Author Archives: VP of Marketing and Business Development Jessica

How to Send Money with Zelle Safely

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Zelle® is a fast, safe and easy way to send and receive money with people you trust, like your babysitter, your fellow PTA mom, your son’s soccer coach, or your co-worker. Whether you just enrolled with Zelle® or have been an active user for a while, there are a few tips you should always keep in mind to ensure you are being safe when sending money.

Only send money to people you know and trust.

Money moves fast with Zelle®, directly from your checking account to the recipient’s checking account – within minutes.* So, it’s important you know and trust the people you’re sending money to.

Why? Because you can’t cancel a payment once it’s been sent, if the recipient is already enrolled with Zelle®. And if you send money to someone you don’t know for a product or service you might not receive (like paying for something in advance), you may not get your money back. Keep in mind that sending money with Zelle® is similar to handing someone cash.

Beware of payment scams.

One example of a payment scam is buying event tickets at a price that seems too good to be true – from a stranger, and never receiving them. If the seller asks you to use Zelle® to purchase the tickets, you should refuse unless the seller is a person you personally know.

Also, keep in mind that no one from First Financial will ever ask you to send them money with Zelle® as a test, or to send money to avoid a fraud event.

Neither First Financial nor Zelle® offers a protection program for authorized payments made with Zelle®. So, if you aren’t sure you will get what you paid for, you should instead use another payment method with purchase protection, such as a credit card.

Treat Zelle® like cash.

Did your friend change phone numbers recently? It’s easy for people to change their phone number or email address. When in doubt, contact your friend to verify the email or U.S. mobile number they used to enroll with Zelle® before you hit “Send.” Another good check point for ensuring you’re paying the right person, is to confirm the first name that is displayed for Zelle® enrolled emails and U.S. mobile numbers.

If a person has already enrolled a U.S. mobile number or email address with Zelle®, you can’t cancel the transaction – so it’s important you get it right the first time.

If you’d like more information on safely using person-to-person (P2P) payments, check out these articles from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).

Helpful Tips for Using Mobile Payments Services and Avoiding Risky Mistakes

Tips on Using Peer-to-Peer Payment Systems and Apps

How to Keep Your Personal Information Secure Online

Some final reminders:

  • Always use caution when sending or receiving money from someone you don’t know. Scammers can trick people into sending money through a person-to-person payment app without upholding their end of the deal. And once the money leaves your account and is transferred to the scammer, there is little you can do to get it back.
  • Double check before pressing send. Be sure you are sending your payment to the correct person by double checking their user name, phone number, or email address before you hit the send payment button.
  • Setup your P2P payment app to require a password before making a payment. Setting up a password, PIN, or fingerprint before making a payment with a person-to-person payment app is a great way to ensure authentication first. This also prevents a fraudster from gaining easy access to your mobile phone payment methods and making payments from your account.
  • Contact your financial institution right away if you suspect any errors. If you notice any fraudulent transactions within your P2P payment app, contact your bank or credit union right away to report it.

*U.S. checking or savings account required to use Zelle®. Transactions between enrolled users typically occur in minutes.

Zelle and the Zelle related marks are wholly owned by Early Warning Services, LLC and are used herein under license.

How to Spot Identity Theft and Ways it Can be Used Against You

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ID theft is unfortunately very commonplace today, and sometimes it can be unavoidable. Keep reading to find out a few ways you can safeguard your personal and financial information, how to spot if identity theft might be happening to you, and ways that having your identity stolen can be used against you.

3 Main Signs Your Identity Has Been Stolen:

  • There are accounts you don’t recognize on your credit report.
  • There are unfamiliar transactions on your credit card or bank statements.
  • The IRS informs you that more than one tax return has come in under your name.

