Wheatworks Blog: Financial Matters

Here’s one to stir you up. Some bankrupt lenders are literally “trashing” the financial documents of borrowers, throwing names, addresses, social security numbers and financial records into dumpsters for any identity thief to find and use.

The consequences for the bankrupt lender? None. How do you prosecute a company that no longer exists? In businesses like these, greed trumps ethics every time.

Read the article: Bankrupt lenders throwing away your privacy

Without prosecution for this behavior, don’t expect fear of legal consequences to stop this type of irresponsible behavior.

Protecting yourself online takes work. One cannot go willy-nilly where one wishes on the Internet … there are bad neighborhoods on the ‘net. Nor can one leave one’s own doors unlocked. Computer security requires constant effort.

Most know to use locked down firewalls and to use encrypted drives with long, random string passwords which are not written on sticky notes and stuck to monitors. The careful computer users make at least two back ups on encrypted devices which are stored off site in vaults.

Now, while paranoia about losing data or losing it to the wrong person may help you be safer than most computer users, you do have to realize that being paranoid (and consequently, safer) doesn’t mean someone’s not out there trying to get you data. There are people who would love to have access to your financial accounts.

You must protect your financial passwords!

One of the best tools for keeping financial passwords safe is Bruce Schneier’s Password Safe.

Learn more about Bruce and information security at http://www.schneier.com. (You’ll be glad you did.) And if you want to secure your financial passwords, try Password Safe. “Password Safe is completely free: no license requirements, shareware fees, or other strings attached.”

The Investment Adviser Public Disclosure website is a service of the US Securities and Exchange Commission which no investor should overlook.

Using the SEC’s Investment Adviser Public Disclosure website you can search for information about investment adviser firms and their key personnel. Investment advisers must file a Form ADV to register with the SEC. This Form ADV provides some fairly detailed information about an investment adviser and its business operations. Form ADVs also contain disclosures about some of the disciplinary events which involve the adviser and key staff.

If you have a relationship with an investment adviser, you’ll want to visit the Investment Adviser Public Disclosure website and check up on the people who manage your money.

"Buy American", I posted yesterday. The news today on MSNBC.com offers another good reason. China has shut down 180 food factories for using industrial chemicals like formaldehyde, industrial wax and illegal dyes in the production of everything from pickles to seafood.