Helen Burggraf

New York-based multi-national Citibank has confirmed that it has informed a “small portion of U.S. credit card-holders with mailing addresses in certain international countries” that it will no longer be able to service their accounts, citing “local regulatory requirements”.

News of the card account closures came in response to a query on behalf of a card-holder currently resident in the U.K., who first obtained a Citibank “AAdvantage Gold MasterCard” some years ago, and who received a “notice of pending account closure” earlier this month.

A spokesperson for Citibank – or Citi, as it is now normally referred to as – wasn’t able to say how many other countries besides the U.K. were included in this account closure.

The spokesperson added that those U.S. credit card holders residing in the U.K. and other countries where the bank is discontinuing providing credit card services would be able to keep their accounts if they were able to provide the bank with “a U.S. mailing address within 90 days” of receiving the letter saying their account was to be closed.

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What is in your wallet or purse can make a big difference if it is stolen. Besides the credit cards and whatever cash or valuables you might be carrying, you also need to be concerned about your identity being stolen, which is a far more serious problem.

Thieves can use your identity to set up phony bank accounts, take out loans, file bogus tax returns and otherwise invade your finances, and all an identity thief needs to be able to do these things is your name, Social Security number, and birth date.

Think about it: your driver’s license has 2 of the 3 keys to your identity. And if you also carry your Social Security card or Medicare Card, bingo! An identity thief then has all the information he needs. Read More