Washington Mutual is, by almost all accounts, up for sale and could be the latest big bank to be forever changed. In the midst of all this, the bank has raised its interest rate for its online savings account to 4%.

Wow, great news, huh? Who wouldn't want a 4% return in these conditions?

Not so fast. If you are a customer with this bank, you need to take action NOW on a couple of different fronts.

First, in terms of the higher interest rate, be very skeptical. Beware banks that are so seriously in need of cash that they'll pay more than anyone else to get you in the door. If you are not an existing WaMu customer, we say stay away.

If you already are a depositor and/or certificate of deposit buyer at Washington Mutual, you absolutely must be sure that you do not exceed FDIC insurance limits. And you must do it TODAY.

Any account that exceeds insurance limits must be removed immediately.

WaMu, as it is known, is by all accounts in serious trouble and is likely to be acquired. It is definitely too big to fail with $181 billion in deposits. On the other side, FDIC says it's secure with only $45 billion to cover depositors' losses. You do the math. It doesn't take an advanced degree in arithmetic to figure out some depositors would lose money in a liquidation.

For this reason, Treasury and the Fed will find another bank to take over WaMu if necessary.

Of course that begs the question, "At what point do we take one institution too big to fail, allow another institution, already large enough to absorb it, to become a bigger too-big-to-fail institution until we have created the mother-of-all TOO-BIG-TO-FAIL institutions that jeopardize capitalism?

But we digress.

Heed our words. Be sure ALL your bank accounts meet the standards of FDIC insurance TODAY.

How much more money can Washington come up with to preserve the system?

For more information on protecting your money:

• What the Fannie and Freddie Flap Means to You
• Bank Failures on the Rise: Is Your Money Safe?
• How to Negotiate the Best Mortgage