First….Take some time and set up ALL of your important on-line accounts with multi factor authentication. MFA is basically setting up your account logins to require a secondary text or phone verification. This keeps the bad guys out because when they try to access your accounts, you get the text verification and the ability to “say no” to unauthorized access. We are hearing stories on a monthly basis of someone getting hacked and the nightmare to fix it. Setting up MFA will probably take an hour at most but will save your stress level later. Bank, financial and insurance accounts, social media accounts, anything that has your personal info should be included. Go site by site until they are all done. Make it difficult to hack your valuable accounts.
Second….and in the same subject as the first. If you don’t already have it, set up a VPN on your computer and tablet devices. This includes your phone. A VPN is basically a traffic routing service that encrypts your traffic and routes it through remote servers making it virtually unreadable to the bad guys. Many of the access portals have one for free but, if not, it’s worth the price to buy and install a NORD (or similar) VPN. You buy them on the app store and download them onto your devices. The use of these makes it muuuuch more difficult to hack you and encrypts your access and web traffic.
Third…..if you have assets, you should sign up for a credit monitoring or a credit security service. Checking your credit portal can save you a lot of problems down the road. Using a protection service (like Lifelock or similar) is money well spent. In today’s world, the crooks are sophisticated and can get your identity well before you realize it. Once your identity is stolen, it is a massive undertaking to get if fixed. We recommend LifeLock but they are all pretty good and do the job.
Fourth….. if you don’t already have one, everyone needs a Power of Attorney document. I know we have beat this to death, but the ability to act for you financially in an emergency situation is huge. Just because you are married, does NOT give your spouse the ability to handle your affairs should you become incapacitated. Banks, financial institutions, medical service providers, your employer benefits or HR dept…. none of these can share information with anyone without a valid POA. In a time where your family is under stress, you don’t want them to be unable to represent you or handle your affairs.
Fifth….. make a pledge to reduce your daily consumption of “news” and “social media”… not saying to be a hermit or recluse, but if you want to be happier, cut down on the negative intake. Most of what we take in is garbage and rots from the inside. Over time it does a number on our happiness. Limit time as much as possible and focus on positive things.
As always, thanks for listening and entrusting us with being a part of your financial future. If you have any questions or wish to discuss any of this in more detail, feel free to reply to this email and we will give you a call. We are here for you today and every day so don’t hesitate to reach out. All our best !!!!
Ed, Frank, & Tammy
Edward Stiles
200 N Union St.
Kennett Square, PA 19348
cell 610-745-1931
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