• Be a Spending Sleuth. Track every penny you spend for a month. Keep receipts and write everything down. This will be an eye-opening experience and will help you see where you can cut back.

• Count Your Money. Determine the total amount of money coming in. Include only your take home pay (your salary minus taxes and deductions). Your income may also include tips, child support, investment income, etc.

• Itemize, Categorize, Organize. Review the records and receipts you’ve been collecting over the last month. Categorize your spending using a budget sheet, budget sheet like the one offered by the American Bankers Association Education Foundation.

• He Shoots, He Scores. Set a realistic financial goal and develop your budget to achieve that goal. Subtract your monthly expenses from your monthly income. Find ways to cut spending and set limits on things like entertainment expenses.

• Save, Save, Save. Make one of your financial goals to save a certain dollar amount each month. Start an emergency fund if you don’t already have one. You never know when you may need it.

• Stick to it. Keep track of your spending every month. Update your budget as expenses or incomes change. Once you achieve your financial goal, set another.

 SUBJECT: Fraudulent E-Mails Claiming to Be From the FDIC Summary: E-mails that claim to be from the FDIC are reportedly in circulation. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) has received numerous reports of fraudulent e-mails that have the appearance of being from the FDIC. The e-mails appear to be sent from various “@fdic.gov” e-mail addresses, such as “subscriptions@fdic.gov,” “alert@fdic.gov,” or “accounts@fdic.gov.” They have subject lines that read: “FDIC: Your business account” or “FDIC: About Your Business Account.”

The e-mails are addressed to “Business Customer” or “Business Owner” and state “We have important information about your bank” or “…financial institution.” They then ask recipients to “Please click here to find details.” They conclude with, “This includes information on the acquiring bank (if applicable), how your accounts and loans are affected, and how vendors can file claims against the receivership.”

These e-mails and the link included are fraudulent and were not sent by the FDIC. Recipients should consider the intent of these e-mails as an attempt to collect personal or confidential information, or to load malicious software onto end users’ computers. Recipients should NOT access the link provided within the body of the e-mails and should NOT, under any circumstances, provide any personal financial information through this media. Financial institutions and consumers should be aware that other subject lines and modifications to the e-mails may occur over time. The FDIC does not directly contact consumers in this manner nor does the FDIC request personal financial information from consumers.

For your reference, FDIC Special Alerts may be accessed from the FDIC’s Website at www.fdic.gov/news/news/SpecialAlert/2011/index.html. To learn how to automatically receive FDIC Special Alerts through email, please visit www.fdic.gov/about/subscriptions/index.html. Questions related to federal deposit insurance or consumer issues should be submitted to the FDIC using an online form that can be accessed at http://www2.fdic.gov/starsmail/index.asp.

Sandra L. Thompson Director Division of Supervision and Consumer Protection

“Nothing can ruin a vacation faster than losing your wallet or running out of funds, so plan ahead and talk to your community banker about how you can protect your money while traveling both domestically and abroad,” said Sal Marranca, ICBA chairman “Since community banks are relationship bankers who work one-on-one with their customers, they can help customers be better prepared for travel emergencies. And in the event that something unfortunate does happen, they are ready and willing to help.”

Financial professionals agree that the safest and most convenient way to travel with your money is to take a small amount of cash with you.  It’s also a good idea to carry a debit, credit or ATM card. These cards are convenient while traveling because they are easy to carry, easy to use and often offer the lowest fees and the best exchange rates.

However, travelers still need to plan ahead to be prepared.  To help, ICBA and First Savings offer these tips to consumers about what they need to take care of before they take off:

• Let your community bank know when and where you will be traveling so that you will avoid any potential for fraud alerts when out-of-the-ordinary transactions are posted.
• Call or stop by your community bank to find out what ATM or debit card fees you may be subject to in this country and abroad.
• If you’re traveling overseas, keep in mind that ATMs in many countries only accept four-digit personal identification numbers (PINs) and some countries have keyboards with numbers only, while others do not acknowledge zeros. Ask your community bank if you should create a new PIN for your account before you take your trip.
• Carry a back-up card that you keep in a separate place. Families or couples may get even greater back-up coverage if each person takes a different card.
• Make copies of all the cards you’ll be carrying. Be sure to copy the front and back of the card. Take a copy with you and give a copy to someone you trust back home. Be sure to also include the security code for the card and the customer-service phone number.
• Bring a list of emergency phone numbers, but remember, 800 numbers can only be used in the United States and Canada. Be sure to get a number for your bank that you can call if you’re out of the country.
• Many credit cards provide travel accident insurance and traveler’s assistance. Ask your community bank what special services are available through your card.
• Check your balance before you leave. Know the limits on how much you can withdraw. Save all your receipts.

“Whether your destination is overseas or closer to home, it really is better to be safe than sorry,” Todd Hurley, Exec. VP, Chief Retail Officer of First Savings said. First Savings is here to help you prepare.”

For more information about what to do if you your card is lost or stolen or if you need additional help, visit http://usa.visa.com/personal/using_visa/travel_with_visa.html or http://www.mastercard.us/support/lost-card.html. 

