A payment processor responsible for handling about 100 million credit card transactions every month disclosed today that thieves had used malicious software in its network in 2008 to steal an unknown number of credit card numbers.

You scan your credit card statements, be on the lookout even for small charges, possibly even less than a dollar. Such charges can be a sign that thieves are testing the account to see if they can pass a fradulent charge, and may signal a much larger charge to come.

WASHINGTON – Rates on 30-year mortgages fell to a record level for a fourth straight week, dropping to the lowest mark since Freddie Mac started tracking the data nearly 28 years ago.

Rates have been falling since late November, when the Federal Reserve announced a plan to spend up to $500 billion to buy-up mortgage-backed securities in efforts to buttress the distressed U.S. housing market.

Freddie Mac reported Thursday that average rates on 30-year fixed mortgages dropped to 5.01 percent this week, down from the previous record of 5.1 percent set last week. It was the 10th straight weekly drop, and nearly a full point below the rate of 5.87 percent at the same time last year.

The Treasury Department gave General Motors Corp. its first multibillion-dollar loan installment Wednesday and released broad guidelines that would let officials provide funds to any company they deem important to making or financing cars.

The Treasury is giving itself room to provide money from the $700-billion Troubled Asset Relief Program beyond loans already committed to GM, GMAC and Chrysler. Analysts have speculated that suppliers, such as GM’s bankrupt former parts unit Delphi Corp., might be eligible for assistance.