Consumer Tips

Written Requests To Debt Collectors: What you need to know

By: Andrew Marchant 

Earlier Blogs on this site have discussed some of the basics regarding your rights against debt collectors.  The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, a law that applies to all 50 states, allows you to make certain requests/demands to the debt collector.  The law also requires the debt collector comply with certain of those requests.  Some requests you can make include: that a debt collector reduce or stop contact with you; that the debt collector limit methods, times and locations of contact with you; and that the debt collector verify the debt.  You also have the right to dispute the debt.  All of these requests have one major thing in common – they must be in writing.

In this blog we take a look into basic mechanics of making written requests to the debt collector.

All letters can be fairly straight forward, and some information should be in almost every request letter you send to the debt collector:   

  • Identify your name and your address.  This can just be in the top left corner of the letter – similar to what you would find in most letters you’ve sent to businesses (or in letters you’ve received from businesses). Be sure you date the letter.  This helps you prove when you sent the letter out, and roughly when the debt collector should have received the letter.
  • Include information about your debt.  Things like the account number (if available) and any information the debt collector gave you about the debt should be included.  This will help the debt collector correctly identify the debt collection matter.  
  • If you can, sign your name at the bottom of the letter, which helps to prove you actually intended to make the request and that it was you who actually made the request.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has a great website with examples of “action letters” that you can download and personalize.  These “action letters” contain form language for things like disputing the amount of the debt, requesting information on the original creditor, and restrictions on the ways the debt collector can contact you.

If you do not choose to use the samples form the CFPB website, always be sure you are direct in what you are requesting of the debt collector.  Also be clear with the request.  For example, if you are requesting that you only be contacted via mail, be sure you give an accurate address.  Or if you are telling the debt collector what times they can call you, be sure you note whether the hours are A.M. or P.M.  Specifically, with letters requesting information about the debt, at a minimum be sure to ask (1) Why the debt collector thinks you owe the debt, and to whom it is owed;  (2)  How much was the original debt, how much is owed now, and why there is any difference in the two amounts;  (3)  Details about the debt collector’s authority to collect the debt.

For all letters you send, make a copy of the letter for your records if possible.  That way, if the debt collector violates your request, you can easily reference the letter if you need to.  Also, that letter could be used as evidence against the debt collector in the event you end up in court with the debt collector over its violation of your request (and by extension its violation of the law).

If you are sure to be direct, clear, and accurate in your letter the debt collector is bound by law to honor certain requests.  If the debt collector does not, he can be liable to you and to the government.

The Pros and Cons of Prepaid Cards

By: Charles Clark 

Increasingly, consumers are leaving traditional banking avenues and moving towards alternative sources of money management such as prepaid cards. According to Nilson, “the top 50 largest US Banks and credit union issuers of general purpose prepaid card accounted for $118.09 billion in spending at merchants in 2013.” Additionally, the Mercator Advisory group found that from 2008 to 2012 the amount of money loaded on to general-purpose, reloadable debit cards tripled, rising to $76.7 billion. Mercator estimates that number will rise to $168.4 billion this year.

While prepaid cards seem to be here to stay, there are surprisingly few legal protections available to consumers who use prepaid cards. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) has introduced a proposal that would extend greater protection to consumers who use prepaid cards; however, until new rules are passed (a long and uncertain process) consumers are left to fend for themselves. While there are many dangers associated with using prepaid cards, there can be a number of benefits as well. Below I summarize a few of those benefits and dangers.

Benefits

  • Alternatives to Banks: Prepaid cards present an alternative for consumers who do not have a traditional bank account. Consumers may not use a traditional bank account due to preference, poor credit, or a number of other reasons. Using prepaid cards, consumers without a bank account can do things that require a credit card. Examples include renting a car or booking a hotel room. Additionally, many prepaid cards include account numbers that allow for direct deposit of paychecks.
  • Helps to Manage Money: For consumers without a traditional bank account, paying bills can be a stressful and expensive process that includes paying for and sending out money orders. Prepaid cards can create cost savings by allowing consumers to pay for utility or other bills using their reloadable, prepaid cards.
  • Helps to Develop Budgeting Skills: Finally, prepaid cards allow consumers to develop smart budgeting skills. Loading a specific amount of money onto a prepaid card allows consumers to stick to their budgets and learn where they might be overspending. Additionally, consumers with children can use prepaid cards to start developing their kids’ budgeting habits early. Developing wise budgeting habits is key to financial stability.

