Soaring credit card interest rates have made it more difficult for consumers to pay their credit card bills and created an opportunity for new scams. Credit card interest rate reduction scammers have swindled numerous consumers out of thousands of dollars.

The scammers offered to lower a cardholder's credit card interest rate, for a fee between $495 and $1,495. The service included a money-back guarantee if the cardholder didn't get at least $2,500 in savings. Cardholders didn't get a lower interest rate or a refund.

The FTC has filed a lawsuit against three groups of these "robocallers", not because they promised to lower interest rates when they really didn't intend to, but because the scammers made automated calls to consumers, using a recording to prompt cardholders to press "1" to speak to a representative. The scammers also called people who were listed on the National Do Not Call Registry and people who'd asked not to be called. They either masked their caller ID or didn't transmit caller ID information, which is also against the law. Hopefully, this doesn't mean the scammers would gotten away with the scheme if they'd only followed the rules.

See the full press release from the FTC.

More credit card news: Read more...

'Tis the season when many people shop 'til they drop for gifts for their family and friends. There are those who max their credit cards on holiday shopping and end up repaying the debt well into the next year. Imagine having to skip next summer's vacation because you're still paying off this year's holiday debt. What's more, the people who received the gifts financed by your debt have probably forgotten all about the gifts by the time you pay off the debt. So is the debt really worth it?

The advice is not to skip out on gift giving this season. Instead, it's to make smart decisions about how much you spend, especially how much you spend using credit cards.

8 Tips To Avoid Holiday Debt

More Ways To Spend Less This Holiday Season:

• 5 Ways To Keep Your Holiday Spending In Check, Guide To Single Parents
• 7 Tips For Holiday Shopping Online, Family Internet
• How to Cut Down on Holiday Spending, Frugal Living

The founder of Twitter has a new startup - a new iPhone app and external device that will allow anyone to accept credit card payments. The technology, called Squares, is a handheld device that plugs into the headphone jack of an iPhone or iPod touch. A person could swipe their credit card through the device and using an iPhone app, also named Squares, pay you money.

I wouldn't buy it or let anyone swipe my credit card through it, despite the report that no credit card information is stored on the iPhone. It's too close to credit card skimming. Would you use it? -LA Times

This week's credit and debt news:

• After declining for a few months, credit card delinquencies increased in October. -Associated Press

Read more...

In most cases, it's better to use cash to shop with rather than credit cards. This is especially true during the holidays when you're more likely to overspend buying gifts for your loved ones.

If for no other reason, you should avoid using your credit card during the holidays to avoid extra credit card debt. But, if that's not reason enough for you, get six more reasons in 7 Reasons to Avoid Using Your Credit Card for Holiday Shopping.

How do you avoid holiday credit card debt? Share your tips with other readers.