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Is Your Money Safe

Making sure that our money is safe is one of the reasons we put our money in banks and do not stuff all of our savings into a mattress. But in today’s modern world, how safe is your bank? In the old days, we worked with actual checks and real written interactions. You had to go into a brick and mortar bank to get the check certified or deposited. Sure there was fraud, but it was not done in the same faceless scary way as the hi-tech fraud that takes place now.

By 2016, credit card fraud was way up, and so were other online fraud schemes. To try and combat this, banks are using algorithms to scan through mountains of transaction data and flag suspicious patterns and purchases. While this is admirable, it is also causing problems.

What happens when the bank sees a transaction as possible fraud is the purchase gets blocked, and the owner of the card is contacted. For many, these are legitimate things they are trying to buy. The banks are sending false alarms, and this is causing havoc with folks, as they are getting hung up at the checkout or denied a purchase altogether.

It is no wonder that the banks are trying desperately to get on top of the situation, as the fraudsters are getting more and more tech savvy and even more devious. Card numbers with matching zip codes are now apparently available in some of the murkier parts of the World Wide Web. The new chip and pin system was supposed to stop thieves from cloning cards, but they are now making cards with fake chips and telling the retailer the chip does not work, so they swipe it instead and take a signature.

Card fraud is a scourge that needs to be dealt with. A shocking 46% of Americans have been victim to some sort of credit card fraud in the last five years.

Make sure you try and keep your information safe, and check in with your bank to make sure they have adequate fraud alerts in place. This will at least put you in a more secure frame of mind when it comes to the rise of credit card fraud.

IMPORTANT DISCLOSURES

Material contained in this article is provided for information purposes only and is not intended to be used in connection with the evaluation of any investments offered by David Lerner Associates, Inc. This material does not constitute an offer or recommendation to buy or sell securities and should not be considered in connection with the purchase or sale of securities.

To the extent that this material concerns tax matters, it is not intended or written to be used, and cannot be used, by a taxpayer for the purpose of avoiding penalties that may be imposed by law.

Each taxpayer should seek independent advice from a tax professional based on his or her individual circumstances.

These materials are provided for general information and educational purposes based upon publicly available information from sources believed to be reliable– we cannot assure the accuracy or completeness of these materials. The information in these materials may change at any time and without notice.

David Lerner Associates does not provide tax or legal advice. The information presented here is not specific to any individual's personal circumstances. Member FINRA & SIPC

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