Dangers

  • Excessive Fees: Some prepaid card issuers take advantage of consumers by charging fees for seemingly everything. There are examples of prepaid cards that will charge a fee for loading money, withdrawing money, or even to check your card balance. To make sure your prepaid card does not nickel-and-dime you, it is important to do your research before deciding on which prepaid card to use.
  • Limited Consumer Protections: As mentioned before, there are very limited legal protections for users of prepaid cards. The CFPB has proposed potential rules, but as of now consumers using prepaid cards do not have the traditional protections afforded to consumers using traditional banks.
  • Potential Overdraft Fees: Some prepaid cards have a credit feature that allows consumers to spend more than is loaded onto the card. This can result in high overdraft fees, such as those that once plagued the debit card world. Before settling on a prepaid card, consumers must determine whether the card has credit features and charges high overdraft fees.
  • No Loss or Theft Protection: Some prepaid cards will not pay back consumers who have funds stolen or loss due to an error. This can result in innocent consumers losing hard-earned cash by no fault of their own.  Again, one must read the terms applicable to the card — as all cards are not the same.
  • Potential Lack of Insurance: Almost all checking accounts at banks are federally insured up to $250,000. This means if a consumer’s bank ever fails or loses the consumer’s money, the consumer will be protected. Prepaid cards do not come with the same type of protections.

While prepaid cards can offer many benefits to consumers, there are significant dangers that consumers must be aware of. As always, before using a prepaid card do your research and determine which card gives you the best protections. You can find a great resource for finding consumer friendly prepaid cards here.

Payroll Cards: Paying Fees to Earn Money

By: Charles Clark 

Over the past several years, there has been a growing trend towards paying American workers with payroll cards. Payroll cards are pre-paid cards issued by employers to employees that can be used at an A.T.M. to withdraw wages. In 2012, approximately 4.5 million American workers received their wages on payroll cards, and the numbers continue to grow. Using payroll cards does have certain benefits because it gives workers without traditional bank accounts a way to withdraw their wages; however, the fee structure associated with many pre-paid cards hurt American workers in a big way.

Generally, the use of payroll cards involves a number of fees that quickly add up to take a significant chunk of workers’ wages. For many hourly workers, these fees eat up valuable wages that leave them making less than the minimum wage. When every dollar counts, these fees can leave workers light in the wallet when paying for necessities such as groceries, transportation, or rent. Payroll card fees typically include a fee for withdrawing cash, a fee for receiving a paper statement, and a fee for losing a card. In one example, a McDonalds employee in Wisconsin was spending $40 to $50 a month on fees associated with his payroll card. In another example, a Taco Bell employee in St. Louis would withdraw all of her wages at the start of the month and keep them in a shoebox in her closet in order to avoid high fees associated with withdrawing wages.

When it comes to the use of payroll cards, American workers do have certain protections. Employees who have their wages transferred onto payroll cards are entitle to protection under the Electronic Fund Transfer Act. The Electronic Fund Transfer Act offers the following protections:

  • Fee Disclosure: payroll card users are entitled to receive upfront disclosures of any fees that will be associated with use of the payroll card. This allows workers to know exactly how much they will have to pay in fees before using their payroll cards.
  • Access to Account History: Payroll card issuers must provide either a periodic statement, or make available to the consumer the following: (1) the consumer’s account balance by telephone; (2) an electronic account, such as through a website, of the consumer’s transaction history covering at least the past 60 days; and (3) upon the consumer’s oral or written request, a written account of the consumer’s transaction history covering at least the past 60 days.
  • Limited Liability for Unauthorized Transfers: If there is an unauthorized withdrawal of funds from a payroll account, the consumer must notify the financial institution within two days in order to receive limited liability protection. The consumer will not be liable for the lesser of $50 or the amount of the unauthorized transfer.
  • Error Resolution Rights: Financial institutions must respond to complaints of account errors within 120 days.
  • Prohibition Against Mandating Payroll Cards: The strongest protection provided to workers is that employers cannot force their employees to receive wages on a payroll card. Employers must give employees the choice of having wages deposited at a particular financial institution or receiving wages by other means, such as by cash or check
  • Federal Enforcement: If an employer violates portions of the Electronic Fund Transfer Act the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has authority to take action against that employer.

