The reality of identity theft is that it can have an ongoing impact on your credit reports or scores, and it is a lot of work to clear your name. However, there should be no long term damage to your credit from identity theft. Short term effects can be losing more than 100 points from your score until all fraudulent credit information is removed from your credit report. This can take weeks, and sometimes even months.

The top four ways identity theft immediately impacts your credit are:

1. Higher Balances on Existing Accounts - In 2010, the fastest growing identity theft was the use or misuse of an existing credit account. If one does not monitor their account closely, a sudden increase in your balance will go unnoticed. Balances that are close to your credit limit have a significant impact on your scores. However, once the new charges are successfully disputed, your credit score should not be affected.

2. New Accounts – When your personal information is used to open a new account, that account will typically appear on your credit report. If one is open fraudulently, usually the account isn’t paid at all which will make matters worse.

3. Late Payments - Usually when a thief opens a fraudulent account, the consumer doesn’t know until the damage is already done. Due to this, the consumer’s credit score will often crash because no payments were made to the account, or sometimes, only a few payments are made and then they completely stop.

4. Inquiries - An inquiry is recorded on the consumer’s credit report when a scammer applies for credit using their personal information. Multiple inquiries usually don’t have a significant impact on someone’s credit scores, they will add up.

A good piece of advice would be to monitor your credit reports and investigate any suspicious activity immediately.

Do you know what fees your bank charges you? Many banks are charging their customer’s fees for behaviors that customers are unaware of.

According to the vice president and senior counsel at the American Bankers Association, Nessa Feddis, banks are offering more services to their customers. These services cost the bank money, which allows them to impose more fees onto the customer.

Here are 10 bank fees and how they can be avoided:

1. Early account closure fee - Many banks require you to have an account open for a certain time period before closing it, or you will be charged a fee. Depending on the bank, the fee is charged when the account is closed within 90 to 190 days, and typically is $25. To avoid an early closure fee, keep your account open past the minimum period.
2. Monthly or annual maintenance fee - Banks usually charge a monthly or annual maintenance fee depending on the type of account. There are usually ways to get the fee waived, such as having a minimum balance. Talk to your bank to find out how you can avoid a maintenance fee.
3. Minimum balance fee – Some banks have a monthly fee for customers who have a low account balance, such as Citibank who charge $15 a month if the customer doesn’t have a balance of $6,000. Avoid the minimum monthly fee by finding out what amount you have to maintain.
4. Returned deposit fee – Your bank could charge you a fee if you deposit a check that bounces. A majority of banks will charge a returned deposit fee, but many small banks and credit unions do not. If you think you will encounter a lot of bounced checks, you should look into changing to a bank that doesn’t have a fee.
5. Foreign transaction fee – The bank may charge you a conversion fee if you buy something outside the U.S. Sometimes, the bank still applies a foreign transaction fee even if it is made in U.S. dollars. To avoid this fee, you can use any number of cards that don’t charge for foreign transactions.
6. Lost debit card fee – It’ll cost you if you accidentally misplace your debit card and need a replacement. The cost for providing a new debit card is for manufacturing, mailing, and fraud protection. To lessen the fee, don’t request expedited delivery.
7. Paper statement fee – Banks are starting to charge a paper statement fee to ease customers into using online banking. This is due to the price of postage going up and the cost to produce paper statements. Find a bank that doesn’t charge the fee or look into online banking as an option to avoid the fee.
8. Redeeming rewards points fee – A few banks are now charging customers a fee to use their own reward points. The fee isn’t that common though, so avoid it by shopping around for reward cards.
9. Returned mail fee – Some banks charge a returned mail fee for customers who don’t update their address when they move. A mail forwarding request with your post office is not enough, so avoid this fee by updating your address with your bank as soon as possible.
10. Human teller fee – There are some banks that will charge you a monthly maintenance fee for using their teller to handle transactions. Since this is rare, you can easily avoid the fee by seeking out a bank account that doesn’t have this charge.

Being more aware of bank fees will allow you to avoid the ones that affect your finances.

