Washington, D.C., United States (AHN) – Consumers decreased their credit card debt by 11 percent last year, with the average debt load declining in every state.

That information came from a report released Tuesday by credit tracking and financial education website CreditKarma.com. It analyzed data from more than 300,000 of its users.

“The new year typically inspires consumers to get in control of their finances, especially after the bout of holiday spending that occurred in December. Starting in January, you’ll see consumers start focusing on decreasing debt,” said Ken Lin, CEO of CreditKarma.com.

CreditKarma.com found that the average credit card balance was $6,576 in 2011, down from $7,404 the previous year.

However, that decline came in a climate of weak consumer confidence, which kept spending down as banks continued to tighten lending while slashing credit limits for many existing customers.

While credit card debt was down, so were credit scores.

Nationally, credit scores fell eight points to 660 in 2011 from the previous year.

States with the highest average credit scores are:

• California, Massachusetts and New Jersey — 679
• Washington — 675
• New York — 674

States with the lowest average credit scores are:

• Mississippi — 622
• Louisiana — 635
• Arkansas — 635
• South Carolina — 635
• West Virginia — 637

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The number of hacked Citi credit card accounts rose to 360,083 from the 210,000 announced earlier, according to Citigroup.

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This is Money has scoured the market to find the best offers for consumers wishing to transfer balances between credit cards

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You might soon be able to add cash registers and credit-card terminals to the growing technological dustbin that includes hardwired phones, CDs and cars that run only on gasoline. A mobile-transaction company named Square has announced a new iPad-based point-of-sale solution called Square Register that seeks to replace those payment devices.

Jack Dorsey, Square’s CEO, said cash registers and credit-card terminals are “relics of an expensive, complicated and impersonal commercial transaction system.” The company is also unveiling Card Case, an application that allows a customer’s smartphone to be used for transactions and marketing with retailers who have Square Register.

Free Download, Transaction Fee

The company has been best known for a card reader that enables an iPhone or Android smartphone to accept credit cards.

The Square Register application allows businesses to manage store inventory, check daily transactions, update pricing, automate checkout, create digital receipts, and maintain virtual storefronts. It’s available as a free download, and there is a 2.75 percent fee for each transaction. Receipts can be electronically sent to customers, foregoing the need for paper receipts.

A Tabs feature is the equivalent of one-click purchasing on the web. Customers use Square’s new Card Case application on their smartphone, and, when they open a tab on their device, their stored identity can be validated and their purchase approved with a single touch. The transaction does not need a physical credit card.

Card Case can be obtained by a smartphone user via a download link sent by a retailer where a customer has made a credit-card purchase. The Case gets filled with virtual “cards” from participating retailers that the user has visited. Each card, or tab, contains the customer’s purchase history, receipts from that retailer, featured items on sale, customized offers, and even aggregate information on what other customers are buying at the store.

Rollout Planned

The…

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PC World – Sony PlayStation Network users are reporting fraud on their credit cards — everything from a flight booked in Germany to purchases in Japanese grocery stores.

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Using a secured credit card can be a good way to rehabilitate your credit score, but a bankruptcy may prevent you from qualifying right away.

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The call might start something like this: “I’m Mike from Visa. Did you make a purchase for a laptop in Cambridge, Mass., for $987 with your Bank of America debit card?”

“No. What happened?” The consumer is now concerned.

“I just want to let you know that somebody has stolen your card information. Feel free to call the 800 number on the back of your card.”

Mike confirms the consumer’s name, address, and telephone number. He offers to take care of the situation by canceling the card and removing all the fraudulent charges. All he needs is the three-digit security number on the back of the card in order to reactivate the account after the fake charges are removed.

That’s the key to the latest debit-card scam – the security code.

Once “Mike” has it, he can easily withdraw all the money that is in the debit-card account while his victim mistakenly believes the problem has been resolved. Increasingly aggressive, con artists are taking debit-card fraud to a whole new level. And because they’re preying on debit cards, instead of credit cards, victims are more at risk.

Debit-card rules allow issuers to hold consumers responsible for up to $500 in losses if they don’t report the problem within two business days. (Credit-card holders are limited to $50 in losses.)

Con artists have other tricks up their sleeves to get debit card numbers, personal IDs and security codes, according to Roman Shteyn at Credit-Land.com. The five most common techniques:

Keystroke-logger. This is computer spyware that records every keystroke typed on a computer and is used to steal confidential personal information and passwords.

Cellphone. A bystander distracts you while a scammer uses the camera built into his cellphone to snap digital pictures of your name, your credit card, and the expiration date. Criminals may also place tiny cameras on or near ATM machines in a bank lobby to record your data when you make a withdrawal.

Skimmers. Clever scammers work in restaurants, gas stations and other establishments. One trick is planting a card-reader in the register. Skimmers steal info like your address, telephone pin, etc.

Card-switchers. When you are at a restaurant, card switchers steal your card and give you back a fake card or expired one.

Phishers. Scammers send fake e-mails designed to persuade you to give up your bank card information.

The solution: Protect your card number and personal information. For example, read your monthly bank statements carefully for unauthorized withdrawals. When in doubt about a suspicious phone call or unknown charge, call the issuing bank immediately. For some protection against spyware, turn off your computer when it is not in use.

Use the same level of care when using the card. Whenever you are at the gas pump, use a credit card instead of a debit card. Using a debit card without a personal identification number is dangerous because a thief can use the receipt to gain access to your account and drain it before you are aware that anything is wrong.

At a restaurant when your card is handed back, make sure it’s yours before you put it into your wallet.

With more Americans switching from credit cards to debit cards to avoid racking up debt, their vulnerability rises because they’re using real cash to pay for something, according to a Credit Land analysis comparing credit card and debit card fraud protection.

It may be fast and easy to change an infiltrated debit card account number, but getting your money back … that’s another story. In contrast to dispute resolutions for credit cards, the study finds that the process for debit cards can involve a lengthy investigation and a drawn-out process for getting your money back. Click to write a comment or read comments about this post. MinnPost.com Full RSS Articles brought to you by: MinnRoast 2011 — Journalists & politicians gently skewered Add MinnPost’s voice to the 2012 presidential campaign! Take the 2011 MinnRoast Challenge.

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With cellphones ready to act as credit cards, banks, carriers and card issuers are fighting for control.

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San Antonio police arrest a man they say stole several credit cards from a woman attending a political fundraiser.

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A year ago, the Credit CARD Act, signed into law by President Obama, took effect. This sweeping overhaul was designed to protect consumers, increase transparency, and end unfair rate hikes and hidden fees. According to two government surveys released yesterday, credit card “issuers have reduced penalty fees and stopped raising interest rates on existing balances,” providing evidence that this law is working.

According to the Washington Post , the newly-created Consumer Financial Protection Bureau surveyed the nine largest credit card issuers and found that:

[T]he number of accounts that showed interest-rate increases on existing balances – a practice prohibited under the law unless a customer is late on two consecutive payments – dropped from 15 percent of accounts to 2 percent. But issuers are still allowed to raise rates on new purchases, which one bank does periodically, according to the report, which did not name the banks.

Additionally, a study conducted by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency reported that:

[L]ate-fee payments were slashed in half after the law took effect, down to $427 million in November. The CARD Act capped late fees at $25 for the first violation and $35 for the second, as long as the fee does not exceed the minimum payment. But there’s a catch: The CFPB found that some banks were raising minimum payments, allowing them to charge higher fees.

You can learn more about the Credit CARD Act by reading the White House’s fact sheet .

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