Experts: Many Americans Have Secret Bank Accounts, Credit Cards
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Does your spouse have a secret bank account or credit card?
"It's not uncommon at all," says Pittsburgh counselor Molly Mitchell.
In fact, it numbers in the millions, says Creditcards.com's Matt Schulz who studied this phenomenon.
"They're still 12 million Americans who say that at some point in their lives they've hidden a bank account or a credit card account from their live-in spouse or partner," Schulz told KDKA money editor Jon Delano on Wednesday.
Mitchell, a licensed professional counselor, has seen this in Pittsburgh, particularly among alcohol and drug abusers.
"A lot of times the spouse or significant other, they'll open up another account in order to purchase their drugs so their spouse won't be able to find out," said Mitchell.
But they're not the only ones.
"There could be other reasons for it. There could also be shopping addicts who will go ahead and hide add-on credit cards so their spouse won't find out about it so they can go ahead on spending sprees. Also, we find that, too, in gambling. Money is hidden in different areas," added Mitchell.
Join The Conversation On The KDKA Facebook Page
Stay Up To Date, Follow KDKA On Twitter
Similarly, one out of four Americans admit to spending $500 or more without their spouse's knowledge.
And the internet, says Schulz, has made financial infidelity easier to do.
"If you sign up online, and you get your statements online, everything can be done pretty quietly," he says.
