How do you know if a credit card company is a scam?
i recieved an offer in the mail from my university i graduated from and it sounds like something i'd be interested in, but im afraid it might be a scam. how do i know or check that? its got all the rowan alumni stuff on it, but the site is newcardonline.com which seems suspicious. it also has a lot of bank of america symobls and whatnot, but how can i be sure without giving out my information?
Comments
Call up the alumni association of your school (Rowan University?) and ask THEM. They will relieve any and all of your fears immediately.
Having gone to the Rowan Univ - Alumni - Benefits - Affinity Card site, it seems that the university has struck a deal through FIA Card Services that puts together and administers affinity card deals.
For those of you who know the credit card business, Bank of America acquired one of the leading card issuers a couple years ago: MBNA. MBNA was known for 2 things: service quality and being the leader in affinity card marketing. Bank of America renamed the MBNA business FIA Card Services. I cannot vouch for the service quality today; but, the affinity card experience is unmatched.
My gut tells me that not only are you dealing with legitimate players here, you are dealing with leaders in the business.
Having said this, here is some unsolicited advice. I hope you won't mind. Read the fine print. I didn't do that for you. See how much the bank is going to give to your alma mater--for each card account and for each transaction. My guess is that it will be a pretty small amount unless you spend money like Imelda Marcos... So, then, ask yourself why you want the card.
Because it says Rowan Univ on the card and makes you feel proud...then get the card Because it gives money to your alma mater when you go about your day to day spending...consider an attractive (>1%) cash-back card instead. You pocket the cash and make a contribution to Rowan out of the cash you receive (and getting the tax deduction and Rowan U goodwill), keeping the balance You need the credit and it's another card...consider getting a card from a low interest rate Arkansas bank, e.g., Simmons First National Bank, instead All the best. Take care.
If you really, really 'need' another credit card, just contact the University and ask them to verify the offer and the company offering it. If they can't, won't, or don't know how to do that, then why take the chance. It is possible for a credit card company to 'associate' their card with an organization without official approval of that organization. Checking with the University should give you the information you need. To tell you the truth though, as far as I'm concerned, the correct answer to your question is that ALL credit cards are a scam. With jacked up interest rates, extra fees, and illegal collection practices, the 'business' that the credit card companies are actually in is to get you into debt and keep you there so you'll send them payments for the rest of your life. The fees and penalties are NOT there to make you behave, they're there to make the credit card company more profit. Currently, about half of all profit for a credit card company comes from charging fees and penalties. Like I said, I think all credit cards are a scam.
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If this is not a Bank of America card, but it has their symbols on it, that is a scam. The scam is pretending to be connected to Bank of America.
If it is a Bank of America card, then it is a different scam. Bank of America lies about nearly everything, including their own telephone number. True story. One time, I filed a complaint with the BBB about Bank of America and Bank of America responded that I should call a particular phone number to resolve my problem. Either it was not their phone number or it was not even a working phone number.
If you go to http://www.who.is/ you can enter a domain name and find the owner information. In the case of http://www.newcardonline.com/ the registration comes back to Bank of America:
Domain Name: newcardonline.com
Status: clientDeleteProhibited, clientTransferProhibited, clientUpdateProhibited
Registrar: MARKMONITOR INC.
Whois Server: whois.markmonitor.com
Referral URL: http://www.markmonitor.com/
Expiration Date: 2008-08-10
Creation Date: 2006-08-10
Last Update Date: 2007-07-09
Name Servers:
dns11.bankofamerica.com
dns12.bankofamerica.com
Of course whether or not they're the good guys or the bad guys might be a matter of debate, but I would say you're safe to do business there if you choose.
Hope that helps!
I would call Bank of America to ask if they work with this company. Besides, why wouldn't you just go directly through Bank of American to get a card, a company issuing cards for them is going to have to make money somehow, usually by charging a higher interest rate
Do a google search on it and see if there are any negative links . If you feel uncomfortable then why do it?
Added after a google search
RUN, in some places it is referred to as a secured card, another from another bank ....I would certainly not give them ANY info!
Check you university's own website to see if they are advertising the card on there. It may be the Bank of America is the actual card issuer.
Call the alumni office at your college. They will tell you if it is legitimate (it probably is).
If they don't know what you are talking about, then it's a scam.