Last week Inc. Magazine revealed its highly anticipated 500 | 5000 List, ranking first-time applicant Carousel Checks #595 out of 5,000 private companies. The list represents a comprehensive look at the most important segment of the economy — America’s independent entrepreneurs.

The 2012 Inc. 500 | 5000 is ranked according to percentage revenue growth over a four year period (2008-2011). To be honored this year is a particularly notable achievement for any company. Carousel Checks and all other companies recognized prospered during three of the toughest years this economy has seen in living memory.

Listed at #595 on the 500 | 5000 List, Carousel Checks had 612% 3-year revenue growth. This ranked Carousel Checks at #40 in their industry, business products and services. Carousel Checks was also listed #24 out of 240 private companies in the state of Illinois.

Complete results of the Inc. 5000, including company profiles and an interactive database that can be sorted by industry, region, and other criteria, can be found at www.inc.com/5000.

In a recent blog post, Carousel Checks has announced that it has passed the SSAE 16 Type II audit certification. Sounds great for our company, but what exactly does that mean for our customers?

As a handler of confidential information provided by our customers, Carousel Checks must protect this data. By voluntarily submitting to a SSAE 16 audit and obtaining the certification, Carousel Checks shows its commitment to our client information and its preparation to face the growing threats to digital information.

Companies who complete an annual SSAE 16 audit also demonstrate a substantially higher level of assurance and operational visibility than companies who do not. The SSAE Type II examination showcases Carousel Checks’ continued commitment to create and maintain the firmest controls needed to ensure the highest quality and security of services provided to our customers.

A SSAE 16 certification is often demanded by customers, usually banks, and there is no substitute. Carousel Checks’ SSAE 16 certification signals to our current and prospective customers that we are a company with proper internal controls in place, and they can have complete confidence in our services.

Click here to view our previous post announcing the SSAE 16 Certification.

Carousel Checks is proud to announce that we have recently completed the Statement of Standards on Attestation Engagements No. 16 Type II Audit. The SSAE 16 audit is an attestation standard that establishes the requirements and guidelines for reporting on controls relevant to user entities’ internal control over financial reporting.

SSAE 16 was formally known as SAS 70; however, it was replaced with SSAE 16 as the authoritative guidance for reporting on service organizations. It was updated to reflect and comply with the new international service organization reporting standard, ISAE 3402.

Carousel Checks SSAE 16 Type II Report was completed by the CPA firm, The Moore Group, which specializes in SAS 70, SSAE 16 (SOC 1), and SOC 2 audits for small businesses throughout the United States.

The audit consists of an in-depth assessment of the internal controls, policies, and procedures that are related to our services and facility. It was completed by an onsite auditor who inspected the facility, reviewed policies and procedures, and tested all internal systems and controls.

After fulfilling all SSAE 16 Type II requirements, Carousel Checks was confirmed as being SSAE 16 Type II compliant with a clean report free of any exceptions as of May 2012.

Independence Day is a federal holiday commonly recognized as the Fourth of July. It is the day back in 1776 when the Declaration of Independence was signed, giving us freedom from the Kingdom of Great Britain.

Nowadays, the Fourth of July is familiarized with having the day off work and having a celebration consisting of barbeques, carnivals, and of course … fireworks! Many public events are available to celebrate the history of Independence Day, too.

Proudly proclaim your patriotism with Carousel Checks’ various Fourth of July themed personal checks, matching address labels, and even checkbook covers.  Every time you open your checkbook or use an address label, you’ll be showing your support for every American to have freedom and independence.

A recent study released by The Pew Charitable Trusts shows that checking accounts are still too confusing and overdraft fees are still too high. According to the report, the improvements are minimal from the initial report in 2011. The analysis of disclosures and fees for checking accounts was based on the 12 largest banks and 12 largest credit unions.

They found that account disclosures are still too long and confusing for consumers to go through, which makes them unaware of fees. The average pages in a disclosure were 69 pages for banks, and 31 pages for credit unions.

The median overdraft fee has remained the same ($35.00) from 2011. However, overdraft protection fees have increased.  Limited options are available for consumers to contest an overdraft fee at the bank, too. According to the report, two-thirds require customers to dispute with binding arbitration.

