Buyer Beware: Tips for Safe Online Shopping

Presented by Mark Phillips

 

Looking for power tools? A vintage Chanel purse? A living-room sofa? Millions of shoppers are bypassing brick-and-mortar stores, as well as their respective websites, in favor of purchasing such items from individual online sellers. For many people, sites like Craigslist and eBay offer a chance to save on everyday items and luxury products, both new and used—all from the comfort of their own homes.

Yet, while online shopping may be a convenient way to find deals and one-of-a-kind items, it’s important to protect your identity and financial information, particularly when dealing with individual sellers. Before you purchase anything listed on an online classified ad, auction, or marketplace site, keep the following precautions in mind.

 

Read the full article...Click here.

The IRS Tax Prep Tool Kit…

Presented by Mark Phillips

As we roll closer to the April 15 date for filing our taxes (or your extension to file) I wanted to share with you a neat web site of tax tools offered by the IRS.

http://www.irs.gov/uac/Tools

Everything from free filing software for the do it yourselfer,  a calculator to assist you with setting up payroll withholding accurately, forms to request a copy of an old tax return, and many tools/forms for small business owners as well. These and many other tools may prove useful to you throughout the year at various times, not just at this time of the year.

Consider saving this link for future reference on tax issues you may have.

Tax Scams for 2015

Presented by Mark Phillips

As part of our ongoing efforts to help keep your personal information as safe as possible, we want to remind you to stay on the lookout for the many e-mail, text message, and voicemail scams making the rounds in cyberspace today.

Tax return scammers are starting their season early! Recent fraudulent activity has involved e-mails and phone calls claiming to come from the IRS regarding tax refunds. Some fraudsters have been asking for sensitive refund information over the phone or using e-mails stating that someone has filed for the recipient’s refund and that he or she needs to click a (malicious) link if he or she did not file for it. Common characteristics of the scams include:

· The criminal may use a fake or common name and make up taxpayer identification information.

· The scammer may know certain information about the recipient, such as the last four digits of the recipient’s social security number or personal e-mail address.

· The scammer may spoof his or her phone number so that appears to be the IRS’s toll-free number and mimics actual IRS calls—complete with phone conversations going on in the background.

· The criminal may follow up phone calls with e-mails to appear legitimate.

· The scammer may threaten the recipient and scare him or her into falling for the scheme. Such threats may include driver license revocation, pretending to be a police officer, and so on.

Any phone calls or e-mails regarding your tax refund or that contain the characteristics listed above should automatically raise a red flag. Do not provide any information to the caller, click on any links, or open any attachments.

What to do if you receive a suspicious e-mail or phone call
If you receive an e-mail or phone call asking for information regarding your tax refund, please delete it from your inbox immediately—or hang up on the caller—and don’t click on any links, open any attachments, provide any information, or reply to the sender. Links and attachments could potentially install malicious software onto your computer, and the sender or caller could use your personal sensitive information to steal your identity or actual tax refund.

Protect yourself
Keep in mind the following if you receive any suspicious phone calls or e-mails regarding your tax return:

1. As noted above, don’t click on any links or attachments within an e-mail.
2. Do not provide any information to the sender or caller if it is asked for. Immediately hang up or delete the e-mail.

3. Call the IRS at 866.562.5227 if you are unsure of the legitimacy of an e-mail or phone call.

4. Prepare and file your tax returns as early as possible. This will take away the scammer’s ability to file and steal your return. This will also help you in detecting whether a call or e-mail is fraudulent or not. If someone claims you need to provide him or her with information to file your return, and you have already filed your return, you will know that the request is fraudulent!

5. If you access a dangerous attachment or link, and believe a password-stealer is running on your computer, get in touch with a technology specialist.
6. All unsolicited e-mails concerning password or account changes to any of your online accounts—especially unsolicited e-mails that contain attachments—should be considered scams until verified. Open a new browser and log in directly to the account in question to check the situation.

