Life Style

5 Simple Ways You Can Protect Yourself Against Identity Theft and Cyber-Attacks

Written by adminJuly 17, 2018

Stories about cyber-attacks and identity theft are frighteningly common here in the United States. Last year alone, 143 million people were victims to one type of cyber-attack or another, and nearly half of us are afraid we’ll be financially impacted by identity theft in the future.

The worst part about it is, most people don’t realize they’ve been hit until it’s too late.

-38% of victims didn’t know they were defrauded until they tried to apply for a credit card.

-37% were told they were compromised by a service or agency.

-20% didn’t know they were hacked until they saw a credit report.

-4% were alerted by police or other law enforcement agencies.

Greg Anton, Chairman of the AICPA’s Financial Literacy Commission, says Americans have to be more vigilant and proactive about protecting their information.

“Protecting your information is an ongoing process that requires you to be vigilant, identify where you can improve and take action to firm up your safeguards. This means regularly monitoring your credit card and bank statement and periodically checking your credit report for anything that looks out of the ordinary.”

Still, it’s not always a consumer’s fault. Just shopping at a store can put you at risk.

A few months ago, hackers were able to steal data from Lord & Taylor and Saks Fifth Avenue, impacting nearly 5 million customers. This is only one of the many high-profile cases of data breaches to occur.

Other stores and restaurants that have had breaches so far in 2018 include:

-Macy’s

-Adidas

-Sears

-Kmart

-Delta

-Best Buy

-Under Armor

-Panera Bread

-Chilis

-Forever 21

-Sonic

-Whole Foods

-Gamestop

-Arby’s

This is a long list of businesses Americans frequent, but the stats are worse than you can imagine. According to the cybersecurity company Agari, 44% of all businesses were victim identity theft that involved a hostile takeover of an account.

A takeover of an account means someone steals personal data and are then able to gain access to the victim’s credit cards and bank accounts.

According to a survey from IBM, only 20% of Americans trust companies to keep their data safe and secure. 73% believe these companies care more about profits than protecting customers and should do more to prevent crime. While the trust factor isn’t fully in place, it doesn’t seem to stop consumers from shopping or eating at these establishments.

If you’re concerned about hacking and identity theft, there are several ways you can better protect yourself.

1) Keep a good eye on your credit report and accounts for fraud. Don’t be afraid to look over every detail and every dollar to make sure nothing looks suspicious.

2) Use checks and cash more often. It may be more convenient to swipe the card, but with the vast majority of businesses dealing with identity theft issues, it’s safer to hit the ATM and pay with cash.

3) Try to shop more local. The hackers mainly target the big money stores, like the national retail chains. Smaller businesses are less likely to be on the radar of identity thieves.

4) Cut down your online presence. If you do a lot of online shopping, you are more likely to get hacked.

5) Get protection. There are multiple ways to sign up for theft detection, either through your bank, on Credit Karma, or even LifeLock.

“While it’s positive that Americans are taking steps to mitigate the risk from cyber breaches, each time there is a new breach in the headlines there is the risk that the public becomes numb,” Anton says. “Identity theft may seem like it’s inevitable … it doesn’t have to be.”

Written by adminJuly 16, 2018

Life Style

If you’ve been to the grocery store lately, you might’ve already noticed that a dollar seems to be stretching a lot less further than a few months ago. In fact, the Consumer Price Index is up 2.9% since last month, it’s fastest growth since 2012.

So, what’s behind this sudden rapid growth of inflation? There are several answers for this. Overall, coming out of the recession, supply and demand is changing the way we consume things. Once stagnant sales are again in overdrive, propelled forward by recent tax cuts and an increase in employment.

Income has risen as well, but it’s not enough to overcome this new bout of inflation. It doesn’t matter if people have more of their own money if everything starts getting more expensive, essentially negating potential budget increases.

