The online bank account has progressed along way. There was a time when the interfaces were cumbersome and the benefits were minimal; fortunately this has all changed. The interface for online banking is about as user friendly as anyone could expect or want.

Every time, you think about paying with credit or taking out a loan, take the time to calculate what you will ultimately pay for that convenience in the long run. credit cards typically have interest rates of around 20% while some quick, secured loans can have interest rates that will ultimately cost you two to three times the amount you are getting in the first place. It is far better to go without in the short-term than to cripple yourself financially in the long-term.

"Phishing" is a term used to describe emails, websites, and instant messages made to look like something they are not. For instance, an email claiming to be from your bank might actually be a phishing email from a group of thieves attempting to get your personal banking information from you. The email looks legitimate and the website it links you to looks just like your bank's website, so you might not think any differently and enter your account login information or PIN numbers without a second thought.



Switch to a no-overdraft-fee bank: Some banks are now instituting no-overdraft-fee policies. These banks will never charge you an overdraft fee - even if you overdraw your account. Consider switching to one of these banks in order to avoid these overdraft problems altogether.

Or better still, why wait for the month to be over for the payment to be made? Can't you drop in the check when you make the purchase itself? These days your life is even more flexible with online banking, mobile banking etc. Why don't you make use of the available resources and do things on or before time before it is too late?

One of the best cards for your everyday use and made even better if you drive a lot, is called Driver's Edge from Citibank. It offers 3 percent cash back on gas, supermarket and drugstore purchases and 1 percent for everything else. A unique addition to this card ties into the cards name: Driver's Edge. This card actually gives you a penny for every mile you drive. Anytime you have service work done, like an oil change, send a copy of the receipt with the odometer reading to Citibank and they credit your account for the miles. A penny may not seem like a lot, but when you drive 25,000 miles a year, that equals an extra 250 bucks in addition to the 3 percent you're getting back on all that gas. In a few years that'll pay for your new tires and a brake job.

If you take the perspective of a bank, you cannot blame them. After all, banks have the right to make money according to the rules of a capitalistic system. And, banks have an incentive to make money, given all of the competition they face. So, why shouldn't they try?

Auto draft scams are just another way for some unscrupulous banks to earn more money off of you and your account. Take action in one or more of these 3 ways in order avoid these scams.