Ways ID Theft Can Be Used Against You:

  • The identity thief may use your information to get credit, a loan, or another service in your name. This will ultimately affect your credit score, and potentially your credit usage and how much you’ll be approved for – if not spotted in time.
  • Your own money could be stolen right out of your bank account. If the identity thief uses your personal information to login to your bank accounts, your money could be stolen right out from under you.
  • Your tax refund could get stolen. If you go to file your taxes and are notified by the IRS that they already have a return filed under you, this is a very good indicator that an identity thief has already gained access to your tax refund.
  • Your Social Security Number could be used to work at a job you don’t actually have. An identity thief who has access to your SSN may use it for their own employment purposes. This could also directly affect your tax return, as it would add extra income you will be taxed on.
  • Your health insurance could be used to provide medical care or prescriptions to an identity thief.
  • Your personal and financial information could be used to file a false unemployment claim. This would mean unemployment benefits are being issued in your name to someone else.

There are a few things you can put in place to spot ID theft right away, and to help thwart it off:

  • Be sure you are reviewing an annual free credit report. At least once a year, go to annualcreditreport.com and review your credit report for accounts you didn’t open yourself, or to see if there were any credit inquiries that are not yours. You’ll want to check for credit cards you didn’t open, and car or personal loans you did not apply for. Utility services will also appear on your credit report, so you’ll also want to make sure you actually have the ones listed on it.
  • Check your bank statements often. At least once a month, review your bank and credit card statements to check for accuracy. Be sure the purchases listed were ones made by you. If not, call your financial institution to dispute any incorrect charges right away.
  • Sign up for email or text alerts. Most banks and credit cards offer purchase alerts that you can setup for your accounts. Check your mobile app or online banking settings to see what your alert options are. Here at First Financial, our members have access to First Financial Wallet. If you haven’t already, get started today!
  • Review your health insurance statements. Take note of any medical bills or explanation of benefits statements that arrive in the mail. If you don’t recognize a medical procedure or expense listed, call your health insurance provider immediately.

For more ways to protect your identity, check out our identity theft prevention guide.

Article Source: consumer.ftc.gov

Preventing Cyber Fraud

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Online and mobile fraud have certainly become more commonplace and extra concerning these days. Unfortunately, just a password is no longer enough to protect your important personal information against the threat of a cyber data breach. Keep reading to find out important ways to protect yourself and your personal and financial data online.

  • Set-up multi-factor authentication (MFA) on your various accounts. What is MFA? This is a secondary layer of security used to verify your identity. This means in addition to logging in as normal, you would also receive a confirmation email or text with a temporary code that is typically only valid for a few minutes. This second layer of protection allows the bank account you’re logging into, app, social media platform, or online shopping site (even Amazon has a two-factor authentication option for logging into your account) to verify that it’s really you and not a fraudster. Logging in with a fingerprint or Face ID is also considered an MFA option. Using MFA will allow you to be much less likely to get hacked. The more layers of security protection you have, the better!
  • Be sure your software and OS are up to date. Always make sure your online and mobile security software has been updated. This means any anti-virus programs you’re running, firewalls, your computer, smartphone and tablet operating systems (OS), as well as apps and software. Making sure your devices are up to date means that there are no security holes present or ways to gain access to your secure data. An easy way to be sure this is set-up is to enable automatic device updates, or allow your device to perform the update each time you see a notification. Don’t wait until it’s too late!
  • Beware of suspicious emails, calls, and texts. Even if the message or call appears to be from your financial institution. Also be weary of any links that may appear in emails or texts. Clicking on a fraudulent link can be a phishing or malware scam which enables an online criminal to gain access to your bank accounts and personal data. If you receive a message or call that you are unsure of, hang up and don’t click on any links. Instead, call or stop into your trusted financial institution and ask them if they were in fact trying to contact you. An important note to remember is that a legitimate financial institution, business, or organization will never typically contact you out of nowhere and ask you to reveal any personal or financial information (they already have it).
  • Be careful when using public Wi-Fi. If you are logging into your mobile banking app or any secure accounts (especially ones that have access to credit or debit cards), be sure you are not on public Wi-Fi. This makes it easy for a cyber thief to hack into your device through a shared network. Login to these types of sites at home using your secure password protected network, and if you absolutely must login while on the go – be sure to turn off your device’s Wi-Fi connection first. How to know a browser or network is secure? You’ll see a padlock icon within the corner of the browser. This means that you’re on a safe, encrypted network.
  • Use strong passwords and security questions. When you do need to create a password, make sure it’s a strong one that’s hard to crack. For instance – avoid using common names, words, and phrases. Also refrain from using numbers that are in order (ex: Hello123 is not a secure password), and try to also use special characters or substitute characters for letters/numbers (ex: F$rst!97). When setting up security questions, choose ones that only you would know personally and that would be extremely difficult to guess.
  • Monitor your accounts and set-up notifications. It’s always a good idea to monitor your frequently used and bank accounts on a daily basis. This will allow you to check for any fraudulent transactions or purchases you did not make. Another useful tip is to setup account alerts for your bank accounts – most financial institutions or credit cards will allow you to set-up email or text alerts for purchases, debits over a certain amount, low balance alerts, phone or online transactions, and more. Enabling these notifications will allow you to see instantly when a transaction was made that was not done by you.