The main reason for the inflation hike is the price of oil. Since 2015, we’ve been enjoying a brief reprieve from high oil costs that threatened to break almost $4 per gallon. Oil prices that were once $30/barrel are now up to $70/barrel as OPEC can’t seem to make up its mind about drilling to keep up with demand.

When the price of gas goes up, so does everything else. Gas is used in nearly every industry, especially for shipping, so those costs are usually handed down to the consumer.

The demand for housing has skyrocketed as well. It’s not just places like Seattle and New York seeing growth in the markets, but also a lot of the smaller rural towns as well. When there’s higher demand, it can cause prices to inflate, forcing people to pay more each month.

Interest rates tend to shoot higher as well. The rates are lowered when the economy isn’t doing so well to help people get back on their feet, but when unemployment is down and wages are up, the government feels confident enough to hike the rates.

And then, there are the tariffs. It’s not just the tariffs on steel, that have made things like laundry equipment and vehicles 13% more expensive, but the retaliatory tariffs on U.S. agriculture that is sure to impact the price of food.

The price of eggs is up 14%. Gardening and lawn care is up 7.6%.

It’s looking to be an expensive summer across the country. We can only hope that gas prices get relieved, which will help cut some of this inflation going into the holiday seasons. A good indicator will be how well the Back-to-School shopping season does as it begins to kick off going into August.

Written by adminJuly 16, 2018

Life Style

Starting at 3 PM Eastern today and lasting for 36 hours, Amazon is hosting their annual Prime Day sale!

During this time, deals abound all over the website and even extends to Whole Foods.

The only catch is, you have to be a Prime subscriber to get the discount.

There are two types of deals you can look forward to:

-Spotlight Deals focus on a particular brand and offer steep discounts throughout.

-Lightning Deals that happen suddenly and last only for a short time.

The best way to take advantage of the Prime Day deals is through the Amazon app. It allows you to preview the items they’ll have on sale. If you find something you want, add it to your list and you’ll get a notification once the deal starts. It’s that easy!

If you’re an avid Whole Foods shopper, you can also find great discounts and deals at every Whole Foods store in the nation.

Every item that’s on sale will have a “Prime Day Deal” badge.

Currently, Amazon’s site says you can save:

-30% on vitamins.

-25% on furniture and décor.

-25% on snacks and foods.

-An additional 25% on your first delivery with subscribe.

-45% on large photo prints.

-Up to 50% off on Amazon devices, like the Kindle, Fire, and Echo.

If you don’t have a Prime subscription, you’re in luck! Amazon has an option that allows people to share their Prime subscription with loved ones (much like how the whole family shares a single Netflix account). So, if you know someone who does have a subscription, you can ask them to add you.

Happy hunting!

Written by adminJuly 13, 2018

Life Style

The government wants to incentivize you to join a gym…and stay there! A staggering statistic reveals that 80% of the people who join a gym in January, desiring to get into shape for the next year, don’t even make it 5 months.

For a country that’s getting bigger around the waste, and with obesity numbers flying through the roof, working out is essential for staying in shape and improving your health.

In a bipartisan effort to try and get more people to the gym, the House of Representatives is looking to introduce a bill that will grant a tax break for most fitness-related costs. No, it doesn’t cover books, videos, or lesser activities, like golf, but gym memberships, classes, and safety-related items will be covered.

The tax break will consider fitness costs as a medical expense and even allow them to use their flexible spending and health savings accounts as payment.

Companies and groups like Fitbit, the Fitness Association, and the American Heart Association have been pushing for such a bill to be passed. Representative Jason Smith, a Republican from Missouri, was quoted as saying that this bill would be “about a fundamental shift in our approach to health care to focus more on ‘healthy living’.”

During the Great Recession of the past decade, the number of gym memberships fell significantly as more people started cutting expenses they could no longer afford. Cost is one of the larger complaints most people have about why they didn’t continue going to the gym, as cited by 46% of people who canceled their membership.

If passed, this tax break will cover $500 for individuals and $1,000 for those who file together with their spouse.

The hope is to get more people back into the gym by helping them overcome the increasing price for membership and even curb some of the additional healthcare costs incurred by obesity and illness.

