asusong.com

Month: December 2008

  • I take it all back…

    In my last post I said what a great job my bank did… I take it all back. They neglected to tell me on Monday that even though they reversed the autherization on those charges that they will still post to my account. So, what is the point of reversing them? I called them, oh my bank is US Bank… And I will soon be switching if I can. Once I get to a computer, I’m on my phone… I will give greater detail as too the flawed system… Stay tuned, and away from US Bank. I’ll also give some tips on how to work around this problem. Check back.

  • Holiday Banking… A Cautionary Tale

    Just a quick post to remind everyone to keep an eye your bank accounts over the holidays. I just spent a few minutes (WOO HOO to my bank for great service) on the phone with our bank clearing up almost $600.00 in fraudulent charges. Its always a good idea during heavy spending seasons to watch your bank account. If you have access to online banking i suggest you check your pending charges daily. By reporting charges before they have processed completely, the bank should be able to remove them immediately without having to credit your account, which can take days or weeks. Below are some more tips thanks to my banks website. 

    Protect My Information
    General

    • Retrieve mail promptly and send bills and other sensitive documents from a secure mailbox.
    • Shred private documents such as receipts, applications, bank statements, etc. Sign up for online statements to prevent theft of paper documents.
    • Keep documents such as your social security card or passport in a secure area at home or in a safety deposit box.
    • Review your credit report at least once a year.
    • Be careful when letting your check/credit/debit card out of your sight (restaurants, etc…) as it is easy to take a picture with a cell phone and then sell your card number all of the world. 

    Online, Email and Text Messages

    • Never share any personal information, especially Social Security Numbers, account numbers or login and password information via email. Banks will never ask for personal information via email.
    • Beware of phishing emails – These emails tell you that you must use the provided link to verify or change your account in some way. Banks will never send an email asking you for this type of information.
    • Beware of suspicious text messages requesting your account information via your mobile device (e.g., cell phone, PDA, etc.). Banks will never send a text message to your mobile device asking you for this type of information.
    • Keep your passwords secret and do not leave them in an unsecured area; change them regularly for better protection.

    Protect Your Computer

    • Install anti virus software to prevent viruses, and anti spam software to help prevent spam and junk email from entering your inbox. I recommend TrendMicro (They have lots of free tools as well.)
    • Install a firewall to help prevent unauthorized access to your computer.
    • Install spyware software to block the installation of spyware on your computer. Spyware can monitor or control your computer use, and send you pop ups or redirect you to Web sites.
    • Keep your computer operating system and internet browser current to provide additional protection against fraud and theft.
    • Back up all sensitive information from your old computer before you discard and erase the hard drive.
    • Change your wireless network default password as well as the default SSID (name used to identify your network), don’t broadcast your SSID and consider using encryption on your network.

    E-mail or call me if you need help with any of these things… It’s what I do…

    Additional Resources
    View a helpful video by the FDIC (Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation) to learn more about how to recognize and combat online fraud.

    Microsoft Security – find out about operating system updates and other software to protect your personal computer from viruses, and more.

    National Cyber Security Alliance – this organization is a cooperative effort by government and organizations to help combat online fraud and identity theft.

    Federal Trade Commission – read about how you can prevent identity theft and what to do if it happens.

    AnnualCreditReport.com – allows you to access your credit report from each of the three major credit bureaus once a year at no charge.

    Direct Marketing Association – contact the DMA to help reduce unwanted mail or phone calls.

    I did not write the above tips myself.  They were taken from my banks website and I will gladly cite them for the information if you e-mail me.  I am not listing my bank for security reasons.  Thank you.

  • Christmas Vacation Part 1

    Having a great time on vacation this week.  We are all going to the Christmas play at Erin and Dusty’s church tonight.  Tyson and Parker are having a great time as you can see…  We have all been shooting each other with Tyson’s nerf guns.  Well… Carson just work up so we have to get ready to go.  Watch out for pictures and videos coming soon from all our Christmas activities.

  • Carson’s Birthday

    We had a great time yestarday at Carson’s First Birthday party.  We were glad that most of my family got to come in.  Check out the pictures page to see the pictures from the party…  Video to come soon.  We also enjoyed the Clarksville Christmas Parade afterwards.  Good times in Clarksville.  I just love this time of year.  I have a busy week or two coming up as I get help to get things ready for First Christmas at First Baptist.  I was about to the put the links so you could take alook at First Christmas from last year on our website, but I just remembered that our web host had someone upload some maliousicous code to their servers, and they are down at the moment.  Oh well… Just something else I’ll have to deal with tomorrow.  I hope everyone has a great week.