Identity Theft

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#262 Identity Theft Protection with Adam Levin

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As the incidence of identity theft rises, our guest Adam Levin says “You’re going to get got,” so it’s best to assume the worst and learn how to protect your personal information. Adam is consumer advocate with more than 30 years of experience and is a nationally recognized expert on security, privacy, identity theft, fraud, and personal finance. A former Director of the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs, Levin is Chairman and founder of IDT911 (IDentity Theft 911) and co-founder of Credit.com.  In Adam’s new book “Swiped” he discusses the threats associated with identity theft.

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Here's the problem: Creative and determined hackers can piece together snippets of information from a variety of sources to re-create your profile and use it to undermine your credit score or learn when and where you’re on vacation, which leaves your house vulnerable to theft. That means that you need to guard your information, including Social Security Numbers, phone numbers, email and physical addresses, credit reports, medical records -- basically thieves are trying to create a well-rounded dossier on who you are!

Adam's "Three Ms" - Minimize your exposure (guard your information), Monitor your accounts (keep an eye on credit scroes, consider instant alerts from credit card companies and banks, as well as a credit freeze) and Manage the damage (there are sopecific steps to follow if your information is compromised) - are essential for every consumer

Common types of identity theft sources include credit card scams, data breaches, social media posts, healthcare fraud, and even "smart TVs. Adam also discussed tax theft and social media do’s and don’ts

Thanks to everyone who participated this week, especially Mark, the Best Producer in the World and the worst LinkedIn User. Here's how to contact us:

  • Call 855-411-JILL and we'll schedule time to get you on the show LIVE 
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#212 Asset Allocation, Taxes

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The show may be called "Jill on Money", but listeners know that the man without the microphone - Mark - is the center of the action. This weekend, we help the best producer in the world with the asset allocation for his IRA rollover.

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It just so happens that David from Chicago is also seeking allocation advice, especially in light of Vanguard's shift on its target date funds. Here are two sample portfolio allocations to consider:

BALANCED

  • 10% Money Market fund
  • 30% Bond Index Fund
  • 10% International Bond Index
  • 30% Total Stock Market Index Fund
  • 5% Small Cap Index Fund
  • 10% International Stock Index Fund
  • 5% Emerging Market Stock Index Fund

GROWTH

  • 5% Money Market fund
  • 20% Bond Index Fund
  • 5% International Bond Index
  • 35% Total Stock Market Index Fund
  • 10% Small Cap Index Fund
  • 15% International Stock Index Fund
  • 10% Emerging Market Stock Index Fund

And this is the post about "Why We Are Lousy Investors"

Throughout the show we also discussed some estate questions and some tax issues.

Thanks to everyone who participated and to Mark, the BEST producer in the world. If you have a financial question, there are lots of ways to contact us:

  • Call 855-411-JILL and we'll schedule time to get you on the show LIVE 
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#211 Retirement Investing, Identity Theft

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Another week, another announcement of identity theft. This time, it was Premera Health customers, next time, it could be you. Because of the seemingly endless number of incidents, we decided to re-air our interview with nationally recognized expert on credit reporting, credit scoring and identity theft, John Ulzheimer.

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Retirement investing can be tricky business, but George from MD is actually in great shape. He has a pension that more than covers his needs,  $100K in an annuity, $80K in his deferred compensation plan and now wants to find a home for an extra $90K that he has in cash. After funding Roth IRAs for him and his wife, we discuss how to allocate the remaining money.

Ron from KY has bounced around a few different brokerage firms and has come to a conclusion: maybe he should manage his own money and pay himself the investment management fee! To help, we came up with an easy-to-implement balanced portfolio:

  • 10% Money Market fund
  • 30% Bond Index Fund
  • 10% International Bond Index
  • 30% Total Stock Market Index Fund
  • 5% Small Cap Index Fund
  • 10% International Stock Index Fund
  • 5% Emerging Market Stock Index Fund

Samantha asked at what level could one properly diversify a fixed income portion of a portfolio with individual bonds, while Eileen is selling her vacation home and wants to know how to account for the improvements she has made over the years. In general, you add the cost of improvements to your original cost, but here is a link to the IRS site to help out.