Written by adminJuly 5, 2018

Life Style

In 1992, the Supreme Court made a landmark ruling that declared states couldn’t collect sales tax on purchases made outside of the state. They could only tax physical brick-and-mortar stores that were selling the item within the state it was being bought.

For example, if you lived in Iowa and bought something from a Sears catalog, Iowa couldn’t collect a sales tax on that item because it was most likely being shipped from out of state.

Fast forward nearly two decades and you’ll see that same law applied to all online purchases, including ecommerce. If you bought something on Amazon, sales tax wouldn’t be applied to the price.

Brick-and-mortar stores have felt this gave online companies a huge advantage over them. If you had to choose between buying a couch on Wayfair verses going to local vendor and paying extra for included sales tax, where would you shop?

Now, the Supreme Court has reversed its previous ruling. In a 5-4 decision, the highest court in the land has decided that states can collect sales from all online retailers.

While this will inevitably make online shopping more expensive for the everyday consumer, the court felt the previous law was outdated and allowed businesses to avoid having a physical presence in certain states.

In explaining his vote, retiring Justice Anthony Kennedy said, “The Internet’s prevalence and power have changed the dynamics of the national economy. The expansion of e-commerce has also increased the revenue shortfall faced by States seeking to collect their sales and use taxes.”

Online retailers believe this is a bad deal for them, as it will push people to once again shop locally for items like electronics, furniture, and jewelry.

States, especially states that are cash-strapped and could use more tax revenue, are thrilled they get to tap into a $453 billion industry.

They saw their tax numbers dwindle as more people avoided the box stores in favor of online buying, literally taking money out of the state’s pockets. According to the Government Accountability Office, states have lost as much as $13.4 billion last year alone.

There’s still more they would have to do though, as a lot of states had different rules.

One big question online business owners have involves how this new law will handcuff smaller businesses. There are already laws on the books for bigger companies, but now that the doors are open for all businesses to get taxed, this ruling might completely kill smaller industries.

Companies like eBay and Overstock want the Congress to pass news laws that exempt small online businesses from being taxed to keep internet innovation strong.

It’s unknown if this ruling will change much, as most people choose to shop online for the convenience, but now that stores feel they are at an even playing field, we’ll see how the sales stack up this holiday shopping season and beyond

Written by adminJuly 5, 2018

Life Style

It certainly is a great time to be alive when companies are competing to see who can spoil their customers the most.

Earlier this week, I bought an Amazon gift card for a friend who lives over a thousand miles away and they offered same day shipping! She got it a few hours after I ordered it.

I imagined a drone touching down in her front yard, but she said it came via delivery. Still, the idea of drones delivering packages is both amazing and frightening.

Dominos is trying to change the pizza game by offering to fill in any potholes that threaten to damage your pizza. Their ads make me wish I had a Dominos in my town.

Now Kroger is testing whether it can be the first grocery store chain in the country to deliver groceries to their customers in driverless cars. To save costs, there won’t be a human there to keep the car from doing something wrong.

The idea is similar to the curbside pick-up program they have now, but instead of having you drive to the store or wait in long lines shopping for yourself, they’ll shop for you, load the groceries into their special cars, and deliver them to your home.

All you have to do is order what you want online or via their app.

Kroger, based out of Cincinnati, is partnering with a Silicon Valley startup company called Nuro. Nuro was founded a few years ago by two engineers who used to work for Google’s Waymo driverless car project.

Kroger’s delivery service looks to start at the end of the year and will most likely begin in California and Arizona via the Fry’s Supermarket chain.

Currently, Kroger offers home delivery in about 1,200 of their stores, but hopes to eventually expand driverless car delivery to the majority of their market in the coming years. This will save the company money, decongest their stores, and even provoke shoppers to spend more money.

Earlier this year, Kroger announced that online shopping has boosted their sales as customers tend to spend more money shopping on the website than they do at the store, citing the convenience factor as the main cause.