The Pew Charitable Trusts would like to use the findings to push regulators to force banks to make changes. The non-profit organization has a model form that’s been adopted by several banks, including Chase Bank.

Changes will allow more protection for checking accounts; make it easier for consumers to compare by having easily understood information, and to make overdraft fees reasonable to the costs associated.

A recent survey from Country Financial showed that many Americans are struggling with their financial situations, especially when it comes to saving.

More than 70 percent of Americans noted their expenses have increased over the past year, according to the survey. Nearly an identical amount noted that their incomes have not improved, either. A total of 30 percent said that their savings has been hit the worst due to the economy, while one-quarter listed savings as the second biggest problem area. Only 24 percent of those surveyed said they could not work for five months and still pay bills.

“Years of rising expenses and stagnant income understandably make it difficult to save and plan for the future,” said Keith Brannan, vice president of financial security planning for Country Financial. “The good news is Americans are planning to address their long-term retirement goals and rebuild their savings.”

With the easy budgeting abilities available with checking accounts, more Americans could be purchasing checks online this year in order to try and save money.

One aspect that may lend credence to consumers’ financial woes is the fact that credit defaults increased during 2011. This may have not only hurt consumer’s ability to save, but also may have made them think twice about their credit usage this year.

I’d like to tell you about the worst day of my life. Now, I’m not one to harp on my misfortunes, but every once in a while, a select few situations resonate in my mind and I just can’t seem to shake them without an exhausting therapy session. So if you don’t mind, I’m going to use you (the reader) as my doctor.

I woke up and it was a beautiful Thursday morning in late December. The sun was shinning through my shades, and my cat was lounging on her back basking in the light. After staring at her blissful face and pondering how I could ever be that happy, I walked down my hallway and into my bathroom. Normally my experiences in the restroom are never too damaging, but this morning things got a little shaky in there.

I wasn’t aware of what was happening before it was too late, but I can only assume that I neglected to notice that my son or husband left the toilet seat up after they were finished using it. I took my position but fell straight through the rim and landed at the bottom of the bowl. As you can see, my morning started off great. I guess we’ve all been there before – you know, at the bottom of the toilet bowl. But this time, it was a sign of more to come.

After drying myself off, I got ready for work. I was shutting my front door when I noticed that there was a moving truck across the street. I realized it was my ex.

He stood there confidently as movers unpacked his expensive leather couch and boxes upon boxes of fine china. It’s safe to say that my day got worse after realizing that not only was my ex moving in across the street, but he had done well for himself and seemed to be a successful individual. I was thinking to myself that it was hard to see someone you are no longer with be happier than ever before when I heard the crash – my cat knocked down my Christmas tree – again.

I spent the rest of the day reevaluating my life. Luckily a friend introduced me to Carousel Checks. Their latest series of discounted checks entitled Life Is Crap really brightened my mood. It seems that I’m not the only one who regularly has unfortunate days. I immediately purchased the series with a cat knocking down a Christmas tree, and now I chuckle to myself about that horrible December day.

The Marist Institute for Public Opinion recently released a report on behalf of Home Instead Senior Care, which showed that many Americans are concerned about their financial standing.

In the past year, close to 65 percent of Americans have dealt with some aspect of financial difficulty , according to the Generation to Generation study. In addition, close to 60 percent have slowed spending output, while one-quarter have considered delaying retirement plans.

“Money may not directly buy happiness, but our study clearly shows that it is an important factor in satisfaction with quality of life,” said Paul Hogan, chairman and founder of Home Instead Senior Care. “The important take-away is not only the extent to which income shapes perspective on life but how difficult the recent economic downturn has been for many.”

Americans dealing with financial struggles may benefit from opening a savings account as well as a checking account. In addition, ordering personal checks may help a person keep track of their finances more easily.

Financial trouble has affected consumers of all ages. A recent report from The Allstate Foundation discovered that only 54 percent of teenagers between 14 and 18 think they will be able to outperform their parents financially.