Think the overdraft protection on your bank account saves you big overdraft fees on bounced checks? Chances are you didn’t bounce a check but you did overspend with your debit card through purchases and ATM withdrawals which you wouldn’t have made if your bank had refused the transaction for insufficient funds.

According to the report, “Debit Card Danger” by The Center for Responsible Lending, most people when given a choice would cancel an ATM transaction or debit card purchase if they knew it would spend them over their bank balance. Although bounced checks account for about 25% of overdraft fees, debit card transactions account for nearly half at 46%.

Fees charged on overdraft protection accounts cost an average of $2.17 for every dollar borrowed. Check overdrafts cost $0.86 per dollar. It’s easy to see that the banks are not saving the consumer high overdraft fees on bounced checks but rather encouraging overdrafts made with a debit card - overdrafts that the customer might not incur had he been warned the transaction would overdraw his account.

It’s tax season and a new crop of scammers are “phishing” across the internet. Many scams involve the scammer posing as representatives of the IRS. These scams have a higher success rate than some others. Not everyone receiving a scam email will have a Paypal or Ebay account nor do they bank at a particular financial institution. But everyone pays taxes (with a few exceptions).

Last year’s tax scam is still going strong. The taxpayer receives an email alerting him to a tax refund he is owed and directed to a site where he is asked to input personal information. The scammer then has what he was phishing for.

This year taxpayers are receiving emails stating that the recipient has been selected for an “e-audit”. Again, the purpose of the email is identity theft. The IRS states it does not conduct audits online and has no such program.

The IRS wants taxpayers to know that the IRS does not use e-mail to initiate contact with taxpayers about issues related to their accounts.

These scams are for the sole purpose of collecting sensitive personal identification about the recipient and often ask for social security numbers and credit card numbers. If you receive an email that purports to be from the IRS or if you have any questions regarding contact from the IRS, call 1-800-829-1040 to confirm it.

In the past week I have received 5 text messages on my cell phone offering me quick and easy loans online. These text messages are completely unsolicited and I have never heard of the websites being advertised, let alone been to them. Worse still, every text message could potentially cost me money if they cause me to exceed the alloted number of text messages in my plan.

Spam text messages to cell phones are becoming more common, more annoying and more costly for consumers. At least one company responsible for flooding cell phones with unsolicited text messages is being sued for violating the federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act. The state of Illinois has filed a federal lawsuit against C & C Global Enterprises, L.L.C., www.resortsellers.com and two individuals, the operators of www.webuyresorts.com and www.resortsellers.com. The company has also been sued by Cingular Wireless and the state of Georgia for spamming cell phones with messages offering to buy the recipient’s time share, even though many of them didn’t own time shares.

Cell phone users often view their cell phone as their one refuge from unwanted calls and telemarketers, yet 8 in 10 cell phone users have received an unsolicted text messages. The incidence of cell phone spamming is expected to increase.

Mobile network operators are still in the early stages of testing technological answers to the problem of preventing spam attacks on their customers. If you receive spam text messages, report it to your carrier.

The IRS has expanded its Free File program this year. Taxpayers with an AGI (adjusted gross income) of $52,000 or less are eligible to e-file their tax returns for free.

That means that 70% (95 million) of all taxpayers will be eligible to file 2006 tax returns for no fee through one of the private sector tax software companies who are part of the Free File Alliance, LLC.

Free File for 2006:

* Free File is a free service offered by companies for taxpayers with an Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) of $52,000 or less.

* Before selecting a company link, review the tax software company’s criteria to confirm that you meet their eligibility for preparing and e-filing your federal return for free.

* Fees for state tax returns may apply. Some companies offer free state tax return preparation and e-filing. Check company websites for more details.

* Some companies offer extensions for free.

* Some companies offer free e-filing of the Form 1040EZ-T, Telephone Excise Tax Refund, for those who want to claim the refund credit and are not required to file a federal income tax return.

* You are under no obligation to buy any of the company’s other products or services.

To use the service, go to: Free File: Getting Started