Written by adminJuly 2, 2018

Life Style

Independence Day is upon us!

This time of year incorporates four of my favorite Fs: Fun, Food, Family, and Fireworks!

It’s also a great time to find a good bargain, which is useful if you want to have a bit of fun while still maintaining a tight budget.

Here at Financial Helpers, we’re always on the lookout for great deals we can pass on to you! No one should have to skip out on holiday fun.

Thankfully, this time of year is ripe with HUGE savings, but only if you know where to look.

Here are three key areas where you can save the most money:

1) Food

Ahh, summer. The time of barbeques and get-togethers. The 4^th of July is a great time to get food at a decent price.

Meat is the main staple of any grilling activity, and stores love to stock up on this essential holiday food to meet the higher demand.

As we get closer to July 4^th, many stores might think they have too much meat that won’t sell in time, so they’ll slash some prices to help it move faster.

Also, right now is the perfect time to get your hands on some fresh produce! July is the peak of the growing season, so there’s an abundance of amazing fruits and veggies ripe for the picking.

Produce is generally cheaper in the summer, so take advantage and stock up while you can.

2) Holiday Decorations

You don’t have to shell out a ton of money for holiday decorations. Most dollar stores have them for…you guessed it…a dollar! They’re every bit as good as what you’ll buy in the store, but a lot cheaper and more budget friendly.

3) Clothes

You might think that the middle of summer is the worst time to buy a swimsuit or summer clothing, but in a lot of cases, it’s the best time!

Believe it or not, Back-to-School is right around the corner, so stores put out good deals to get rid of their summer stock to make room for fall.

Summer clothing is usually the most expensive at the start of spring, so now is the perfect time to take advantage of lower prices.

Great deals are out there! You’ll just have to do a bit of research and keep your eyes open to find them.

If you can, wait until a day or two before the 4^th to do your shopping, and keep the ads close so you can compare prices, you’ll definitely save a bit of cash and keep your budget in good order.

This Store is Hoping to Fill the Void Left by Toys ‘R’ Us

Written by adminJune 29, 2018

Life Style

Hearing that famous jingle as a kid, none of us wanted to grow up. We welled up with excitement when the Toys “R” Us catalog came. And Christmas wasn’t Christmas without a trip to the massive box store and running through the aisle as if it was the greatest place in the world.

The death of Toys ‘R’ Us stings somewhat, as it was a major part of our childhood. As the last of the stores officially close, it becomes yet another relic from our carefree past, like Blockbuster, Radio Shack, and many others.

But, there’s another store that hopes to cash in on the demise of Toys ‘R’ Us and expand their reach: Party City.

Party City is typically known as a smaller store, but they’re known to go all-out during the Halloween season, renting out the box stores left behind and filling it with costumes and other decorations.

Now with Toys ‘R’ Us gone, as well as the void they leave behind in the toy market, Party City plans to extend their pop-up store season beyond Halloween and into the Christmas season with ‘Toy City’.

From September through the end of the year, Party City will take advantage of the opportunity to scoop up as much holiday profits as it possibly can.

“The creation of a Toy City concept to complement our temporary seasonal retail strategy is a logical extension of our brand; one that will allow us to leverage our existing pop-up store capabilities and capitalize on the category whitespace that has recently been created,” said Party City CEO James Harrison.

Party City doesn’t just want to be known as the place to go for party decorations and trinkets, but also as a seasonal retailer within the pop-up niche, giving customers what they want exactly when they want it.

The company immediately jumped into action the moment Toys ‘R’ Us announced they were going to close their doors earlier this year. They started adding more toys to their website and begun creating places to take over as THE place to buy toys during the busy holiday season.

It didn’t take long for the big toy companies to jump in as well, as Mattel, Hasbro, and others have already said they’ll be featured in ‘Toy City’.

Toys ‘R’ Us is expected to have all locations officially closed today.