As always, if you find any fraudulent transactions or receive any suspicious communications regarding your First Financial account – please contact us right away at 732.312.1500 or by emailing info@firstffcu.com.

Also remember that First Financial will never ask you for online or mobile banking login codes you receive, under any circumstances. We will also not ever ask you to download any remote desktop applications to your device.

You can rest assured that First Financial’s Online Banking and Mobile App are protected with various MFA capabilities. We also have the First Financial Wallet App, where you can keep track of all your First Financial card purchases and receive real time alerts right to your mobile phone.

THINK First because There’s Harm In Not Knowing!

Wedding Planning Ideas on a Budget

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Are you planning a wedding and looking to cut costs? You’ve come to the right place! One of the biggest factors of planning a wedding is figuring out what you can afford, and how you can stay within your budget. In 2019, the average wedding cost was reported at $38,700, with expenses primarily associated with the ceremony and reception. However, wedding costs greatly vary based on location and size.

Don’t let this take away from your excitement – planning an affordable wedding is very much within reach if you play your cards right. Here are our helpful tips for planning a wedding on a budget.

Save for Your Wedding

When it comes to making any big purchases, it’s best to start the process by building your savings first. The longer you save for your wedding, the better. Ideally, couples should start saving before they even get engaged. While that may sound odd, it’s important to start to save for bigger purchases down the line, even if you’re not yet ready to get married or buy a home at the moment.

Based on your income and budget, you can determine how much to put into your savings account per paycheck. Even starting small will make a big difference once it’s time to begin wedding planning!

Create a Wedding Budget and Stick to it

More than a quarter of couples in the U.S. report going into debt to pay off their weddings. However, building a realistic budget and sticking to it can significantly lessen the chances of that happening.

Start by determining the type of wedding you want and how many guests you would like to have. Then write out a list of essentials for your wedding like the venue, attire, photographer, music, food, rings, gifts, and more. Research how much these expenses could potentially cost, and prioritize what you need versus what you want. This breakdown will help you understand the total investment and identify where to cut costs.

Choose a Venue You Can Afford

The wedding venue may end up being the most expensive part of your special day, but luckily there are plenty of options for every couple. If the standard large wedding hall exceeds your budget limitations, here are some additional venue options to consider:

  • A spacious backyard
  • A rustic barn
  • A music or art gallery
  • A small destination wedding at an all-inclusive resort
  • A public park or outdoor gazebo
  • A restaurant

Make sure to compare the prices of each option before making a final decision on the venue. Some may have limits on the number of guests who can attend, or the type of caterers you can work with. These factors should be considered as well.

Time Your Wedding Wisely

Wedding costs will vary depending on the time of year. January through March is considered off-season in the wedding industry, so you’ll likely find the lowest costs around that time. Some venues also offer discounts for events booked on Fridays, Sundays, or mid-week. Though keep in mind, weekday weddings may be difficult for your guests to attend.