While the use of payroll cards will likely continue to rise, it is important that American workers know their rights. If workers find that a significant amount of their paycheck is going to payroll card fees they should consider telling their employer to pay their wages using other means. No worker should be forced to pay high fees in order to retrieve their hard-earned money.

Strategies for Getting the Cheapest Rides from Uber and Lyft

By: Otto Hanson 

The rising popularity of ride-sharing programs such as Uber and Lyft has reduced the cost of travel for many people without access to personal vehicles. Not only has the price of getting a taxi-like service come down, availability has also gone up. Getting an Uber or Lyft in most metropolitan areas is now significantly quicker, easier and more reliable than traditional taxi services. However, with these improvements come some potential drawbacks. Namely, Uber and Lyft have struggled to clearly educate consumers about how to keep costs down when using their services. This blog post offers some simple ways to help ensure you’re getting the least expensive ride available.

Picking the Right Service

For most common travelers, the differences between Uber and Lyft are negligible. Both companies offer a smartphone app that connects people in need of rides to people willing to give rides. Both apps certify their drivers to some minimum standards, and both process payments between passengers and drivers.

Uber has more pricing options than Lyft, but both offer substantially similar low-end pricing options. For example, the author of this blog has taken the same trip in Denver, CO more than a dozen times comparing Uber’s low-end option (uberX) to that of Lyft. While each trip varies by a few dollars depending on traffic, the average price of the trip is almost identical between the two services, with uberX being slightly cheaper overall.

If you’re looking for the least expensive way to get to your destination, you should typically choose uberX (for 4 or fewer passengers) or uberXL (for 5 or 6 passengers) in Uber.  Lyft generally gives you the cheapest option by default (the “Lyft” option). If you’ve got 5 or 6 passengers though, you may want to select Lyft Plus, which is more expensive than a normal Lyft, but less expensive than getting two Lyfts.

A note on tipping: Uber discourages tipping drivers, and claims that a 20% tip is baked into every fare.  Lyft, on the other hand, encourages passengers to tip by enabling them to tip through the Lyft app.  Actual Lyft fares, are actually cheaper than Uber fares for this reason.  However, the author finds that after tipping 20% on Lyft, the two service’s base fares are substantially similar.

While both services may be similarly priced under normal circumstances, the pricing between the two can vary dramatically during busy times, when companies might apply surge pricing.

Surge Pricing

Both Uber and Lyft increase prices when there are more passengers looking for rides than there are drivers willing to give rides. While this practice may seem predatory at first glance, it does increase the incentives for more drivers to get out on the road, making rides more readily available.

Times when you’re likely to see surge pricing take effect are after the ball drops on New Years or after the Super Bowl ends. For reasons outside the scope of this blog, many people are looking for rides at those times, while few people are interested in driving. While it should come as no surprise that surge pricing takes effect at these times, there are other, less predictable times when it comes into effect as well. Luckily, both companies try to give consumers fair notice before charging surge rates.

When Lyft is implementing surge pricing you’ll get a notification like the one below indicating that “+ X% will be added to your total for the driver.” In the example below, 200% will be added to what the fare would be absent surge pricing. If your fare would be $10 under normal circumstances, it will now be $30.

In Uber, surge pricing is a little bit clearer. First, you’ll get a warning indicating a multiple of the original fare. Once you accept that multiple, Uber makes you confirm again by typing the multiple into the blanks on the next screen.  In this example, if your normal fare would have been $10, it will now be $22.

The screen shots of the surge pricing indicators of Lyft and Uber were both taken at the same time on a Friday night in Denver, Colorado.  The difference between Lyft’s surge pricing indicator and that of Uber made Uber the clear winner on that night.

Summary

If you’re looking for the most affordable ride, start by selecting the least expensive options within Uber and Lyft. In Uber, that option is uberX, and in Lyft it is the default “Lyft” option. If surge pricing is in effect on one service, don’t accept a ride before checking the other service. Sometimes one service will charge double or triple rates while the other service is not increasing prices at all.

Staying Safe Using Insecure Marketplaces

By: Glenn Sellers 

The rise of online shopping has been a huge boon to consumers. Prices, availability, and selection have never been more favorable. Most shopping interfaces are relatively safe for consumers and require little thought in terms of whether to trust a retailer. Places like Amazon, eBay, and other major online marketplaces offer assurances that goods will conform to quality standards and act as financial mediators for when there are disputes. For example, if one buys a product on Amazon and it doesn’t meet standards or never gets shipped, the consumer has avenues available within Amazon to seek a remedy.