Written by adminJune 25, 2018

Life Style

It’s often known that in the summer, you’ll be paying more for gas. Rising prices typically signal a boost in demand as more people decide to go on trips and family vacations during the summer months.

Last Friday, President Trump made a tweet that might’ve spurred OPEC into action, stating that he hopes they will increase their output substantially to keep the price of oil down.

It wasn’t but a short time later when OPEC announced that they would indeed boost their production, flooding the market with oil and ultimately lowering the price at the pump.

In 2016, gas prices were falling significantly to the point where the major oil companies were having to lay off thousands of workers collectively to maintain profits. OPEC struck a deal with Russia and other major oil producers to curb production and cut the excess supply that kept the prices ridiculously low.

A lot can change in a few years, as now the world is concerned about an oil shortage. Prices have spiked 20% as demand has risen due to an improved economy in the U.S. and outages in major oil producing countries like Venezuela.

OPEC looks to increase the production by one million barrels, which will help ease some of those concerns and lower the prices, but the concern is that they would need to increase the output by 2 million barrels to keep up with current demand. That’s going to be a problem, as a lot of OPEC members will struggle to increase their production.

It’s expected that the increase will hit the global markets in July, but it has not yet been decided which countries would ramp up their production. In fact, gas prices rose at the end of last week as many investors actually expected to hear better news.

Cornelia Meyer, energy analyst and CEO of MRL Corporation, said last week that the OPEC leaders were “there own worst enemies” and that the current increase is “enough” to supply demand.

While we as consumers can be glad for lower prices this summer, a shortage is still expected later in the year unless OPEC can figure it out before then.

Written by adminJune 25, 2018

Life Style

Right now, millions of Americans are struggling to keep up with their finances. We wrote several articles previously about the lack of education most of us seem to have about budgeting, saving, and paying off debt.

Bank of America is looking to change that.

On Monday, BoA held their annual Money 20/20 conference where they announced they’ll be rolling out their new AI banking assistant “Erica”. They hope that this technology will help people make better financial decisions for themselves and their families, specifically by alerting them to trends and opportunities found by their spending habits.

The bank also hopes that this specific AI will help improve customer service as well.

Daniel Latimore, Senior Vice President of Celent Banking, said, “The whole notion of customer experience for banks is so, so critical right now. They have challenges like security and being bulletproof — but consumers don’t care about all the constraints. They just know they can get great experiences elsewhere and they want it from their bank too.”

The goal is to use AI for predictive analytics to help customers find ways to save money or pay off debts, check their credit scores, and cognitive messaging to share ideas tailored around the customer’s individual banking needs.

Typically, this type of advice is reserved for top-tier customers, not the average everyday banker. The hope is, by helping customers save money and make smarter decisions, it will put Bank of America in a better position as well. Americans pay over $32 billion each year on overdraft fees alone, so this technology could really help consumers in a big way.

The only critical aspect of this technology is it looks to replace human workers with AI, maybe not right away, but in the near future. “Erica” will be able to handle bank transactions 24/7 and has no downtime.

It has been predicted that in the next five years, AI and other customer service technology will cost 6% of current jobs held by humans. We’ve already covered McDonald’s and other fast food restaurants switching to much more convenient kiosks and grocery stores implementing an increasing number of self-serve checkout lanes.

Of course, like the other companies, Bank of America insists that the new technology won’t replace jobs, but will make the entire banking process smoother and more convenient for customers, while helping them improve the way they do banking.

“Erica is designed to streamline the banking process, not replace jobs, said Michelle Moore, head of Bank of American’s digital banking. “This makes sense, as this type of technology is still very young, and correspondingly limited in what it can do. Over time, Bank of America’s programmers will add new features and make Erica “smarter” thanks to the vast amount of data she will handle.”

It’s still a young technology and Bank of America says they have no plans to start cutting their work force before the design has even been implemented.

“It is not a foregone conclusion that this will work the way everyone thinks it will,” he said. “The big question is whether Bank of America can and will react appropriately to customers use of and engagement with their digital offerings,” said Moore.

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