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| Massachusetts - Division of Banks |
Mission
“To advance the public interest with the highest level of integrity and innovation by ensuring a sound, competitive, and accessible banking and financial services environment”.
The goal of the Division is to provide professional and seamless financial and consumer protection supervision over regulated entities through intra- and inter-agency coordination.
The commissioner of Banks for Massachusetts oversees the Commonwealth's nearly 300 state-chartered trust companies, savings banks, cooperative banks, and credit unions, which have total combined assets of approximately $200 billion. The agency also licenses and examines over 4,000 non-bank financial entities, including mortgage lenders and brokers, check cashers, small loan companies, credit sales and insurance premium finance agencies as well as collection agencies.
Use the attached link to access the Massachusetts Division of Banks website for more current information.
http://www.mass.g.ov/dob/
Contact and Locations
Massachusetts Division of Banks
One South Station
Boston, MA 02110
1-800-495-2265 (within Massachusetts only)
(617) 956-1500
TDD (617) 956-1577
FAX: (617) 956-1599
Use the attached link to access more specific contact information.
http://www.mass.gov/dob/email.htm
Entities Regulated
The following entities are regulated by the Massachusetts Division of Banks Commissioner.
- state-chartered trust companies
- savings banks
- cooperative banks
- credit unions
- mortgage lenders
- mortgage brokers
- check cashers
- small loan companies
- credit sales
- Insurance premium finance agencies as well as collection agencies.
Laws and Regulations
The Commissioner is responsible for enforcing numerous laws and regulations. Use the attached link to access current information on regulations and laws enforced by the Division of Banking
http://www.mass.gov/dob/law_reg.htm
Complaints
Use the following link to access information on how to file a complaint and to access the correct complaint forms that can be sent over the Internet.
http://www.mass.gov/dob/complaint.htm
The Consumer Assistance Office will notify you when your complaint or question has been assigned to a consumer specialist. The Division of Banks does not guarantee the security of complaint information submitted through the internet. If you are uncomfortable, or if you do not want to use the internet to submit your complaint, telephone the Consumer Assistance Office or complete and mail a complaint form to the Division.
Identity Theft
When it comes to identity theft, the old adage applies, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. The following are useful tips and information for consumers to avoid identity theft:
- Be careful about giving out your personal information. Don’t give out any personal information over the phone unless you initiate the call;
- Pay attention to your billing cycles. If you don’t get your bills in the mail, be suspicious;
- Be cautious about where you leave your information. Think of your bills as cash, don’t leave them lying around;
- Guard your mail from theft. Be vigilant about checking your mail promptly after it has been delivered. Don’t let it pile up while you are away;
- Watch what you throw away. What may be garbage to you can be stolen treasure to an identity thief;
- Travel light. Don’t carry more checks or credit cards than you need. That will minimize the damage if your wallet is lost or stolen; and
- Check your credit report on a regular basis. Order a copy of your credit report from the three major credit reporting agencies at least once a year and make sure that the information they have is correct.
- The agencies are:
- Experian 1-800-397-3742
- Equifax 1-800-525-6285
- Trans Union 1-800-680-7289
If a consumer is a victim of Identity theft, he/she should:
- Contact creditors by phone and by certified mail;
- Stop payment on checks and close bank accounts;
- Contact the Department of Motor Vehicles and your local postal inspector;
- File a report with your local police department; and
- Call the FTC’s fraud hotline at 1-877-IDTHEFT.
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