Some marketplaces don’t afford these luxuries though, namely ones where individuals buy, sell, and trade goods and services without a robust intermediary. Places like Craigslist and other “classifieds”-style interfaces can be a true haven for bargain hunting, but without the safeguards offered by more mainstream marketplaces, consumers are at serious risk. For those who need markets like this or simply prefer them, here’s some advice that can allow one to avoid scams:

  1. Shop locally. It may be tempting to cash in on a great deal and have it shipped across the country, but often these deals are too good to be true. Try to always see what you’re buying in person. Scams right now commonly involve long-distance transactions.

A common place where consumers deviate from this rule is renting. When people move far away, they often want to ensure they have a place to stay before getting there. There are plenty of consumers who have made a deposit on a room or apartment across the country, moved there, and had no problems. There are also scores of consumers who have had worse luck, finding the “lease” they signed was for a place that either the seller didn’t own, or didn’t exist at all. To avoid this, either travel to see the place before making a payment or have a friend in the area do it for you. If this isn’t possible, consider staying in an inexpensive motel or hotel while looking for a place to rent. This may be less than ideal, but it’s certainly far less expensive than losing hundreds or even thousands on a fake deposit.

  1. Pay with card or check. While the former may not have been an option years ago, the rise of mobile applications like Venmo have made it possible to pay anyone with a smart phone and a bank account via credit or debit. Regardless of whether you use card or check, if something goes wrong at least there will be an institution to help you out and possibly issue a refund. Absent theft or fraud, many institutions won’t be able to issue a refund, but it’s best to at least have some sort of record of the transaction. Paying with check is especially helpful in this manner, as you can call your bank and stop payment on the check if you notice the problem quickly enough.

For smaller transactions, it’s usually safe to pay with cash, and many legitimate sellers may even find it unusual or refuse anyone who wishes otherwise. A general rule of thumb is to think twice about any transaction in cash if you’re not okay with that sum of cash going up in thin air if something goes wrong.

  1. Don’t give out any more personal information than required. If a far away renter or car seller asks for your social security number, bank account number, or other sensitive information, refuse. This may seem intuitive, but many people mindlessly fill out forms every year, giving out this information without second thought. Stop and think whether you know you’re engaging in a secure transaction whenever filling out a long form.
  1. Make sure to get proper documentation before completing large transactions. For example, stolen cars have turned up for sale on the internet mere days after being stolen. If you’re buying a car or motorcycle, make sure the seller has the bill of sale and it’s in their name; you can ask for their driver’s license to ensure this. Be wary of any seller that refuses to authenticate their goods or services.

A Colorado Tenant’s Guide to Security Deposits

By: Elizabeth Sullivan
What is a security deposit?

A security deposit is any amount of money that your landlord collects from you (the tenant) and holds on to until you move out, to ensure that you pay rent, utility bills, and any damage charges. Your landlord keeps the deposit while you are renting, but it is technically still your money. A security deposit is often one-month’s rent. Colorado Legal Services.

When should you get your security deposit back?

Your landlord must return your security deposit (or a written statement itemizing deductions from your deposit) within one month of the end of your lease, unless your lease allows more time (not exceeding 60 days). Colo. Rev. Stat. § 38-12-103(1).

How much of your security deposit should be returned?

Your landlord may be able to keep some or all of your deposit for the following reasons:

  • to make up for missed rent payments
  • to cover unpaid utility charges
  • to repair damage to the apartment
  • to clean the apartment, if you agreed to it in your lease

Your landlord cannot keep any portion of your deposit for “normal wear and tear.” This can include faded paint, worn hinges on doors or locks, and old and worn carpet. See Coloradorenters.org.

If your landlord does have a good reason to keep some or all of your deposit, then she must give you a written statement itemizing the specific deductions from your deposit. Also, your landlord must return to you the remaining portion of your deposit with that written statement. Colo. Rev. Stat. § 38-12-103(1).

What steps can you take early on to make sure that you get your security deposit back?

As discussed above, when you move out, your landlord will charge you for any damage to the apartment. However, your landlord cannot charge you for “normal wear and tear.” You should document the state of your apartment when you move in, as well as when you move out, in case you and your landlord disagree about the presence of any damage.

