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Earning cash back on your regular spending is a fantastic benefit. When credit cardholders try to maximize the amount of money they receive, they have a nearly endless choice of credit cards to apply for. Among these cash back reward credit cards are those that offer fixed reward rates on all spending, as opposed to those that offer varying rewards depending on the category of merchants, and even the time of year. Although these varying reward rates can be attractive, there are distinct advantages to earning rewards year round at a fixed rate.

Cardholders frequently choose to earn cash back rewards instead of loyalty points because of the simplicity and flexibility that cash offers.

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Some comparison websites and lenders are offering customers ‘soft’ credit searches when applying for loans and credit cards. These promise to not leave a footprint on your credit rating but how do they work? And are they reliable?

Whenever you make an application for a credit card or loan it leaves a mark on your credit score.

Applications typically make up about 10 per cent of your credit score so making a large number of applications can have a negative impact on your rating.

James Jones of credit reference agency Experian says: ‘Every application that is made leaves a footprint on your credit report. If youre making a lot of applications in a short space of time then this can have a negative impact on your score.’

However, some comparison sites and lenders have introduced a ‘soft’ check feature to give customers an indication if they’re likely to get accepted for a product.

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You have the dreaded double whammy on your credit reports—a charge-off and collection for the same old debt.  But how did this happen?

Frankly, the whole process can be quite confusing to most consumers, which is why I’ve done my best to break it down into the following six simple steps.  While your situation might be a little bit different, my experience has been that 90% of the time this is exactly how it all plays out.

1. The original creditor charged off your credit card account because you stopped paying and they considered it a business loss.  They report it as a charge-off to the major credit reporting agencies.
2. The original creditor decides to make a few bucks on your uncollectible debt so they sell it to a collection agency that specializes in buying charged-off debt. Note t

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If you constantly check your account online, youll know if someone dipped into your funds, right? Not anymore.

Researchers at global computer security firm Trusteer have found that the latest version of SpyEye’s malware toolkit can help criminals sneak into bank accounts, use the information to commit fraud and then cover up their tracks so there’s no evidence of tampering when the account holder logs back on.

Trusteer’s chief technology officer Amit Klein says this new version, which is targeting banks in the U.S. and U.K., works like this:

SpyEye lurks as the user starts to log in to the banking site. While that’s happening, the malware injects fake prompts into the login page to ask for information such as debit card numbers, PINs and expiration dates.

“The user suspects the bank is just asking for this information as part of the login process,” Klein says.

The padlock symbol at the bottom right of the screen is still there, as is the https in the URL, which usually indicates a secure connection. Yet the per

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