Asset Planning, Inc Blog

We came across an article this morning on Marketwatch.com by Maria Lamagna that had some great tips on preventing credit card fraud while you are traveling abroad. We thought we would pass them on to you…

Bring some cash with you on your trip. Make a visit to your local bank before your trip to convert your cash into the foreign currency or you can convert it at the airport upon your arrival.

If you must use an ATM, it is better to use one at a bank than on the street or another non-financial institution. Examine the ATM before using it for any abnormalities. If the card reader appears not to fit, has glue on it or it is chipped it may be a “skimmer”.

Use credit cards instead of debit cards. Credit cards usually have built in protection for fraud and the credit card company can dispute the charges for you. With a debit card, cash is immediately withdrawn from your account and it can take longer for the funds to be returned to you.

Use mobile payments when you can. Transactions with services like Apple Pay use a tokenization method when making payments. This means that a new token is issued for each transaction instead of transmitting the actual credit card number making the payment more secure.

Avoid using public Wi-Fi as much as possible. Although it may be tempting to log in at the local café to save on data use it is very dangerous and an easy way for hackers to get your personal information. You should also change your password before and after traveling.

Check your account activity often. Look out for any transactions that look out of the norm so you can catch any fraudulent activity quickly. Many banks and credit cards now offer monitoring alerts that you can customize and be notified when an unusual transaction occurs.

In a recent article released by AARP and written by Sid Kirchheimer, he writes about the new trends in credit card fraud. With the new chip-enabled EMV cards it is now harder for identity thieves to clone counterfeits of the existing plastic cards. Instead they are focusing on opening new fraudulent accounts with stolen Social Security numbers and other sensitive data. Javelin Strategy & Research reported in its 2016 Identity Fraud Study that new-account fraud more than doubled in 2015 from the previous year.

Here are a few tips on how to protect yourself:

1.Get a credit freeze. Once enacted, a credit (also known as a security) freeze restricts access to your credit report, which creditors check before issuing new financial or service accounts in your name. Without seeing your report, creditors won’t approve accounts to ID thieves posing as you. A freeze must be placed with each of the three major credit-reporting bureaus — typically free for those 65 and older (state laws vary) — and can be unthawed when you are legitimately applying for credit.

2.Secure mobile devices. If your financial life is on a smartphone or tablet, apply software updates that patch known vulnerabilities as soon as they become available. Use security features built into Android and iOS devices, such as passcode or biometric (fingerprint) protection, and programs that encrypt data and remotely wipe contents if the device is lost or stolen.

3.Use strong passwords. They “remain the de facto first line of defense for most online accounts, which has motivated criminals to compromise them whenever possible,” Javelin notes. Using a password manager is a convenient way to maintain good password practices without resorting to writing these codes down, which could also place them at risk of physical compromise.

4. Sign up for account alerts. Offered by banks, credit card issuers and brokerages, these free notifications, via email or text message, provide you with real-time alerts of suspicious activity. When fraud occurs, contact the account issuer immediately.

5.Take data breach notifications seriously. One in 5 data-breach victims suffered fraud in 2015, up from 1 in 7 in 2014. While data breaches at retailers remain an issue, the biggest jump in breaches was at government agencies and health care organizations, with a 64 percent rise in exposure of SSNs.

TD Ameritrade issued an alert today that they have seen an uptick in fraudulent account disbursement requests. So far, Asset Planning clients have not experienced any account fraud as we are diligent in verifying that requests for money come from our actual clients.

One tip that TD Ameritrade suggested was having a code word with our clients to verify the authenticity of a request. Please feel free to reach out to us if you would like to implement this extra precaution. 

Last week, Home Depot became one of a growing number of retailers to have their systems hacked and customer data stolen. This has become a widespread problem for a growing number of retailers. Unfortunately, this is probably not the last retailer to have their system hacked to gain access to customer information. The real question is how do you protect yourself?  