General rule: If you leave the apartment in the same condition as when you moved in, you should get your security deposit back (as long as you paid your rent, paid your utilities, etc.). See Colorado Renters.org.

To document the condition of your apartment, follow these steps:

  • Before you move in: Walk through the apartment with your landlord and point out any damage that you see. Make a list of any issues and have your landlord sign it. Take pictures of each room and the specific damage.
  • When you move out: Again, take pictures of the apartment. Keep these pictures in case your landlord does not return some or all of your deposit.

What if your landlord doesn’t return your security deposit?

If your landlord doesn’t return your deposit or give you a written statement of the itemized deductions within one month of the end of your lease (or within 60 days if the lease permits) then your landlord loses her right to keep any portion of your deposit. You should get the full amount of your deposit back. Colo. Rev. Stat. § 38-12-103(2).

If your landlord willfully and wrongfully kept your deposit, you may be able to sue your landlord for three times the amount of the deposit. Colo. Rev. Stat. § 38-12-103(3)(a).

To try to get your deposit back, follow these steps:

  • Send a letter to your landlord using certified mail demanding the deposit.
    • Here is a sample seven-day demand letter for when your landlord does not send you your deposit or a written statement listing itemized deductions.
    • Here is a sample letter disputing the charges for when you don’t agree with your landlord’s itemized deductions.
  • If you don’t hear from your landlord within seven days, consider pursuing the matter in Small Claims Court. See Colorado Legal Services for more information on filing a claim in court.

Can the Better Business Bureau Help Me?

By: Braden Johnson 

Have you ever felt cheated by a company? It can happen to anyone. And although many companies focus on resolving customer problems, other companies ignore customer complaints. When this happens customers often feel helpless, thinking: “I’m just one person; how can I get the attention of this big corporation?”

 

Background:

Enter the Better Business Bureau (“BBB”). This non-profit organization, founded in 1912, tries to keep markets fair by increasing trust between buyers and sellers. To accomplish this, the BBB rates businesses on a scale of A+ to F. The BBB gives high ratings to companies which build trust, advertise honestly, tell the truth, promote transparency, honor promises, respond to customer complaints, protect privacy, and embody integrity. Though companies have no obligation to work with the BBB, many seek a rating from the the BBB in the hope of attracting new customers.

The BBB considers 16 factors when deciding how to grade each company, including the number of complaints lodged against a business. By tracking and resolving customer complaints, the BBB gives customers the power they need to challenge corporate practices. Though the company may not care about losing a few customers from its bad service, it could lose many customers if its BBB rating falls.

 

How the BBB can help:

The BBB provides three useful tools for consumers. First, consumers can use BBB ratings when deciding which companies to do business with. For example, a consumer who is searching for a contractor might type several names into the BBB’s website and choose the one with the highest rating. Consumers can generally assume that businesses with a high BBB rating will be honest, respond to complaints, and act with integrity. Further, a good rating from the BBB suggests that the company has not had many complaints lodged against it.

Second, the BBB gives consumers another avenue to resolve complaints. Consumers are almost powerless when a company refuses to respond to their complaint, but the BBB turns up the pressure on companies to respond to individual customers. The BBB can also provide mediation and arbitration services which can help resolve customer complaints, even when the company has been hard to deal with. The BBB reports that it helps parties settle almost 80% of the customer complaints it receives.

Finally, the BBB can keep companies accountable. A company who is accredited by the BBB might try harder to resolve your concern, knowing that your dissatisfaction could affect its rating. Say, for example, that a company with an A+ rating had a dispute with a customer. To protect this rating, the company might go the extra mile to resolve the concern. Otherwise, the company risks losing its strong BBB rating, and losing customers who rely on the rating before choosing a company.

These tools, when used properly, can help a consumer make an informed choice, and can give a consumer the power to give an informed complaint if he is wronged by the company.

 

Potential Problems:

Because the BBB is a private company, it needs to make money to stay viable. It doesn’t charge the consumers who use its service; instead, the BBB receives money from many of the businesses it rates. Several recent news stories report that that companies have increased their rating dramatically by paying a few hundred dollars to the BBB. In fact, the recently abandoned BBB rankings procedure actually considered whether a company paid dues to the BBB. Thus, a company might receive a lower rating just because it chose not to contribute money to the BBB. Further, those companies which were willing to pay the BBB may have inflated their prices to make up for the expense – thus harming consumers who selected BBB approved companies.

