The Credit Crunch, Vol. 1: Five Useful Links

• “Prepaid, but Not Prepared for Debit Card Fees”: The New York Times

• “Credit Cardholder’s Bill Of Rights: Sooner Would Be Better”: The Wall Street Journal
• “Investigating Old or Inaccurate Addresses on Your Credit Report and Why You Should”: MasterYourCard.com
• “How to Improve Your Credit Score When Paying Down Debt”: NoDebtPlan.net
• “Gen Y Faces Credit Hurdles”: The Sydney Morning Herald

Send Cash on Facebook With Facecard

A new Facebook app from Facecard.com, a prepaid credit card company that caters mainly to parents of teens, could put the hurt on PayPal and on Facebook’s million dollar virtual gift industry! Find out more.

Ask the Dolans: How Can I Improve My Credit If I Don’t Have a Credit Card?

Your credit score is more important than ever. But how can you make sure you have good credit when you don’t use credit cards? Personal finance experts Ken and Daria Dolan help a WalletPop reader facing this dilemma.

AmEx Dumps Gift-Card Fees

Although the credit-card regulations passed by Congress earlier this year don’t go into effect until 2010, one major issuer is eliminating a monthly fee on its gift cards right now.

6 Ways to Destroy a Credit Card Securely

When you get rid of a credit card, securing your identity from thieves isn’t as simple as snipping your card in two. Criminals are clever — but fortunately, you’ll be even wiser after reading these six tips on safe and secure means of disposal. Read on to learn how to save yourself from heartache.

New Measures to Protect Kids From Debt

Signing up for a credit card is about to become a lot harder on campus.

Underclassmen once bombarded by offers of easy credit and free T-shirts may find themselves a little less popular among credit-card marketers, as a new law designed to curb the fees and penalties that credit-card companies charge consumers goes into effect.

Feds Bust Biggest Identity Theft Ring

Federal prosecutors on Monday charged a Miami man with the largest case of credit and debit card data theft ever in the United States. Authorities said Albert Gonzales, 28, has broken his own record for identity theft by hacking into more retail networks to steal data from 130 million accounts.

We’re Losing Sleep Over Credit-Card Bills

More than two thirds of Americans are literally tossing and turning at night, worrying about high credit-card bills, mortgages, retirement, education and other costs, a new study shows. And insomnia only compounds their problems. Here, we explore some of the common causes — and what even someone with high bills can do to get better rest.

8 Credit Talks Couples Must Have

In any healthy relationship these days, it’s necessary to have a difficult talk about credit. Before you and your significant other find yourself in conflict over money, there are eight issues about credit everyone needs to talk about. Read on to learn more.

Credit Card Balances Fall for 8th Month

Credit card balances continued their downward spiral in May, as recession-battered consumers chipped away at existing debt and refrained from charging purchases with the same gusto from a year earlier. It’s the longest pullback on credit-card debt in more than 40 years. Read on for more about the news.

Google Knows Your Credit Score

The search giant has found yet another new and potentially lucrative way of segmenting customers for its advertisers. It’s targeting users by their FICO scores.

What You Buy Affects Your Credit

As credit card companies continue to tighten their lending standards on card users, some are using purchasing data — gleaned from millions of card transactions processed daily — to weed out who may or may not be good credit risks.