Offline Financial Security Tips

Last time, we told you about keeping safe online – and some tips to keep your money, passwords and sessions safe. For those of you that don’t do a ton of banking/bills/payments online, I’m sure there are plenty of opportunities to be safer with your information at home. Your Bills Do you have a shredder? Or do your bills and statements just wind up in the trash or recycling bin as-is? Modern thieves (in big or small cities) know how to walk past a bin and leave with enough info to access some of your personal information! This isn’t a scare tactic, it’s just the truth about what goes on out there. You need to be diligent with your financial information and bills around the house. Once a week (or even once/month) shred those old statements and bills and toss them (into the recycling bin) without any worry. Your Cards Has this happened to you? You receive your new credit card in the mail (before the older one expires), and both are active for a short period of time. It’s important to activate the new card as soon as possible and destroy the

Be Smart – Save Money By Increasing Your Online Security

If you’re reading this blog, you’re an online consumer. Chances are, you have bought things, paid bills and maybe even gotten asuper-fast and secure online loan from Mogo. Are you safe enough online? In 2007, 4 out of every 10 Canadians used online banking, and that has been increasing by the year. With phone apps, and easier ways to transfer funds online more of us are embracing online finances – this is great, but it’s also a chance for unscrupulous characters to take advantage. Online identity theft is growing every year and it’s up to you to save your cash by taking some simple steps to protect it online. Sure – insurance can cover the financial losses, but it’s worthwhile to get in front of online fraud and keep your cash safe. Password Up Online security starts with your passwords. Be diligent with your passwords and update them regularly. This sounds like a pain, but it’s really worthwhile. The last thing you want to do is use the SAME password for everything you do online. When you do that, you leave yourself open to scams, phishing attacks and more. Log Out Get in the habit of

What To Do When You Lose Your Wallet

Ok – nobody likes to plan ahead for a worst case scenario situation. But if you do, you’ll certainly be glad. You know that sinking feeling in your stomach when you pat your pocket or reach into your purse… and you can’t find your wallet? Chances are, we’ve all been there and dreaded the outcome. Here are a few easy steps, and a helpful reminder on some techniques that will make sure losing your wallet isn’t the end of the world. Get an Inventory You can write it down, take pictures, or just keep a low number of items in there – but knowing what’s in your wallet on a day-to-day basis is important in case of loss or theft. There’s even an iPhone app for it. This gets tougher when you’ve got a fully-loaded Costanza wallet that’s bursting at the seems. So do a little spring cleaning in your cash-holder and keep things streamlined. Know Where to Go Once you know what’s in your wallet, you’ll know what to do if it goes missing. You need to keep track of the credit cards, bank cards and personal identification so you can