Facebook 'Transfer Day' conflict issues

Be careful how you express your frustration with corporate America -- especially if you're making a statement with your money.

A new Facebook page called "Balance Transfer Day" is urging fans to send a message to big banks by applying for credit cards with lower interest rates this Sunday. But the man behind the call to action is also the editor-in-chief of a website that profits off credit card applications.

The founder of Balance Transfer Day, Michael Germanovsky, says his online activism is separate from his editorial role at Credit-Land.com. He also notes that he doesn't promote the website on Balance Transfer Day's Facebook or Twitter accounts.

"It came about because I studied personal finance," Germanovsky said.

The appearance of a conflict of interest is nevertheless a reminder to think twice before supporting causes or hitting the "like" button on Facebook, particularly at a time when an idea can catch fire through social media in a flash and the links between various causes can be easily blurred.

For instance, it would be easy for a visitor to Balance Transfer Day's Facebook page to confuse it with last month's Bank Transfer Day, which sprang to life after Bank of America said it would start charging customers $5 a month for debit card purchases.

Besides echoing its name, Balance Transfer Day uses a similar image of Guy Fawkes on its Facebook profile. The English revolutionary's grinning mask also became popular with the Occupy Wall Street protests -- another movement Balance Transfer Day emulates online.

In addition to "like"-ing dozens of local Occupy groups on Facebook, Balance Transfer Day's Twitter account is branded as OCCUPYBankrate.

Yet, Balance Transfer Day isn't related to either of those movements.

Aiming to benefit from confusion is a common tactic; in times of major natural disasters, for example, questionable organizations often spring up with names that sound similar to legitimate fundraising groups.

A message left with Roman Shteyn, owner of the website Credit-Land.com, was not returned.

Support for Balance Transfer Day is limited, with about 600 Facebook supporters as of Tuesday, compared with more than 79,000 supporters Bank Transfer Day had on the eve of its designated day of action.