7. Refer to the IRS’s “Dirty Dozen Tax Scams for 2015” to get the 12 most common scam types that have seen going around.

Rest assured that we are always concerned about information security. If you have any questions, please contact us at 949.333.6394

What Stories Do You Like to Tell

Presented by Mark Phillips

 

From our favorite illustrator of all things elated to behavioral finance, Carl Richards, comes the latest post of the above title. As with so many of Carl’s insights this is worth our consideration.

We are so easily prone to telling ourselves a story that supports us doing what we emotionally want to do, and then looking for the evidence to justify what we are wanting to or have done. This is an incideous process, it begins happening within us long before we become conscious that our emotions are manipulating our logic centers of the brain.

As always, Carl offers one of his hand drawn pictures…. Enjoy, and allow this to challenge your reasoning for the choices you are making.

Click here or on the title above to access the drawing and article.

College is Free

Presented by Mark Phillips

Free online courses are setting the academic world abuzz. A combination of technological advancement and “economic need” are helping to drive this trend. Free online courses are on the rise and receiving a warm welcome. While, as Kim Clark’s article in Money magazine points out, there are still advantages to being in the classroom, one can benefit with online courses by honing their skills, boosting their knowledge, even learning a new hobby.  

One of my favorite websites is www.coursera.org, which offers more than 300 classes from 62 schools. 

Click here to read further and take advantage of all the free courses

The King of Human Error

Presented by Mark Phillips

As this article from Vanity Fair points out, Nobel Prize-winning writer and psychologist Daneil Kahneman reveals the kinks of the human mind when it comes to reasoning and making rational decisions. In his new book, Thinking, Fast and Slow, he uses himself as Exhibit A and looks at the psychology and reasoning behind why people who buy lottery tickets also buy insurance and why people are less likely to sell their houses and their stock portfolios in falling markets, as a few examples. Knowing how the mind works (or not) is a great start to hopefully making better decisions in our daily lives.

Read further to learn more.

Healthcare- What You Need To Know

Presented By: Nick Bautista

It's that time of year. The time when you must select your health care plan for next year.



Being that the open enrollment period is upon us for employers it's good to review the basics of what Health insurance coverages mean. With all the recent changes in Health Care you may be thinking what happens to your health insurance as you go to choose a plan for 2014.

Well... Not much, as the employee based plans won't see much change. But maybe you are asking, what they heck do all the health coverages mean again, I don't know which one to choose?

Know the basics

Deductible - The amount you pay the insurer to start insurance coverage for whatever you need. For example if you have a $200 deductible and need a $10,000 surgery of which your insurance will cover 80% of the cost, then you would have to pay your deductible before the insurance company started paying their 80%.

Coinsurance amount - is the amount the insurance company splits the cost with you, which is usually 80/20, meaning your insurance company will pay 80% of the cost while you cover the 20% after the deductible is paid.

Maximum Out of Pocket - The maximum you will pay for any procedures (surgeries, the like) after the deductible. In the previous example if your maximum OOP was $1,000, after you pay the $200 deductible you would be responsible to pay 20% (co-insurance amount) but would only pay up to your maximum Out of Pocket, which would be in this case $1,000.

Premium - Cost of coverage, either you pay, your employer pays or you share. This is usually a monthly cost.

Copay- The amount you pay when you visit a Doctor.

HMO – think of a gatekeeper. You must visit your primary doctor to have access to other specialist, through a primary doctor referral

PPO – Go direct to the Doctor, no gatekeeper.

Knowing these basics give you a better idea on which insurance to choose. A rule of thumb is that if you are young and healthy a high deductible is likely best being that you won't have much need to see a Doctor as would a 60 year old. Keep in mind that if you do have a high deductible then you should have the cash in reserves, if you did have a health event, to pay for the high deductible cost.

One last thing to do is call your primary doctor before you switch coverages so that you know they will accept your new insurance. Don’t let health insurance and the new laws scare you, give us a call if you have questions.