At the monthly Lunch N’ Net sponsored by the Brookfield Chamber of Commerce, 
featured speaker was Charlie Williams, the Senior Security Officer for the Savings Bank of Danbury. He spoke on the topic of protecting your financial information. He told the audience that banks lose more money to fraud and scams than they do to robberies. Beginning with an overview of the most common SCAMS, he touched on Lottery Scams, Bail money for family members, IRS, Quick Car Sales, and others that ask the “Victim” to wire money. No legitimate enterprise will ever ask you to wire money for any reason. Employees at Saving Bank of Danbury are especially vigilant about asking for details before agreeing to do wire transfers. Mr. Williams pointed out that once the money is wired there is no way the Bank or anyone else can help you to get it back.
ID theft, he noted, is one of the fastest growing crimes. With the convenience of debit cards and online shopping come some risk. He advised being especially protective of allowing anyone assess to private information. Tips included shredding bills, mailing outgoing bills from the post office, paying bills online and not routinely carrying credit cards in your wallet. He recommended ordering online only from secure sites rather than 3rd party wholesalers. The good news is that as a consumer you are able to contest fraudulent charges up to 60 days. Not so for business accounts. They need to be reviewed daily as the “look back” period is only 48 hours. The first thing to do if you suspect your identity has been compromised is to alert the 3 credit reporting companies, Experian, Equifax, and Transunion and ask them to put a Fraud Alert on all of your cards. He also recommended having photocopies of all of your documents including social security card, license and credit cards stored in a safe place.
New forms of credit and debit cards will be available shortly with implanted EMVchips. Vendors will need new scanners to accommodate this change. These cards have been used in Europe for years. The new Apple Pay is one of the most secure ways currently used. Rather than carrying a card it is actually on your smartphone and is fingerprint protected. It works like a debit card and can be presented to many vendors at this point.
Thank you to Branch Manager, Linda Wagner, for arranging this informative talk. The Brookfield Chamber is holding these topical presentations monthly on the 4rth Thursday of the month from 12:00-1:30. Either call the chamber office at 203 775-8282 or go to www.brookfieldchamber.org for upcoming event.