Tap into Your Network

Do you have a photographer, DJ, or hairstylist in your friend group or network? Consider utilizing their services. Going with a vendor you know, may also help you secure a bit of a discount! If you need help with cooking food or setting up decorations, relatives or friends could also help in exchange for a wedding gift.

Try DIY Wedding Decor and Favors

Head over to Pinterest for inspiration on trendy DIY wedding decor ideas. Then visit your local dollar store to see what affordable items you can use for your reception like vases, jars, candle holders, table cloths, ribbons, and more. Since flowers can get pricey, try substituting for greenery instead.

Wedding favors for your guests can easily get overlooked. Rather than overspending on customized wedding swag, try handmaking gifts your guests will appreciate like candles, chocolates, jams, and more. Plus, it will be fun to make the favors together with your soon-to-be spouse!

Want to open a new savings account or apply for a personal loan to cover wedding expenses?* Visit a First Financial branch or contact us to speak with a representative today.

*A $5 deposit in a base savings account is required for credit union membership prior to opening any other account/loan. All personal memberships are part of the Rewards First program and a $5 per month non-participation fee is charged to the base savings account for memberships not meeting the minimum requirements of the program. Click here to view full Rewards First program details. Some restrictions apply, contact the Credit Union for more information.

 APR = Annual Percentage Rate. Rates are subject to change. Maximum loan is $25K and maximum term is 60 months. Not all applicants qualify, subject to credit approval. A First Financial membership is required to obtain a Personal Loan, and is open to anyone who lives, works, worships, volunteers or attends school in Monmouth or Ocean Counties. A $5 deposit in a base savings account is required for credit union membership prior to opening any other account/loan. See credit union for details.

Ways to Avoid Spending Temptations

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Do you find yourself buying items you don’t really need, or that weren’t on your list before you went into the store? Avoiding the temptation to buy things is not always easy, especially since as consumers we are often surrounded by items to purchase. What’s the best way to stop spending money? Know what triggers your impulse to spend.

Here are also some more ways to avoid the temptation to spend money:

Think about logistics. Before you decide to purchase something, think logistically – how will you use it? If you’re buying something that you’ll probably only use one day a year, is it really worth it to spend the extra money on it? Or if you’re about to purchase something that you have no storage space for, it might be a better idea to walk right by it.

When possible, use cash. Using a credit card to make purchases makes it almost too easy – especially when it’s an impulse buy. When you can, budget ahead for your purchases and only carry the cash you need to purchase the items on your list. If you only have a set amount in your wallet, you’ll be unable to buy any extra temptations. If you want to spend less – be sure to leave the credit card at home.

If you wouldn’t buy it at full price, don’t buy it on sale either. Just because something is on sale or clearance, doesn’t mean it’s a great deal. Do you really need this item? Is it something you’ve wanted for a long time? If the purchase isn’t something you would have used or bought at full price, buying it on sale is still overpaying and spending money you didn’t need to (for an item you’ll probably never use).

Make a list and stick to it. Before you go into the store, make a list. Planning ahead with a shopping list allows you to know exactly what you need and how much to plan to spend. When you don’t make a list and continue to be tempted by items you see in the store and add them to your shopping cart, it can really blow your budget – to the tune of hundreds in some cases.

Put the 24-hour rule in place. If you see an item that you absolutely have to buy, make a mental note to come back to it 24 hours later. This gives you a full day to really think the purchase through and decide if you actually need the item, and if you truly have the money for it. Also, don’t purchase it on impulse and tell yourself you can always return the item. More than likely, you never will.

Think about the long-term. Before you decide to purchase something, think about how long you’ll keep it for and be realistic. How would you feel about spending hard earned money on something, only to throw it away a few weeks or months later because you truly never needed it? Before you go out and buy a new item, take note of what you may already have at home that can be repurposed. Purchasing something new that just sits in a closet, is a waste of both your time and money.

If you need help creating a financial plan to avoid spending temptations, check out our handy budgeting guide or stop into your local First Financial branch!

Article Source: Moneyning.com