ANNAPOLIS, MD—The state of Maryland has announced plans to implement the Internal Revenue Service’s (IRS) Direct File online tool to simplify tax season and make tax preparation more affordable for residents. The new service, which is available to more than 700,000 Maryland taxpayers, is expected to save the state’s taxpayers approximately $5.6 million in tax preparation fees on federal returns, […]
BALTIMORE, MD—With home values up around 3.3% in the past year and mortgage rates remaining high, the personal-finance website WalletHub this week released its report on the Best & Worst Real Estate Markets in 2024, to identify the most attractive cities for home-buyers and real estate professionals. WalletHub compared 300 cities across 17 key metrics. The data set ranges from […]
BALTIMORE, MD—A hacker group claims to have leaked the Social Security numbers and other personal information of 2.9 billion people from a data broker. The personal data belonged to a variety of people from the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. The breach was carried out by a group called USDoD, who claim to have hacked into the National […]
BALTIMORE, MD—The FBI and local law enforcement partners are investigating a surge of armed robberies, known as “jugging” crimes, at financial institutions in Maryland. At least 21 bank and ATM customers have been victimized by these crimes just in the first week of July. “Jugging” refers to a crime in which a suspect, or group of suspects, targets customers believed […]
BALTIMORE, MD—A healthcare data breach has impacted up to one-third of all Americans, according to a new alert from the Maryland Attorney General’s office. The breach, which occurred in February 2024 at the national electronic data clearinghouse Change Healthcare, also leaked sensitive health and personal data online, the alert said. The clearinghouse is used by tens of thousands of healthcare […]
BALTIMORE, MD—Attorney General Anthony G. Brown has joined a multistate coalition of 19 attorneys general in filing an amicus brief (PDF) in National Automobile Dealers Association et al. v. FTC, supporting the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) defense of its new Combating Auto Retail Scams (CARS) Trade Regulation Rule. The rule addresses several persistent unfair and deceptive practices in the auto […]
BALTIMORE, MD—More households in Maryland are struggling to pay their bills and keep up with inflation, according to a new report released by the Maryland United Ways and its research partner United For ALICE. The report finds that the number of households struggling to get by rose by 29,364 in 2022 compared to 2021. This means that 39% of Maryland […]
BALTIMORE, MD—With workers paying an average of over $6,500 per year toward employer-sponsored family coverage and Every Kid Healthy Week kicking off on April 22, the personal-finance website WalletHub this week released its report on 2024’s Best & Worst States for Children’s Health Care. In order to determine which states offer the most cost-effective and highest-quality health care for children, […]