Money

“You have therefore been approved for a lump some payment of $450,890 — Congratulations.” That letter, with a handwritten address on the envelope, had a Dandridge, Tennessee woman celebrating. “I started reading it, was real excited, thought I’d really won,” the only condition for Bonnie Myers to be the big winner: cash the cashier’s check sent to her and send that money back to this so-called lottery corporation in Canada.

“They wanted me to get the $4,480 and wire it,” explains Bonnie, “within 48 hours, they would have a FedEx truck deliver me $450,000 dollars.”

Fortunately for Bonnie, she tried depositing the check first. Her bank told her it was not legit. “I would’ve been out $4,000, would’ve had to pay it back.”

View Article at lotterypost.com

A recorded-voice relaying the message “Thank you for calling. Good-bye” is the last word two area residents heard from a fraudulent loan company after each sent more than $1,000 in fees in attempts to secure personal loans.

He said he was leery of the offer, but all the information that was faxed to him was done on Wells Fargo letterhead and he thought it was legitimate.

View Article at sequoyahcountytimes.com

A pyramid scheme an illegal investment scam. The basis of this scam is that investors receive a commission for each new person they bring into the system. Returns are based on the number of sellers recruited. As the scheme a progress, the investment is pitched to an increasing number of potential investors until the market becomes saturated.

It is called a pyramid scheme because early investors (mainly the organizers of the scam) receive the most money, while each layer below gets less until the last people recruited get taken for all their money. If you visualize it as a pyramid, the early investors are at the top while each subsequent layer of investors spreads outward. A pyramid scheme typically has no other source of revenue other than new investors.

Because this scam relies on an ever increasing number of victims, it tends to die out quickly, making money for a few people at the top and leaving the masses at the bottom penniless.

Depreciation is an allowance or allocation to cover the reduction of an asset’s value over time. For example, items such as cars, computers and manufacturing equipment decline in value over an extended period of time as they are subjected to ongoing use. This usage is often referred to as wear and tear.

This term frequently applies to business use, but can be applied in any situation in which an asset loses value. For example, sometimes a home will drop in value due to issues such as neighborhood decline. This drop in value is depreciation. A decrease in the value of a currency is also called depreciation. For example, if the value of the dollar drops against most other currencies, it is said to be depreciated.

For tax purposes, depreciation is used as a deduction to reflect the diminishing value of assets. Depreciation decreases the overall worth of a business and is reflected as an operating expense or cost of doing business. There are many different systems used for depreciation and they can change with each tax year. For many items, their value is reduced to zero or near zero after several years, even if the item retains some resale value.

For all Checking, Money Market (Checking and Savings), the Average Daily Balance is calculated by adding the Ledger Balance in the account for each day of the statement period and dividing that figure by the total number of days in the statement period. For all of Savings accounts, Average Daily Balance is calculated by adding the Ledger Balance in the account for each day of the month and dividing that figure by the total number of days in the month.
www.harrisbank.com

This is the method by which most credit cards calculate your payment due. An average daily balance is determined by adding each day’s balance and then dividing that total by the number of days in a billing cycle. The average daily balance is then multiplied by a card’s monthly periodic rate, which is calculated by dividing the annual percentage rate by 12. A card with an annual rate of 18 percent would have a monthly periodic rate of 1.5 percent. If that card had a $500 average daily balance it would yield a monthly finance charge of $7.50. See two-cycle billing.
www.cctransact.com

The average amount in a deposit account that equals the sum of the daily balances during an accounting period, usually a month, divided by the number of days in the period. Can sometimes be used to avoid service charges or to qualify for special services. See also, minimum daily balance.
www.home24bank.com

The gradual elimination of a liability, such as a mortgage, in regular payments over a specified period of time. Such payments must be sufficient to cover both principal and interest. Writing off an intangible asset investment over the projected life of the assets.
www.unisys.com

Repayment of a loan with periodic payments of both principal and interest calculated to payoff the loan at the end of a fixed period of time.
quickenloans.quicken.com

The preparation of a payment plan for a loan which allows for equal payments to be made to the creditor at consistent intervals over the life of the loan (the amortization period). Each payment covers interest accrued over the interval period with the remainder of the payment being applied to reduce the principal owed. If every payment is made on time and in full over the amortization period, the loan will be completely repaid at the end of the amortization period.
www.websiteupgrades.com

Loan payment by equal periodic payments calculated to pay off the debt at the end of a fixed period, including accrued interest on the outstanding balance.
www.metropolitanbank.com

