BALTIMORE — Mallory is digging into two money stories this week: why you shouldn’t toss an expired credit card without destroying it, and how to find out if some of Maryland’s billions in unclaimed property belongs to you.
Some expired credit cards can be brought “back to life”
💳 Think an expired credit card is useless? Researchers found a security vulnerability that allowed some expired Visa cards they tested to process contactless payments again. The attack requires access to the physical card, making it especially important to properly destroy expired cards instead of tossing them in the trash or leaving them in a drawer.
Maryland’s unclaimed property climbs to $3.2 billion
💰 Maryland is now holding $3.2 billion across 16.4 million unclaimed property accounts—and some of that money could be yours. The state has also sped up its claims process and is preparing to mail nearly 10,000 more automatic Quick Pay checks in October.
💡 Mallory’s Tip of the Week
When a new credit or debit card arrives, don’t throw the old one in the trash. Cut through the chip and magnetic stripe and make sure the account information can’t be read. If it’s a metal card, ask your issuer how to return it for secure disposal.
📩 Have a consumer problem you’d like Mallory to investigate?
Email mallory@wmar.com.