Netbank Fails - Where are You in This?

We haven't seen bank failures in awhile. But we just saw one fail in GA. If you have a Netbank account, you'll see more on this and what you need to do both from the regulators and here on BankingQuestions.

For now, know that the FDIC said it is important to note that neither the FDIC as receiver nor ING Bank as the acquiring institution will e-mail customers of NetBank asking them to validate their deposits or to request personal, confidential information, such as account numbers, Social Security Number, driver's license number, etc. If customers receive e-mails asking for such personal information, they should consider them to be fraudulent in nature and should not respond.

As a reminder to all depositors, the FDIC has limits. Often a banks assets are sold as some of these were to ING. There are other assets that can be sold too, like buildings, furniture, etc. But here, Netbank was internet only. So those hard assets don't exist. And depositors exceeding the insurance limits may lose half of those funds. If you have FDIC insurance questions, you can find information on this site and on the FDICs, and you can always call your bank.

Some loans were sold to another lender, but not all were. Borrowers still need to make their payments to a new lender or to their old Netbank where the FDIC will handle them.

A New $5 Bill

You may not think the $5 bill was at very much risk. But the Bureau of Printing and Engraving unveiled the new design with new security features. You can see a video about the new bill here, and for more on all the redesigned bills, read this page.

Ethical Fraud

We have seen some recent stories pertaining to mail from the National Deed Service, Inc. This is a company promoting the fact that property owners should have an official or certified copy of the deed to properties you own. They quote from the U.S. Government Federal Citizen Information Center web site and look very official, almost like a government agency. They don't say that they are, and they are not.

Research indicates that law enforcement agencies and the Better Business Bureau have received inquiries about this. Our heartburn is that this company offers for approximately $60 what you can do for a fraction of the price.

The company's web site explains that " It is not an easy process to obtain public records from a governmental agency. It often requires people to travel to the recorder’s office, lose time from work and pay, locate the proper office, deal with the people at the office, and locate their document and wait for the document to be produced." But your County Clerk may offer your deed via a web site request and for as little as $3. Even if your records are not yet on the Internet, they may be soon and even a hard copy obtained at the courthouse would be less expensive.

As a consumer, if you receive such a letter you should ask yourself, will you need this, have you needed one before, is a certified copy necessary at all, is it really something you should have and should you pay ten times the cost for the convenience?

You will decide what you need, where you'd store it and what price you'll pay. We just don't want readers thinking they must have something and at a high cost, that may not be necessary.