I thought I would let everyone know about our Summer Bill Pay Sweepstakes called Bust The Bill Stack. There are several ways that you can get your hands on some money to pay those bills, so let’s take a look at the different ways to get some cash.

There are two instant win options. You can search for tokens hidden within Internet Banking and Bill Pay. Each time you find a token you can play to win some money by busting the bill stack. You are eligible to play the game 5 times a day and the first 4 times you pay you are eligible for the $100 first place prize.

The fifth time that you play in one day; you will be eligible for the Grand Prize which is $5,000, and there will be five Grand Prize winners awarded randomly during the sweepstakes. You can also participate in the instant win chances by going to bustthebillstack.com.

This sweepstakes is a national sweepstakes so the instant wins may be harder to get, odds would depend on how many people participate. Don’t worry there are some ways to guarantee you are a winner. If you are someone who signs up as a new Bill Pay user and you pay at least 7 bills using Bill Pay during the promotion period you’ll get a credit of $10.00 into your account. If you are a current Bill Pay user but haven’t paid a bill since March 31, 2010 you too can get $10.00 by paying at least 7 bills during the promotional period.

Don’t forget to check out the complete Official Rules.
 

Last week we talked about getting your free credit report, now this week we are going to take a look at what you should be looking for. It wouldn’t be very helpful to get a report if you don’t know what you should be looking for right? So today I’m going to try to cover a few items you’ll want to check on.

A real general and easy to use tip would be to look for anything that looks wrong. The primary purpose of pulling your credit report is to make sure that everything on it is correct. You do this because you want to be sure you don’t get turned down for credit due to an incorrect credit report. Granted if you are turned down you’ll get a chance to get a free credit report then and can deal with those issues, but I’d rather try to take care of them before hand.

Check your credit lines and make sure that they are reporting correctly on your payment history. Make sure that you know about each of the credit lines that are listed on your credit report. A credit line or debt that you are unfamiliar with could indicate identity theft or simply bad reporting by someone, but you definitely need to check that out to clear up whatever the issue may be.

This may sound a bit over simplified but another thing that you should take a look at is your personal information such as name, social security number, address, etc. All of these things are very important to ensure that when someone pulls your credit report that they get an accurate report.

Something else that I always like to take a look at is who has been pulling my credit report. A company should only pull your credit report if you’ve given them permission (usually when you are applying for credit), they’ve already extended you credit and are doing a review of your account, or they’ve contacted the credit bureau agency about a prescreened list to solicit to. I personally have opted out of the solicitations (you know those credit card offers you get in the mail that typically just get trashed) so I can have a pretty good idea if the companies listed have a right to pull my credit or not. Companies pulling your credit report that you can’t come up with a reasonable explanation as to why they are pulling it could be an indicator of identity theft.

These are just a few things you should be looking for when you review your free credit report. The free credit report is a great tool to help prevent or minimize identity theft and to ensure that your credit report is correct.
 

I recently was reading a publication by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) which talked about some final rules being issued for free credit report services back in February of this year. It reminded me that it’s been a while since we’ve talked about how to get your free credit report; so I thought it would be a great time to revisit the subject.

Seems like every time you turn around there is an advertisement about getting your free credit report; some of them have some really catchy tunes as well. A free credit report sounds great right? Well not all of them are exactly free. Some have different fees to be paid, etc. There is only one federally backed, and sponsored by the three major credit bureau’s, place to get your free credit report (and it’s actually free) and that’s www.annualcreditreport.com. Granted you won’t get your credit scores (credit scores are optional) for free, if you want them you’ll have to pay a fee but you’ll be able to get your credit report for free. If you don’t have the internet (which if you don’t how are you reading this) you can call 1-877-322-8228 to get your credit report as well.

So be sure that you check out your free credit report. In the next few weeks we’ll take a brief look at what you should be looking for on your credit report, and we’ll give you some more tips on how to get the most protection from the free service.

The Federal Reserve Board has recently published an article with five tips for improving your credit score. We all know that credit scores are very important as with a good score you can save some serious money.

1. Get a copy of your credit report to ensure accuracy. You can go to annualcreditreport.com to pull your free copy of your credit report. This is the only government authorized site for the free credit report. Federal law mandates that you have access to a free credit report for each of the three national credit reporting agencies at least one in a 12 month time frame.
2. Pay the bills on time. One of the most important things you can do to keep and/or improve to good credit scores is to pay your bills on time. We offer something fee that can help you be sure your payments are made on time and that’s Bill Pay so if you’ve not checked it out you should.
3. Understand how they come to that credit score. Typically your score is based on the answers to these five questions:

• Do you pay your bills on time? This answer is very important. If you have or do pay your bills late, have an account sent to collection agencies, or have declared bankruptcy, this history will show in your credit report.
• What is your outstanding debt? Many scoring models compare the amount of debt you have and your credit limits. If the amount you owe is close to your credit limit, it is likely to have a negative effect on your score.
• How long is your credit history? A short or limited credit history can have a negative effect on your score but a short history can be offset by other factors, such as timely payments and low balances.
• Have you applied for new credit recently? Applying for credit recently with several different places can negatively affect your score. Requesting a copy of your own credit report, or reports pulled by your creditors to monitor your account or for prescreen offers, do not affect your credit score.
• How many and what types of credit accounts do you have? Several scoring models don’t just consider the number of credit accounts but also consider the type of credit accounts you have. A mix of installment loans and credit cards may improve your score. However, too many finance company accounts or credit cards might hurt your score.

