings.

While some low fee credit cards, like Westpac’s 55 Day Classic or Suncorp’s Standard Visa have combined low annual fees with competitive interest rates, they still only have basic features.

A no annual fee credit card like the Bankwest Zero Gold or American Express’s Gold Ascent card, on the other hand, combine no annual fee with additional benefits so that people can get the best of both worlds.

The trade off with a low or no annual fee credit card, however, is usually higher ongoing interest rates so these cards are best suited to people who do not usually carry a balance.

Low Rate Credit Cards

Low rate credit cards are ideal for people who want to make the most of payment flexibility with credit cards.

Anyone who carries a balance or likes to take time paying off big expenses will find a lot of value in low rate cards but they should also consider other features of the card.

While many low rate cards also carry annual fees under $100, it is often the case that the more features you want, the more the annual fee will cost.

The other thing to be aware of is that the lowest fees will almost always be part of introductory offers, and could increase once that period has ended, leaving you with a higher rate of interest and higher fees.

The Virgin Flyer, for example, offers 0% interest on purchases and balance transfers for 6 months but then reverts to 20.99%. In co

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The recession seems to be taking a back seat as more people pull out their credit cards to pay for everyday items. According to The Christian Science Monitor, consumers racked up a total of $64 billion in credit card debt for the year 2011, and January 2012 has already seen an increase in credit card use.

January normally means a return to less spending, trimming your budget, and putting off big purchases, but more consumers are throwing caution to the wind when it comes to credit card spending. In fact, the payment processing company First Data reports that people are using their credit cards at rates not seen since the pre-recession era.

What has spurred this rise in credit card spending?

Banks have cancelled or severely cut back on their debit card rewards programs, and have even suffered a backlash when they instituted debit card fees.

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It’s someones birthday, there’s a sale, gotta have it, and many other reasons that people charge items on their credit cards, even if they don’t have the budget to pay it off right away.  In fact, that is part of the convenience and attraction to credit cards and people are able to get what they want today and not have to worry about paying for it now. 

This temptation along with many appealing outlets that accepts credit cards as a form of payment, make it easy for people to increase their credit card debt to the point where it becomes nearly impossible to pay off.

Credit card debt can easily increase and most of the time it starts off harmless. It coul

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Credit card consolidation can be a beneficial way to pay down debts.  If you are considering this avenue, make sure that you get the lowest interest rate and the best terms available.  Below are the ways in which you can use consolidation to achieve one low monthly payment:

Home Equity Loans 

By putting your house up for collateral, you can obtain a credit card consolidation loan.  Consolidation loans allow you to pay less interest, and make a lower payment than the combined total of all your credit cards.  Caution should be exercised when taking out a home equity loan for credit card consolidation, because you stand to lose your house if you can’t make the payments.  A good rule of thumb is to close all but one credit card account so that you aren’t tempted to add even more debt.

Balance Transfers

This is another method of credit card consolidation.  Basically, you apply for a card that offers a low introductory rate and transfer all your other balances to that card.

Be aware that this “teaser” rate only lasts for a limited time, and will return to normal interest rates at the end of the introductory period.  Before it converts to the regular rate, you can transfer your balance to another card with a low introductory rate.  

Using balance transfers to consolidate your credit card debt often brings added costs in the form of transaction fees.  Read the fine print to see how much it will cost you to make the transfer for your credit card consolidation.  Be sure to make your payments on time, as late payments often raise your interest rate to the normal rate charged.

When using balance transfers to consolidate your credit card balances, be sure to close old accounts so that you aren’t tempted to use them.  Failure to do so can leave you even deeper in debt if you rack up new charges.  

Credit Card Consolidation Services

If your credit card debt is out of control, you can lower your payments by up to 57% using a consolidation service.  Consolidated loans are not for everyone, though.  Before you make a decision, you must realistically look at the pros and cons of debt consolidation to determine if this is the right decision for you. Click here for m

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