Good Financial Reads: Data Security and Best Practices

2 min read
July 02, 2021

Data Security and Best Practices

Modern Financial Planning: Personal Data Security

by Jason Speciner, Financial Planning Fort Collins

While security breaches are nothing new, the tactics hackers use to access personal information are always changing. In the last decade alone, big names like Facebook-owned WhatsApp, Uber, Home Depot, Yahoo!, Marriott  — and even credit reporting agency Equifax — have fallen victim!

But online data security is only one half of the story, and with so much emphasis placed on keeping yourself safe on the web, it can be easy to forget about the importance of physical data security.

[Read the Full Article]

 

Data Security Overview

by Trevore Meyer, Financial Design Studio

We live in an ever increasing technology driven world. We have data here, data there, and it is always going up here and it is going down there.

Half the time we don’t know what it is doing and where it is going, but it is kinda important for us to know how best we can secure ourselves in this type of world.

[Watch the Video

 

Identity Theft: What You Need to Know

by Rob Stoll, Financial Design Studio

So we are here today to talk about identify theft. It is near and dear to our hearts because we have both recently gone through something similar to this. 

So at the end of 2019 as I was wrapping up our budget getting ready for 2020, I noticed that right around Christmas I had right around 6500 in fraudulent charges to Nordstrom.

[Watch the Video

 

How Long Do I Need to Keep Financial Documents?

by Jim Bradley, Penobscot Financial Advisors

If you ask this question online, you’re going to receive a litany of web articles, many from banks and insurance companies, some from the IRS.  I noted recently that they all basically say the same thing, so I’ll certainly pass along the following:

  • Keep tax records for 3 years (the IRS reserves the right to inspect any of your tax returns within that period)
  • Unless you understated your income by more than 25 percent, in which case keep them for 6 years…
  • Unless you filed a fraudulent return, in which case keep the records forever (isn’t understating your income by 25% kind of fraudulent?)
  • The IRS requires that you keep any records related to unfiled tax returns forever. (Friendly recommendation:  File the returns.  Don’t commit tax fraud or understate income.  Now you’re back to the three year rule!)

[Read the Full Article]


Following along with the blogs of financial advisors is a great way to access valuable, educational information about finance — and it doesn’t cost you a thing! Our financial planners love to share their knowledge and help everyone regardless of age or assets.