Thanks to everyone who participated and to Mark, the BEST producer in the world. If you have a financial question, there are lots of ways to contact us:

  • Call 855-411-JILL and we'll schedule time to get you on the show LIVE 
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Anthem Data Breach: How to Guard Against Identity Theft

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Anthem, one of America's largest health insurers, has confirmed a massive data breach. Hackers stole as many as 80 million records of customers, as well as of past and current employees. Social security numbers, birthdays and addresses have been compromised, though at this point, no credit card data, bank information or medical history appears to have been accessed. The Anthem breach follows big events at Experian, eBay, JP Morgan Chase, Home Depot, Target, all of which have occurred in the last two years. While there is no single way to protect your coveted identity, but there are plenty of best practices to employ to keep the criminals at bay.

Because it is tax season, let’s start with specific tax-related scams, which the I.R.S has highlighted on its “Dirty Dozen” List of Tax Scams for the 2015-filing season. In addition to electronic hoaxes, where some may unknowingly turn over personal information to criminals; there are also fake calls from fraudsters get unsuspecting taxpayers to fork over money they don't owe. The IRS says that some of the most common scams are those, which are the most personal -- unscrupulous tax practitioners who promise outlandish refunds. If you think you've been scammed by a tax preparer, report it to the Treasury Inspector General Administration and forward any IRS phishing emails to the IRS.

In general, you should refrain from providing businesses with your Social Security Number just because they ask for it. Give it only when required. (Medicare recipients take note: your SSN is printed on your Medicare card, so be careful with it!) Also, don’t give personal information over the phone, through the mail or on the Internet unless you have initiated the contact or you know with whom you are dealing. If you have older relatives or friends, encourage them to let you know if they have been contacted by any organization, which offers a very high or “guaranteed” return at “no risk”, requires an urgent response or cash payment or sends email from an unrecognizable address.

Additionally, it is imperative that you review each credit card statement before you pay it -- I know it sounds silly, but many simply pay the bill, potentially missing a fraudulent charge. Finally review your credit report every 12 months at annualcreditreport.com. You want to make sure that nothing fishy has cropped up.

If you think that your identity has been stolen, you should immediately contact one of the three national credit-reporting companies (Equifax 1-800-525-6285, Experian 1-888-397-3742 and TransUnion 1-800-680-7289) to put a free fraud alert on your credit report. The alert makes it harder for an identity thief to open more accounts in your name. The company you call must tell the other companies, so need to call all three. The alert lasts 90 days but you can renew it, and the alert entitles you to a free credit report from each of the three companies.

The next step is to file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission and print your Identity Theft Affidavit. Use that to file a police report and create your Identity Theft Report. After these initially notifications and filings, you should consider taking a few more steps to prevent further damage. You can place credit-freeze on your credit file, which generally stops all access to your credit report. A less draconian step is to place an extended fraud alert on your file, which permits creditors to get your report as long as they take steps to verify your identity. The availability of a credit freeze depends on state law or a consumer reporting company’s policies; while fraud alerts are federal rights intended for people who believe they are, or who actually have been, identity theft victims. Some states charge a fee for placing or removing a credit freeze, but it’s free to place or remove a fraud alert.

Unfortunately, identity theft is here to stay, so the sooner you familiarize yourself with protections as well as remedies, the better off you will be.

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#191 Open Enrollment Season

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Ah, the change of the clocks, the never-ending temptation of Halloween candy and the mind numbing exercise of choosing new benefits! It's that time of year -- open enrollment -- and we have special guest Paul Essner of The Signature Group to help wade through the choices.

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Paul raised an important issue, but luckily it's one that you can address. As the cost of insurance rises, many are not taking into account their specific health care situations and as a result, they are not choosing the most affordable health care option.

The solution is easy: you need to understand how you are using health care and project what the year ahead will look like to determine the best plan for you. (Hint: Some may be better off using high deductible plans, paired with Health Savings Accounts!) Paul also addressed some of the nuances of the Affordable Care Act and its impact on employers, as well as how some companies are rolling out new benefits that could be advantageous.

Karen is 61 years old and plans to retire next year. Her big question is whether she will be able to supplement her pension and Social Security, to the tune of about $20K per year. The answer is yes, with a caveat…

We helped Sally figure out whether or not to take an employer buyout and discussed how Barbara and her husband should pay for long-term care.