The BBB claims that it no longer gives better rankings to those companies which pay dues. But, because the BBB does not fully disclose how it calculates its ratings, consumers can’t be sure why a company is given its specific rating. And businesses who don’t pay dues to the BBB are not allowed to see or respond to customer complaints lodged with the BBB. Considering this lack of transparency, consumers should not believe that the BBB’s rating system is flawless.

 

Conclusion:

The BBB is the most widely recognized name in business ratings. Still, a consumer shouldn’t use the BBB’s ratings as the final answer in corporate reviews. Instead, consumers should take the benefits of the BBB – searching a business’s history, considering a business’s rating, and (potentially) filing a grievance – and use them in harmony with other tools. Those who do this will become “informed consumers” who can stop problems before they start.

Several other ratings agencies exist, many of which are not funded by direct contributions from businesses. One popular website, Yelp, aggregates reviews submitted by consumers, thus reducing conflicts of interest and increasing transparency. But Yelp makes income from selling ads on its page, so a company can still get some preferential treatment if it pays for advertising on the site. Further, there it is unclear that all reviews are legitimate.  Google offers a similar tool to read business reviews, as does Kudzu, Angie’s List, and many more. Some of these systems are subscription based, which means that the user pays to access the content. Though this can be a small disadvantage for consumers, it can preserve the integrity of the ratings systems by preventing businesses from buying a favorable score. Still, each resource has its own pros and cons. Wise consumers will use these resources in concert when seeking business information.

Deceptive Trade Practices

Courts are confirming the fact that consumers rely on misrepresentations!  On Aug. 12, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit held that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is entitled to a presumption of consumer reliance on a defendant’s omissions and misrepresentations.  The court thus vacated a judgment ignoring the presumption and rejecting the FTC’s damages calculations (FTC v. BlueHippo Funding, LLC, 2014 BL 223142, 2d Cir., No. 11-374-cv, 8/12/14).  This ruling means that the Second Circuit is joining the Eighth, Ninth, Tenth and Eleventh Circuits in adopting the presumption of consumer reliance in FTC contempt actions.  As U.S. Law Week reported:

“The FTC is entitled to such a presumption, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit held, if it can show that: “(1) the defendant made material misrepresentations or omissions that ‘were of a kind usually relied upon by reasonable prudent persons’; (2) the misrepresentations or omissions were widely disseminated; and (3) consumers actually purchased the defendants’ products.”  Upon making such a showing, Judge Hall said, the district court must then calculate damages beginning with the defendants’ gross receipts as a baseline, which the defendants may then rebut with evidence “showing that certain amounts should offset the sanctions assessed against them.”

You can read the full text athttp://www.bloomberglaw.com/public/document/FEDERAL_TRADE_COMMISSION_PlaintiffAppellant_v_BLUEHIPPO_FUNDING_L.

External Appeal of Adverse Health Plan Decisions

By: CarmenFeldman 

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) added many protections for the consumer of health care. One of them is the right to appeal decisions made by your health plan (as long as the health plan was created after March 23, 2010). Prior to the enactment of the ACA, consumers could only appeal an adverse decision through the internal process of their health plan. Oftentimes, these appeals were strenuous and unsuccessful.

Now, thanks to the ACA, the consumer can ask an independent and neutral decision maker to review the health plan’s adverse decision. In Colorado, the Division of Insurance is a great resource for consumers who have questions regarding an adverse decision they have received from their health plan. On their consumer assistance website, you can file a complaint against the health plan or request assistance with the appeals process.

Heartbleed: a pervasive security bug

By: StephMinnock 

Time to change your passwords!

Heartbleed, a security bug, allows people to steal information normally protected by the SSL/TLS encryption used to keep information on the Internet private. Normally, “https://” at the beginning of a web address indicates that the information that you are entering into that web page will be secure because of this SSL/TLS encryption. However, Heartbleed allows anyone on the Internet to read the memory of systems protected by certain vulnerable versions of SSL/TLS software.

Although many websites have fixed this vulnerability, it’s still better to be safe and change your passwords in case they were compromised. For more information on this, see CNet’s gaggle of posts. You can test to see if a website has fixed this vulnerability by using this online tool.