By Jonathan Freeman, CFP®, CFA, CIMA®
Unfortunately due to the COVID-19 pandemic, our scheduled seminar back in April had to be canceled. With that, we still wanted to pass along this important presentation virtually from Jerry Mitchell, an outreach specialist with the Pennsylvania Office of the Attorney General on the topic of identity theft.
Part I
Jerry will speak to who is vulnerable to identity theft. Did you know that over 50% of ID theft is perpetrated by a family member, friend? At the end of the day, numbers always lead to money. How are you protecting the important numbers in your life? Is it enough? Find out more in this segment.
Part II
Jerry will speak to what to watch out for when it comes to protecting your identity. Unfortunately, credit card skimmers are a common way for individuals to gain access to your account. A good practice is to put your hand on the insertion point to see if anything moves. Those annoying preapproved applications you receive in the mail daily? Those should be shredded, not just thrown away. Did you know there is an opt-out phone number at the bottom of most junk mail? Find out more in this segment.
Part III
Jerry will speak to how to protect yourself on going from being a victim of identity theft. Simple things like exercising good password habits, enabling two-factor authentication, and looking for the lock symbol and “https” on secure sites go a long way in preventing identity theft. Are you consistently checking your credit report for questionable activity? If you are a victim of identity theft, what do you do now? Find out more in this segment.
As one of the Directors of Stonebridge Financial Group, Jonathan’s goal is to help lead an organization that strives to provide the highest degree of client service, integrity, and professionalism. With disciplined investment strategies that emphasize risk-adjusted returns, cost, and tax efficiency, his objective is to help the individuals, families, corporations, and nonprofit organizations that he works with to achieve their financial goals.