Payment of debt in regular, periodic installments of principal and interest, as opposed to interest only payments. Amortization is the process of reducing principal and interest in equal installment payments at specific intervals over a set term. For example, a fully amortized loan payment is a portion of which will be applied to pay the accruing interest on the loan with the remainder being applied to principal. Over time, the interest portion decreases as the loan balance decreases and the amount applied to principal increases so that the loan is paid off in the specified term .
mortgage-calculators.org

Anything of monetary value that is owned by a person. Assets include real property, personal property, and enforceable claims against others (including bank accounts, stocks, mutual funds, and so on).
www.gehomenow.com

Property and items of value owned by a person or business. The primary classifications of assets are: current assets, long-term assets, prepaid and deferred assets, and intangible assets. Current assets are cash and other liquid instruments, including accounts receivable that can be converted to cash within one year at maximum. Long-term assets are plants, equipment, real estate and other capital assets, and net of depreciation. Prepaid and deferred assets include expenditures for future costs or expenses, such as insurance, interest or rent, that are set up as assets to be amortized over an applicable period. Intangible assets are assets with a determined value, but which may not be scalable, such as goodwill, patents, copyrights, and brand name recognition.
www.lendersfair.com

Items of value owned by an individual. Assets that can be quickly converted into cash are considered “liquid assets.” These include bank accounts, stocks, bonds, mutual funds, and so on. Other assets include real estate, personal property, and debts owed to an individual by others.
www.realestateabc.com/glossary/glossaryA.htm

Anything having commercial or exchange value that is owned by a business, institution or individual. A business’ assets might include its real estate, equipment inventory, intellectual assets such as copyrights or trademarks, and accounts receivable.
www.factorfast.com

From the FTC

1. Business opportunities
2. Bulk email
3. Chain letters
4. Work-at-home schemes
5. Health and diet scams
6. Effortless income
7. Free goods
8. Investment opportunities
9. Cable descrambler kits
10. Guaranteed loans or credit, on easy terms
11. Credit repair
12. Vacation prize promotions

Scholarship scams come in numerous forms. A typical element of any scholarship scam, however, is that they require you to give them money. Legitimate scholarships and scholarship contests do not require any payment to either apply for or receive the scholarship.

Do not give money or vital information such as bank account numbers to scholarship providers. Even if it is less convenient to receive payments by check than by direct deposit, it is far safer. If a scholarship provider refuses to send a check and insists on direct deposit, be very wary.

Some scholarship scams do pay out scholarships, but your chances of winning are quite slim. These for-profit scholarship contests have an entry fee (from five to fifty dollars). Their goal is to get hundreds of entries, making thousands of dollars while doling out only a fraction of that amount. Many contests never pay out any scholarships, but some are clever enough to pay just enough winners to keep operating for years.

Another typical scam is the guaranteed scholarship search service. These scammers, often using web sites, guarantee that you will receive a scholarship if you pay to use their service. Some of these organizations simply disappear after taking your money while others create so many obstacles to getting a refund that very few people ever actually bother to do what it takes to get back their money.

Also, beware of any organization that charges you to get federal financial aid. While you may get the aid if you use them, the US government does not require any fees for a student to get financial aid. Simply visit their web site and fill out the forms. No scholarship service can make this any easier for you.

Another typical financial aid scam is the advance fee loan. The victim is informed that they qualify for several thousands of dollars in loans, but they must pay a fee in order to receive the money. This is just another variation on the fee-based scholarship. You pay the fee, but you never get any money in return.

One last scam to avoid is the “free financial aid seminar”. These seminars are generally just an attempt to sell you insurance disguised as an investment in your child’s education.

According to a BBC Report, the current top ten scams in the UK are:

Work-At-Home Scams
Scams disguised as work-from-home opportunities.

Telephone Lottery Scams
Phone calls claiming you have won some sort of lottery or prize.

Matrix Schemes
Internet scams offering free gifts in exchange for memberships / information.

Prize Draw Mailings
Letters that claim you have won a prize but must pay an “administration fee.

Property Investment Schemes
Presentations (for a fee of course) that claim they will make you a real estate mogul.

Premium Rate Telephone Number Scams
Advertisements (usually a prize) asking the consumer to dial a toll “premium rate” phone number.

Investment-Related Scams
High-risk investments peddled over the phone or by e-mail.

Nigerian Advance Fee Frauds
The classic e-mail scam from a member of the “Nigerian royal Family” or a high placed official asking for you to help them send you money by sending them money.

Credit Scams
The consumer is offered a loan if they pay a fee. They pay the fee but never get the loan.

Pyramid Schemes
This is an illegal investment strategy that requires a person to invest in some stock or plan, and then get others to invest, for which they get a commission. The idea is that the commissions work their way upward so that the people near the top make tons of money and the people at the bottom lose tons of money.