About ICBA

The Independent Community Bankers of America, the nation’s voice for community banks, represents nearly 5,000 community banks of all sizes and charter types throughout the United States and is dedicated exclusively to representing the interests of the community banking industry and the communities and customers we serve. For more information, visit www.icba.org.

FDIC Consumer News can’t tell you when it’s safe to throw away financial documents. One thing to remember, though, is that federal tax rules require you to have receipts and other records that support items on a return for as long as the IRS can assess you additional tax. 

“In very general terms, because the IRS has about six years to assess additional tax if you underreported your income by more than 25 percent, many tax advisors recommend holding all tax records for about seven years, building in extra time for any unforeseen delays in processing your return,” said Rick Cywinski, an FDIC tax policy manager. He also noted that the tax period is unlimited if the IRS suspects fraud. 

With tax considerations in mind, here are suggestions that may be reasonable for many people. 

Credit card and bank account statements: Save those with no tax significance for about a year, but those with tax significance should be saved for seven years. 

Canceled checks: Those unrelated to anything you claimed on your income tax form and not needed to show you’ve paid a bill or debt probably can be destroyed after you’ve verified that your bank statement is correct. But canceled checks that support your tax returns, such as charitable contributions or tax payments, probably should be held for seven years. 

And, you may want to keep indefinitely any canceled checks and related receipts or documents for a home purchase or sale, renovations or other improvements to a property you own. But once a home has been sold and another seven years have passed, checks related to renovations or improvements can be destroyed. 

Of course, many banks no longer send cancelled checks, although they may provide copies of the originals. “You can keep the copies of your tax-related checks if you get them from your bank, but if you don’t get copies with your statement, you have some options,” said Evelyn Manley, a Senior Consumer Affairs Specialist at the FDIC. 

“The most conservative approach is to order copies of important checks soon after your statement arrives,” she said. “Another is to keep the information on your bank statement to order copies if you’re audited in the future because, in general, banks that do not return original checks to customers are required to keep copies of checks for seven years.” 

Also, she said, if you keep records electronically, be sure to back up your data. You can store it in various ways (on CDs, flash drives and so on), but as old technology is no longer supported, you will need to transfer your old data to new media. Another option is to research different companies that provide backup storage online, either free or for a small charge. 

Deposit, ATM, credit card and debit card receipts: Save them until the transaction appears on your statement and you’ve verified that the information is accurate. You may make an exception for receipts for expensive items. If they are under warranty or you have to file an insurance claim, the receipt may be helpful. 

Finally, before tossing away any document that contains a Social Security number, bank account number or other personal information (especially financial information), shred it to avoid becoming a victim of identity theft. 

For additional guidance on what records to toss and when, ask your accountant, attorney or another trusted advisor. 

This short update on the Epsilon breach was published April 5, 2010 by CNET, a respected online technology review site.  It contains good basic information on the breach and some good suggested precautions for consumers who feel they may have been impacted.

The list of customers affected by the Epsilon database breach continues to grow.

The breach, which took place last week but was announced over the weekend, compromised the e-mail addresses and some names belonging to the customers of many major U.S. companies that outsource their marketing and e-mail communications to Epsilon.

The company said Monday that 2 percent of the companies it counts as clients are affected by the security breach. There is no official list of affected companies that’s available, and a company spokesperson said Epsilon cannot release the names of its clients. Epsilon is in the midst of conducting an investigation of what led to the security breach.

The list of Epsilon clients whose customer e-mail addresses were stolen is not complete, and is likely to grow. But so far Target, Kroger, TiVo, US Bank, JPMorgan Chase, Capital One, Citi, Home Shopping Network, Ameriprise Financial, LL Bean Visa Card, McKinsey & Company, Ritz-Carlton Rewards, Marriott Rewards, New York & Company, Brookstone, Walgreens, The College Board, Disney Destinations, and Best Buy have notified their own customers about the breach. Hilton Hotels and Ethan Allen are also said to be affected.

Here are some tips on what to do if you did receive an e-mail from one of the companies above or if you believe one of them does have your e-mail or name, and what could happen next.

How do you know if you’re affected?
If you’ve ever given your e-mail address to any of the above companies, you probably are.

What will happen?
Most of the companies that are talking about it say the information that was stolen is limited to e-mail addresses and possibly names. Credit card companies and banks like Chase and Capital One say they do not believe any financial information was compromised.

But a bunch of e-mail addresses in the wrong hands means what’s likely to result is a rise in phishing scams. “Phishing” is an attempt to use e-mail to try to get you to reveal more personal information about yourself. This can include usernames, passwords, Social Security numbers, or account numbers.

Many times phishers are simply guessing and will pick a company that a broad group of people does business with, like PayPal, or a government entity, like the IRS. The threat in the Epsilon case is now whoever gets access to these lists of e-mail addresses knows exactly what companies count you as a customer. That means phishing attempts can be much more targeted and therefore potentially harder to spot because they can masquerade as being from a bank or company such as the ones listed above.