Thanks to everyone who participated and to Mark, the BEST producer in the world. Check out Mark's first-producing credit for this CBS Evening News segment that aired recently. If you have a financial question, there are lots of ways to contact us:

  • Call 855-411-JILL and we'll schedule time to get you on the show LIVE 
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#190 Credit Boot Camp with John Ulzheimer

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Nationally recognized expert on credit reporting, credit scoring and identity theft John Ulzheimer joins us for a pre-holiday season credit boot camp! John is the President of The Ulzheimer Group, the Credit Expert at CreditSesame.com and the credit blogger for Mint.com. Formerly of FICO, Equifax and Credit.com, John is the only recognized credit expert who actually comes from the credit industry.

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John scared the you-know what out of us, as he discussed identity theft. Did you know that Phishing is out, but SPEAR-PHISHING is in? Bottom line: it's going to happen to you, so you better be smart about how you handle your information.

As we head into the holiday season, John offered tips about debit versus credit cards and rounds out our conversation with credit score basics. As a reminder, here's what determines your score:

  • Payment History: 35%
  • Total debt outstanding: 30%
  • Credit History: 15%
  • Inquiries (Hard): 10%
  • Credit Mix: 10%

Here are links to John’s blogs:

We had a great call from Mary in KY, who is contemplating retirement at the end of this year. Take a listen to hear how you might start thinking about your own retirement!

Thanks to Rita and Julie, who sent us lovely thank you notes and to Tucker, who gave us the opportunity to discuss having "THE TALK" with your aging parents. As a reminder, here is my updated post on "Estate Planning Checklists".

Thanks to everyone who participated and to Mark, the BEST producer in the world. Check out Mark's first-producing credit for this CBS Evening News segment that aired recently. If you have a financial question, there are lots of ways to contact us:

  • Call 855-411-JILL and we'll schedule time to get you on the show LIVE 
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#158 Men, Women and Money

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Our guest MP Dunleavey recently wrote a great article in the New York Times called “Mars, Venus and the Handling of Money,” which discussed the way that men and women relate to money.

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While it’s not exactly breaking news that the sexes tend to address money issues from different perspectives, what is new is that the financial service industry is waking up and trying to address the plain fact that men and women have distinctive financial needs. MP tells us what we need to know and helps bridge the gap between how men and women can best use tap the services offered by the big companies.

Man, woman...we love all of our callers! Doris is looking for a place to invest her $100,000 inheritance -- should she use an immediate annuity? Susan is not happy with the performance of her investment advisor and wonders whether she should move her relationship elsewhere and Tim is about to start his own business…what does he need to know? (Answer: A LOT!)

A shout-out  to Ben, who passed along a suggestion for a great website www.splitwise.com that helps roommates who are trying to allocate expenses.

Thanks to everyone who participated and to Mark, the BEST producer in the world. Let me know if you think we should provide Mark with a little space to vent his various grievances with you...we're considering calling it "Mark's Musings". If you have a financial question, there are lots of ways to contact us:

  • Call 855-411-JILL and we'll schedule time to get you on the show LIVE 
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#157 Managing Credit Scores, Guarding against ID Theft

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One of our favorite guests, nationally-recognized credit expert John Ulzheimer joins the show to help us manage our all-important credit reports and scores and to guard against identity theft.

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John started by issuing a wake-up call: Every retailer's system is vulnerable, so we should assume that our information is out there. He then explained what you should do if you are the victim of identity theft or you think that your information has been compromised, highlighted by a great explanation of the difference between a credit freeze and credit monitoring. If you want to read more of  John's great work, check out his web site or follow him on Twitter.

Thanks to Diana, we were able to talk about less expensive options for investment management (try MarketRiders or Rebalance-IRA.com) and Evan brought up how to select the best funds within his 401K.

Dean works in law enforcement and wants to know whether he can afford to retire, while Don is not sure if he is required to take an RMD, because he is sill working.

Thanks to everyone who participated and to Mark, the BEST producer in the world. Let me know if you think we should provide Mark with a little space to vent his various grievances with you...we're considering calling it "Mark's Musings". If you have a financial question, there are lots of ways to contact us:

  • Call 855-411-JILL and we'll schedule time to get you on the show LIVE