Our Phones & Messaging Apps Have Become the Primary Source of Phishing Attacks

Posted in Board Brief, KTFCU News on Mar 19, 2025

Part 1 of 2

Almost all Americans own a cell phone (98%). In 2023, 76% of those were smartphones.

Our mobile phones are increasingly becoming instruments of phishing and spam attacks via our text apps. The industry calls these “smishing” schemes.

In 2022, 19.5% of texts were reported as spam (requests to block) and they are growing at a 15% rate per year.

What to Do?
Here is one example supposedly from the US Postal Service (USPS).

Upon inspection, here are some simple observations:

• The sender is from the Philippines (+63).
• It claims to be US Post and USPS parcel but does not say US Postal Se...

Important Documents Series-Clutter Almost Gone! (Part 4 of 4)

Posted in Board Brief, KTFCU News on Feb 19, 2025

The key to good document control is to know how long to keep them, how to securely store them and how to safely dispose of them.

In closing, we look at documents to consider saving less than 3 years:

• Monthly/Quarterly Statements (keep credit card, investment and mortgage statements for one year and save annual statements for 3 years)
• Pay Stubs (save annually, confirm with W-2 or 1099 and keep with the tax return documents)
• Bank Statements (keep for one year unless they are tax-related statements which should be kept with the tax return)
• ATM Receipts & Bank Deposits (keep and match with monthl...

Important Document Series-What to Save and When (Part 3 of 4)

Posted in Board Brief, KTFCU News on Jan 15, 2025

The key to good document control is to know how long to keep them, how to securely store them and how to safely dispose of them.
In this edition, we look at documents to consider saving 3 years or more:

• Tax Returns (minimum three years and preferably seven years)
• Home Purchase Documents (seven years after selling your home)
• Home Capital Improvements (save as long as you own your home)
• Home & Product Warranties (keep until warranty expires)
• Investment Statements (save seven years after sale of investment)
• Insurance Policies (keep the most current until policy expires)
• Loans (keep most recent s...