Identity Theft

According to the Federal Trade Commission, identity theft remains a top consumer complaint. Thieves rob more than 635,000 Americans every year and a recent FTC survey indicates that the dollar volume of this crime was $52.6 billion in 2004, much of that cost is accrued by businesses. But the consumer also pays. The average victim will spend $1,374 and 175 hours cleaning up their credit reports.

counterfeit check scams

Fake check scams are growing across the United States. Make sure you are not the next vicitm. Account holders are responsible for authenticating deposit items before bringing them to the bank for processing. Click on the Learn More link to learn how you can protect yourself from check fraud scams. Learn More.

Avoid Predatory Real Estate Practices

Dont be a victim! Predatory real estate practices include all aspects of buying a home and can occur at any step in the process. Predatory practices involve the use of deceptive or fraudulent tactics which intimidate or mislead consumers. Consumers need to know their rights and learn the options that are available to ensure they are not deceived in any way. Abusive or predatory lenders target people who are strapped for cash and the loans they push usually have sky-high interest rates and fees. Learn how to tell a "good" loan from a "bad" one to avoid paying too much, hurting your credit rating - or possibly losing your home.

Click here to download the Brochure on Predatory Lending Practices. Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader; file is approximately 2.5 MB in size.

If you feel you have been a victim of predatory practices, contact one of the organizations below:

Maryland Office of the Attorney General
Complaint Hotline: 410-528-8662
Toll Free Number: 1-888-743-0023
www.oag.state.md.us/consumer

Maryland Commissioner of Financial Regulation
Toll Free Number: 1-888-784-0136
www.dllr.state.md.us/finance

To report poor business practices, contact the Better Business Bureau
In Baltimore: 410-347-3990
In Metro Washington: -202-393-8000

Project Safe

In conjunction with the Maryland Attorney Generals Office, the Maryland Department of Aging and the Department of Human Resources, MBA has developed a program to help prevent financial exploitation of vulnerable adults, particularly elderly citizens. Project SAFE is a voluntary program that allows banks to report suspected financial abuse of customers while protecting individual's confidential information.

Learn more about what you can do to protect against financial exploitation download the PDF file.

You can also download The Adult Protective Services Brochure which has the addresses and numbers of the APS office closest to you. Click here to download.

Lost and Found

By law, Maryland banks are required to report unclaimed property to the Maryland Comptroller's Office. Most of this property is money, involving approximately 300,000 forgotten bank accounts dating back to the 1960s. These accounts are worth more than $100 million and more money is reported to the Unclaimed Property Section all the time.

To see if some of this money has your name on it, just click here to visit the State Comptroller's Office and make a free inquiry.

Consumers can also utilize a service offered by the FDIC.

MBA's Top Tips for Consumers