There are a number of protection services that will alert you when there is possible fraud or when there are changes to your credit reports. Each provider offers multiple levels of protection from basic alerts to more in depth monitoring. Below is a link to a comparison of the highest rated identity theft protection services. Please note that this is just one review site and other sites may have different rankings.

http://www.reviews.com/identity-theft-protection-services/compare/

If you feel an identity theft protection service is not right for you, there are things you can do to protect your identity on your own. It is important to check your credit card and checking accounts on a regular basis to verify there is no fraudulent activity. It is also important to check your credit report at least once a year.   AnnualCreditReport.com allows you to get a copy of your credit reports for free. There are some websites available that will allow you to check your credit score and monitor your credit activity. Some of them include:

www.creditkarma.com

www.quizzle.com

www.creditsesame.com

If you find that you have been a victim of identity theft, you will need to take some steps to protect yourself, your assets, and your credit score. The first thing you will need to do is contact your bank and credit card companies so that they can monitor your accounts more closely for fraudulent activity. They may also give you a new account number if your account has been compromised. The next person to call if your financial advisor or brokerage firm to let them know. They can be extra eyes looking for transfer requests or suspicious activity. You will also need to check and monitor your credit report to watch for any new accounts being opened or any other unusual activity.

Emails are hacked as well, and in order to protect you Asset Planning, Inc. will no longer send out money requested by email. If you do send us an email, we will call you or request to see you in person to verify that you are the one actually requesting the funds.

Last week I attended the FPA (Financial Planning Association) of Orange County Quarterly Education meeting. One of thepresenters, John Sileo, was an identity theft expert. He became an expert because he was a victimof identity theft 2 times. Once bypeople that went through his garbage and were able to get his information, andonce by a business partner who had access to all of his information.

I wanted to share some of the important points he made.

The most important point is that your identity is an assetworth protecting.

He suggests that you put a credit freeze on your credit withall 3 credit bureaus – Experian, Equifax and Transunion. This means that you cannot obtain new creditunless you approve it. It does notfreeze the credit you already have. Ifyou want credit for a car loan or any credit, you need to call the creditbureaus and pay a fee to unfreeze the credit for a short time. It is worth the time and effort.

Stop your junk mail. Either call 1-888-5-OPTOUT or go to www.optoutprescreen.com

Invest in a confetti shredder and use it to shred alldocuments that have identifying information on them.

Monitor your credit. www.annualcreditreport.com is run by the 3 main credit bureaus and it is free. If you want your credit score there is a fee.

He also thinks that on-line banking and bill paying is saferthan paying by mail. A check sent out by the bank has the bank's account number (and routing) on it, not yours.

He also has great suggestions on protecting your computersand laptops on his website – www.sileo.com

Click here to read a useful article explaining how you can stop companies, like Facebook, from tracking your online activity. 

Many of us today enjoy the convenience of managing our finances via the world wide web. I personally enjoy the ease of record keeping, bill pay, and lack of trips to the bank that online banking, and the like, has brought. However, every benefit has it's cost. In the case of online account maintenance, the biggest potential cost is identity & monetary theft from hackers. One of the greatest protections from this risk is choosing a password that is difficult for a hacker to guess. Mashable Tech published a good article on the top 25 most vulnerable passwords of 2011 as well as tips on choosing a secure one. Click on this link to read the full article.

We recently stumbled along a website that acts like the white pages but instead of the old days when one could just find someone's phone number and address. Now one can find out your income, net worth, names of your family, pictures of you & your home, email addresses, and any other background information the can be dug up on the web.

The website is called Spokeo. To remove yourself from the site follow the below steps:

1. Search your name
2. Find your name that matches your address
3. Copy the URL for your profile
4. Click on the privacy link at the bottom of the page
5. Paste the URL & enter your email & the code
6. You will receive an email to complete the opt out

To find out additional ways to opt out of telemarketing lists visit The Federal Communications Commission Website and to opt out of pre-approved credit card & insurance offers go to OptOutPrescreen.com