Do you check your retirement accounts regularly? Or do you take an “invest it and forget it” approach? Be careful if you do.
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Fidelity, Schwab, and most likely all big investment firms offer two-factor authentication for their customers.
If your accounts aren’t set up to use it, add it. It is almost certainly free and would have stopped the kind of theft reported in that story.
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I think whoever came up with 2 factor authentication was genious. It adds an extra step (which coincidentally I did earlier today to check on my 401k), but I like the added security.
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And don’t settle for 2FA using your phone, either. Schwab has a gizmo that generates a random number every 30 seconds that you have to type in. Fidelity has the same thing in a program that runs on your laptop. (Not sure if they have a gizmo).
A text to your phone doesn’t cut it when you have this much money on the line.
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I use Fidelity and Vanguard and while I don’t use two step authentication and haven’t noticed it for Fidelity, for Vanguard if using a different device it sends me a text so no one else can use it. But regardless, the fact that these people didn’t even bother to pay attention to their accounts and check their balances to see these transfers out is sad. I’m guessing they had quite a bit of money in there so that a $20k transfer for each of them was a drop in the bucket. And the fact that fidelity supposedly sent a letter locking their account that they claim they didn’t receive whether true or not, still means these people never even logged on once or checked a single monthly statement in all that time to even notice the transactions. No wonder they didn’t want their names shared for the story. They don’t sound like the brightest bulbs in the bunch anyway. If you are going to be responsible for your own retirement accounts (or any account) pay attention to what’s going on in them on a regular basis.
A text to a phone is more than sufficient if it’s your phone and you’re not calling someone or someone isn’t calling you asking for the number. The key is to not be caught in a phishing scheme or to give your info out to anyone that calls. Also password protect things and change passwords. But bottom line is to be cognizant and check your accounts regularly.
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I bet a lot of people don’t check regularly. A few weeks ago at dinner friends said they were going to check their retirement accounts after a few years, but they couldn’t remember who held the money offhand. They did figure it out, and were pleased to find the past two years have been good to them.
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I believe that there only two or three of my accounts at both firms are authorized to transfer money to an account other than pre-specified accounts. One of these is a bank account whose only purpose typically is for my ATM card. I keep the balance below $4K, because ATM fraud is so common. To transfer to an account not already pre-authorized requires a written and signed form or letter from me (I suppose this is forgeable). Moreover, all wires of any magnitude need to be confirmed by a phone call to me on my cell phone. No text. In the case of my independent FA, I think I get two confirming phone call requests for a sizeable wire – one from someone in the FA and one from the brokerage firm. In the case of the wealth manager, I get a call from his staff. In both cases, they know me personally and know my voice.
I assume that if I were disabled or dead, my wife has POA though I have to check (thanks CC) or executor would be authorized. My business partner could handle our jointly held company but on my 100%-owned company, I need to check who would have authority to transfer money out if I weren’t able to do so. I don’t typically keep much in that company.
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While a text to your phone is better than nothing, your phone could be stolen or your number sim-swapped. I don’t have apps from financial companies remember passwords for this reason.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/theconversation.com/amp/can-i-still-be-hacked-with-2fa-enabled-144682
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Goodness. I check my accounts at Schwab at least weekly. I keep a spreadsheet of our IRA values as of every Friday, plus every month-end and every year-end. Of course, that’s because I’m retired and I need to keep track of what’s going on. And it’s interesting – sort of the digital equivalent of sitting in a bathtub with gold coins around me.
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Is ATM fraud that common compared to Visa/MC fraud?
Seems that it is best to have ATM cards that are only ATM-capable, without Visa/MC capability, due to the high rate of Visa/MC fraud.
one of the advantages of a credit card is that the cc company generally has liability for fraud. ATM cards are more the responsibility of the owner.
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On the topic of retiree health insurance–is it just me or does any anyone else who is currently retired have difficulty communicating with the customer service folks at Blue Cross Blue Shield? I recently called about drug coverage on my BCBS prescription plan and was more confused than when I started.
I have Medicare, a BCBS supplemental plan, and a BCBS prescription plan with a deductible (amount changes every year) and copays on the prescription plan that vary depending on the pharmacy I use and whether the drug is in Tier 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5. I also didn’t realize that my cost would go down if I used a mail order service for prescriptions.
Anyone have suggestions on people to contact to get straightforward information? I take one medication and just started on another so I haven’t had much experience with the prescription plan.
No helpful advice @Bromfield2. Only commisserating. I also have a BCBS supplement, but a different drug plan. I’ve never seen a company so difficult to pay my monthly premiums as my BCBS plan! (I’ll admit they’ve been great so far on paying medical bills, however).
I did learn that BCBS is not a national company, as is United or USAA for example. Each state has their own rules, but my BCBS company is totally different management from a family member in another state. They tend to be regional, and you’ll need to contact the one in your region. Mine happens to have a brick and mortar office in my home town, so if I couldn’t get an answer by phone, I’d probably show up at the office. Haven’t had to do that – yet.
You might also see if there is a SHIP (State Health Insurance assistance Program) that can guide you? They’re a great resource when first choosing Medicare options, but may also offer assistance on a specific company.
Yes, for purchases, a credit card is preferable to a debit card for this reason.
However, an ATM card is still useful to get currency out of ATMs.
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It bothers me that Vanguard, Fidelity and others are constantly trying to get me to switch to online statements instead of mailing me printed statements. If my account gets hacked the only thing I have to prove how much money I have in the account is the paper statements. Sure, I can print the online statement to get it on paper, but that’s not the same because when you print statements yourself it is much more susceptible to manipulation, but paper statements mailed by the bank cannot be manipulated easily, so they are much stronger evidence.
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Brom: with only one Rx, you might be better off with a different Part D carrier. (BC/BS Part D in my zip code are pricey unless you need a lot of meds.) Have you compared prices on the medicare website? Just bcos you have a Blue for Part B doesn’t mean you need a Blue for Part D. And yes, mail order can be great, particularly maintenance meds.
@bromfield2 look at the Medicare drug site with the plan you are on and you can type in the medication to see what the cost would be under your plan – and your BCBS should have a web site to check into drug cost - as to tier and pricing from retail pharmacy or specific mail in.
We are not on the Medicare plans until Oct 2021 but I have checked pricing on current drugs with our Walgreen’s, which is on our BCBS Medicare drug pricing when we put in Pharmacy on the Medicare Drug site. It varies with the specific mail in pharmacy, but our maintenance drugs are 3 month supply.
Omg that is nuts. Who doesn’t check for a few years their accounts? Not only that, but usually there is info there that you need to report to your accountant.
Haha, you sound like me. I’m not retired or close to it at 52, but I keep a spreadsheet of all of our assets and values amost every Friday, and update it at least every couple of weeks. I also check my brokerage accounts daily because I am always looking for buying and sell opportunities in my IRA’s or non IRA accounts.
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