Education Articles

How to Spot (and Stop) Mortgage Junk Mail

When you finalize the purchase of a home, your information becomes public record—and on comes the junk mail. The good news is there are ways to spot (and stop) mortgage junk mail.

How to Ensure Your Accounts Are Safe

With so much information floating around in cyberspace, it's more important than ever to set up personal firewalls against potential fraud and identity theft. 

10 Tips for Fortifying Your Passwords and Usernames

Rather than recycling familiar usernames and passwords over and over, try these tips for securing your information with hard-to-guess phrases.

6 Ways to Stay Ahead of Scams, Fraud, and Identity Theft

Identity theft is on the rise. Follow these protective measures to prevent yourself from becoming the next victim.

Popular Holiday Scams (and How to Avoid Them)

Ah, the holidays … a time for sharing, celebrating, and gift-giving (sometimes spending more than you’d planned). It’s also when scammers looking for personal information step up their game. As much as we look forward to the holidays, scammers enjoy this time of year as well. After all, it’s natural to let your security slip a little when you’re...

Protect Yourself from Unemployment Scams

The figure is staggering: Nearly 47 million Americans have filed for unemployment benefits since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic—a number greater than the combined population of 23 states. Piggybacking this crisis are scammers lined up to take advantage. According to a recent report from the Inspector General of the U.S. Labor Department,...

Friendly Warning: Tax Season Is ‘Fraud’ Season

Tax season fraud and malware campaigns have a seemingly endless number of ploys, often using flagrantly aggressive tactics, like applying threats and an extreme urgency to act or face fines, imprisonment, or legal action. Not surprisingly, a big focus in fiscal year 2021 (spanning October 1, 2020, to September 30, 2021) was again COVID-19-relate...

Stay (Financially) Safe During the Holidays

Despite all of the economic challenges over the past handful of years, holiday shopping season hasn’t suffered. Partially fueled by longer holiday seasons, sales continue to  set records for online and other non-store sales during the final three months of the year. That means a whole lot of payments via credit and debit cards and a host of...

This Fall, Don’t Fall: Passwords and Phishing and Romance, Oh My!

Cybersecurity Awareness Month is a fantastic time to review a few long-standing threats to the safety of your personal and financial information online. Let’s get started! The perils of repurposing passwords Passwords are now used to protect access to an unprecedented number of websites. The average person uses between 80 to 100 passwords; reusi...

Generation Z and the Minefield of Online Scams

Today's teens and young adults are popular targets for online scams A woman meets someone on a popular mobile app, and the two forge a relationship through online chat rooms. Soon, she’s transferring a few hundred dollars to help him “get by,” then a few thousand, ultimately being scammed out of more than $35,000 by a criminal suspected of fundi...