What should you do about it?
Do not open e-mail from someone you don’t know. That’s pretty simple. But you’ll also need to be extra vigilant now that phishers may know specifically where you shop, what airline you fly, or where you bank. Look at the e-mail address–if it’s purportedly from one of the companies above but ends in something other than .com, especially an international domain like .uk, that’s a good indication it’s a scam since most phishing attempts originate outside the U.S. Also be on the lookout for spelling errors in the e-mail address, URL, or body of the e-mail, or e-mails whose tone sounds particularly urgent.

If you do open the e-mail, don’t click any links. A common phishing practice is to ask people to click a link to update their personal information.

If in doubt, call the company
If you get an e-mail from one of the companies listed above asking for any information, and you’re unsure if it’s legitimate, you can always call them. Many retailers affected by the Epsilon breach are notifying their customers now that they would never ask for sensitive information via e-mail.

Read more: 

http://news.cnet.com/8301-31021_3-20050555-260.html#ixzz1IeXIHmfN

The FDIC suggests nine ways to eliminate clutter, organize accounts and streamline how you manage your money!  Follow this link to learn more:

http://www.fdic.gov/consumers/consumer/news/cnwin1011/strategies.html

It doesn’t matter what you invest in, you should be aware of what you are investing in, and have a rational basis for investing in it.  By no means am I saying that you need to be a total expert in everything that you invest it, but make sure you do have knowledge about your investments.  Depending on the investment you are looking at, how much you should be looking into them will be dictated to you. 

For mutual funds or ETF’s, one doesn’t need to analyze each of the stock or bond holdings that their fund invests in (that is the job of the investment manager), but you should be aware of the mutual fund company, the managers, what the mutual fund invests in (or can’t invest in), its performance in up and down markets, and other fundamental factors associated with the management firm and fund itself. 

If you are looking to delve into an individual bond or stock, than the work-load and familiarity associated with this purchase will get larger and more complicated.  I once had a client instruct me to buy a security because “it was going to replace Microsoft”.  When I asked the client about the stock they wished to invest in, they didn’t really know what they did or their business model.  When I explained these to the client, the client no longer wished to purchase the stock.  If you are going to invest in an individual stock or bond, invest in what you know.  

As an example, if you are holiday shopping and go to 10 different stores, and one of these stores is significantly busier than the others, and you have noticed this in past years, you may want to look into that retail outlet further.  On the other hand if 2 of these stores has 90% of their registers closed with few patrons and this is a pattern you have noticed before, it is probably a troublesome sign, and before investing or holding that stock, a lot more comfort about their other operations would be needed. 

For those investors who do not take the time to familiarize themselves with their investments (or potential investments), they risk losing money or underperforming in their investments relative to the appropriate index.  The uninformed investor may get lucky once or twice, but the odds are they will lose more times than they will win.  Conversely, a well informed buyer doesn’t automatically mean a profit will be derived, but the decision to buy and subsequently hold or sell the investment will be based on information rather than emotion. 

Securities and products offered through First Savings Securities, Inc.  Member FINRA / SIPC

NOT FDIC INSURED – MAY LOSE VALUE – NO BANK GUARANTEE – NOT INSURED BY ANY FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AGENCY

The opinions voiced in this material are for general information only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations.  To determine which investment(s) are right for you, consult your financial advisor before investing.

550 17th Street NW, Washington, D.C. 20429-9990 Division of Supervision and Consumer Protection

SA-10-2011
January 12, 2011

SPECIAL ALERT

SUBJECT: Consumer Alert
Summary: E-mails fraudulently claiming to be from the FDIC are attempting to get recipients to click on a link, which may ask them to provide sensitive personal information. These e-mails falsely indicate that FDIC deposit insurance is suspended until the requested customer information is provided.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) has received numerous reports from consumers who received an e-mail that has the appearance of being sent from the FDIC. The e-mail informs the recipient that “in cooperation with the Department of Homeland Security, federal, state and local governments…” the FDIC has withdrawn deposit insurance from the recipient’s account “due to account activity that violates the Patriot Act.” It further states deposit insurance will remain suspended until identity and account information can be verified using a system called “IDVerify.” If consumers go to the link provided in the e-mail, it is suspected they will be asked for personal or confidential information, or malicious software may be loaded onto the recipient’s computer.

This e-mail is fraudulent. It was not sent by the FDIC. It is an attempt to obtain personal information from consumers. Financial institutions and consumers should NOT access the link provided within the body of the e-mail and should NOT under any circumstances provide any personal information through this media.

The FDIC is attempting to identify the source of the e-mails and disrupt the transmission. Until this is achieved, consumers are asked to report any similar attempts to obtain this information to the FDIC by sending information to alert@fdic.gov.
For your reference, FDIC Special Alerts may be accessed from the FDIC’s Web site at www.fdic.gov/news/news/SpecialAlert/2011/index.html. To learn how to automatically receive FDIC Special Alerts through e-mail, please visit www.fdic.gov/about/subscriptions/index.html.

Sandra L. Thompson
Director
Division of Supervision and Consumer Protection

Distribution: FDIC-Supervised Banks (Commercial and Savings)

Note: Paper copies of FDIC Special Alerts may be obtained through the FDIC’s Public Information Center, 877-275-3342 or 703-562-2200.