During a time when information can be shared freely and openly online and where big tech companies are behaving more than irresponsibly with our personal information, it is imperative that your financial information is protected. While this type of information exchange brings people together and makes life more efficient it can open up a tremendous number of threats to your privacy and security.
It can feel overwhelming to try to understand all that comes with technology and where your vulnerabilities may lay. There are several simple steps that you can take to help safeguard your most private information and financial data.
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The difference between downsizing and rightsizing is not just linguistics and semantics, the difference really is that downsizing is more reactive, and rightsizing indicates a proactive approach to organizing your lifestyle and finances when you retire or when your children leave home to start their adult lives.
Rightsizing is a concept and phrase that companies coined in the 1990’s when they were reducing the number of employees in their workforce through careful planning and organizing of tasks, skills, and outcomes. When it comes to planning for your empty-nest, a proactive approach to transitioning from a home you’ve lived in for years and considering what is included in the rightsizing approach can help facilitate a positive outcome for the long term, both emotionally and financially.
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What you need to know about tax identity theft this tax season
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Emerging threats
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Cybersecurity shorts
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Software updates
Welcome to your March 2018 Savvy Cybersecurity newsletter. As we enter tax season, it’s important to be aware of the tax identity-theft scams targeting the public this year. We’ll cover that more in-depth in this newsletter as well as:
- How the Equifax breach was worse than originally reported
- A new threat to your MySSA.gov account
- What your Smart TV knows about you
- And much more
But first, let’s cover the biggest threat this month: tax identity theft.
What you need to know about tax identity theft this tax season
Tax identity theft has been a massive threat for years. Recently, however, the IRS has made progress on catching fraudulent tax returns before money is paid out. Last year, the IRS stopped $4 billion in fraudulent tax returns. This year, it may be a different story.
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For many years now there has been unprecedentedly low volatility in domestic and foreign markets. The US Stock Market has been on a steady climb since the 2008 downturn and for months we have been seeing new record highs and for as many months, stock experts have been trying to gauge when the next market correction will be.
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Provided by Global Financial Private Capital
By: Kezia Samuel, SVP, Portfolio Strategist
The Following are some key points on what drove the recent stock market volatility:
- Part of the reason for the current volatility in the stock market is the prospect that the Federal Reserve – the central bank of the United States – could potentially raise U.S. interest rates as many as four times this year. This would effectively slow the flow of money, since higher interest rates make it more expensive for individuals and companies to borrow money.• Part of the reason for the current volatility in the stock market is the prospect that the Federal Reserve – the central bank of the United States – could potentially raise U.S. interest rates as many as four times this year. This would effectively slow the flow of money, since higher interest rates make it more expensive for individuals and companies to borrow money.
- At the same time, the bond market has seen rising yields since 10-year U.S. Treasury notes hit a low point in July 2016, mainly due to investors being increasingly concerned about inflation. Rising yields are traditionally seen as negative for stocks as they increase companies’ borrowing costs.
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About one-third of U.S. residents, ages 15 and older have been married at least twice, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey. Remarriage among American ages 55 and older is on the rise, while their younger counterparts are becoming less likely to have remarried.
Remarrying later in life can create several complex financial, legal, and emotional matters that couples might want to address before they get married, or as soon after the wedding as possible. If you or someone you love is about to or has recently become part of a blended family, here are five important issues to consider.
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Not having enough money or being concerned about debt is an age-old reason for stress in people’s lives. But what about the stress related to entrusting the wrong person with your hard-earned dollars?
According to the 2016 “Stress in America” Survey, money and finances remain at the top of the list. 72 percent of Americans said that they felt stress about money at least once in the last month. This high percentage tells us that financial stress isn’t just for those with low levels of income and net worth. This survey also explores the health impacts that financial stress can have on people.
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At Stuart Financial Group we utilize the powerful risklayze risk assessment tool for our current and future clients in order to better understand what amount of risk they should take on in their portfolio.
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Imagine having trouble with your smartphone. You contact your carrier for help, but they say you’re no longer a customer, and that you recently transferred your phone account to another carrier! Welcome to the central act in a growing cybersecurity threat-mobile account takeover. Consider the story of Tiffany and Kevin Bennett, who suffered this new form of identity theft.
One day, Tiffany received an email from her mobile phone company saying the password on the mobile account had been changed. She shares the account with her husband, Kevin, and figured that he must have changed the password, so she ignored the email alert.
A few hours later, however, Tiffany could no longer send or receive any messages. When Kevin tried to call her phone number it rang-but not on Tiffany’s phone. What happened? Someone hacked into the Bennett’s mobile phone account and forwarded Tiffany’s number to a new phone. All of her calls and texts were being forwarded to this number, too. The hacker was then able to enroll one of the Bennett’s credit cards, bought on the black market, in Apple Pay. When the credit card company texted the verification code to Tiffany’s number, the hacker received it instead. With access to their credit card, the impostor was able to spend hundreds of the Bennett’s dollars.
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Conventional thinking equates success with happiness. When you see someone who has all the societal symbols of success – an accomplished professional life, an expensive car, a big home, etc. – it makes sense that you would assume that outwardly successful person is happy.