The Federal Trade Commission has more information available for credit scoring.

4. Find out the legal steps you can take to improve your credit report. The Federal Trade Commission has published “Building a Better Credit Report” that contains information on how to correct errors in your reports, tips on dealing with debt, and avoiding scams.
5. Beware of credit-repair scams. The Federal Trade Commission has published “Credit Repair: How to Help Yourself” which explains how you can improve your creditworthiness and list legitimate resources for low-cost or no-cost help.

I recently was reading an article published by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) that gave 10 ways to protect yourself while enjoying the benefits of online banking, bill paying and shopping online. Most of the tips were simply using commonsense but I know it never hurts to have a reminder from time to time. Below is just a brief summary of the article; for more details, be sure to check out the Winter 2009/2010 edition of FDIC Consumer News.

1. Frequently check your accounts to spot and report errors or fraudulent transactions timely.
2. Never give out confidential information in responding to an unsolicited email, text, or phone call.
3. Don’t open attachments or click on links in unsolicited emails.
4. Watch out for sudden pop-up windows asking for personal information or warning you of a virus.
5. Use a variety of security programs and tools.
6. Beware of check scams.
7. Deal with reputable online stores and be careful with unbelievably low prices.
8. Credit cards generally offer more purchase protection than a debit card.
9. Watch for scams posing as online coupon offers.
10. Be careful downloading banking software to your cell phone.

If you live, work, or have been in Lincoln County in the past week, chances are good that you've heard at least something about some counterfeit money being passed around. Most of what I've seen and heard of have been dealing with $100 bills, but I've heard of some smaller denominations floating around such as $50's and $20's. We've put out a Consumer Alert today on our website which contains a link to a pdf file that shows the differences between a valid bill and some of the counterfeit bills currently floating around. Here is a link to the file: Spotting  A Counterfeit.

The Secret Service has a phone number that you can call to verify if a bill is valid or not (859.223.2358). If you get a counterfeit bill you should report it to either local police or the United States Secret Service Field Office. The Secret Service has a few tips you should follow if you receive a counterfeit bill:

• Don't return it to the person that gave it to you.

• Delay the passer if possible.

• Observe the passer's description, as well as that of any companions, and the license plate numbers of any vehicles used.

• Contact your local police department or United States Secret Service field office. (Numbers can be found on the inside front page of your local telephone directory.)

• Write your initials and the date in the white border areas of the suspect note.

• Limit the handling of the note. Carefully place it in a protective covering, such as an envelope.

• Surrender the note or coin only to a properly identified police officer or a U.S. Secret Service special agent.

So be sure to read up on how to spot a counterfeit bill and pay extra attention to the bills you receive.

The FDIC (Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation) recently published an article in their Fall 2009 issue of FDIC Consumer News about 5 things to know about safety deposit boxes, home safes and your valuables. Here is a brief summary of that article.

1. Think about what should or should not be kept in a bank’s safe deposit box. Important items that you don’t have to have instant access to make great candidates for items to be stored in a safety deposit box. Some example of items that might be good candidates is birth certificates, property deeds, and electronic files of irreplaceable photos.

2. You’re better off stashing your cash in a bank deposit account, like a savings account or certificate of deposit, than in a home safe or a safety deposit box. Cash placed in a home safe and safety deposit box is not covered or even has the potential to be covered by FDIC Insurance, like money would be in a deposit account, plus you wouldn’t be able to earn interest.

3. A home safe isn’t a true replacement for a bank’s safety deposit box. Home safes are nice because they are so easily accessible, but possibly not as safe as a safety deposit box as a burglar could force you to open the safe or haul it off easier than a safety deposit box.

4. If the banks fails, you’ll still have quick access to your safety deposit box. All of your contents should be available the first business day after a bank closes.

5. No safe deposit box or home safe is completely protected from theft, fire, flood or other loss or damage. Contents in a safe can be damaged by water so you might want to think about placing items that would be damaged by water in something to protect them such as a zip-lock bag. Also be careful about leaving identifying information on, attached to, or near by your safety deposit box key, such as box number and bank name. It’s very important to remember that contents in your safe or safety deposit box is not FDIC insured and the bank is not responsible for reimbursing you for any losses. You might want to talk with an insurance agent if you want extra protection on those items.