| by First Nebraska Author , General | In Newsletters
People Helping People is our quarterly newsletter focusing on financial topics and news that is most important to our members.
Student Loan Repayment, Simplified
By GreenPath Financial Wellness
After a historical hiatus throughout the pandemic, borrowers now face federal student loan repayment. Evaluating your full financial picture and making a repayment plan goes a long way towards reducing stress and uncertainty. Unsure where to start? Read on to learn more about:
Verify servicer(s): As an outcome of contract transfers and terminations mid-pandemic, your servicer(s) may have changed since 2020. Translation? You’ll need to confirm who will be receiving future payments and ensure they have your updated contact information.
If you have private loans, review any correspondence you’ve received from your original loan servicer, reach out to your school’s financial aid office for help tracking that information, or visit AnnualCreditReport.com for a free weekly report that lists loans in your name.
If you have federal loans, visiting the Federal Student Aid website is the simplest, most efficient way to access your federal loan information and verify current servicers. You’ll first need to log in with your FSA ID (create one here if you don’t have one already.) Once logged in, you can view your original principal amount, current balance, and interest rate as well.
By GreenPath Financial Wellness After a historical hiatus throughout the pandemic, borrowers now face federal student loan repayment. Evaluating your full financial picture and making a repayment plan goes a long way towards reducing stress and uncertainty. Unsure where to start? Read on to learn more about:
Verify servicer(s): As an outcome of contract transfers and terminations mid-pandemic, your servicer(s) may have changed since 2020. Translation? You’ll need to confirm who will be receiving future payments and ensure they have your updated contact information.
If you have private loans, review any correspondence you’ve received from your original loan servicer, reach out to your school’s financial aid office for help tracking that information, or visit AnnualCreditReport.com for a free weekly report that lists loans in your name.
If you have federal loans, visiting the Federal Student Aid website is the simplest, most efficient way to access your federal loan information and verify current servicers. You’ll first need to log in with your FSA ID (create one here if you don’t have one already.) Once logged in, you can view your original principal amount, current balance, and interest rate as well.
Evaluate repayment. Much can change within our big picture in three years. Is your student loan payment still affordable? Check out the Department of Education’s Loan Simulator to help decide what repayment strategy fits your priorities—for example, do you value a lower monthly payment or faster payoff? Look into an income-driven repayment plan which takes your current earnings into account and can lower your monthly payment.
Set aside savings. Once you know what your monthly loan payment will be, transfer that amount to a separate savings account monthly, starting right away. By accounting for this reduction in your budget sooner rather than later, you’ll lessen the initial impact of repayment (since you’ll now have money set aside) and you’ll be back in the habit of making this a monthly routine.
Consider consolidation. Depending on whether you have federal loans, private loans, or a combination, loan consolidation could potentially reduce your payment burden. For federal loans, you can apply for a Direct Consolidation Loan which allows you to combine education loans with zero application costs, and most people complete the process in 30 minutes or less. You can also refinance your private education loans (in which you replace one or more private loans with another.) This happens through a private bank, credit union, or online lender.
Seek support. If you’re feeling overwhelmed at the prospect of repayment, you don’t have to figure it all out on your own! Connect with your financial institution to see what services they can provide or take advantage of free student loan counseling through GreenPath Financial Wellness. GreenPath counselors help you look at your total financial picture to develop a personalized repayment plan. This article is shared by our partners at GreenPath Financial Wellness, a trusted national non-profit. Learn more about GreenPath, and how they can help you. Visit https://firstnebraska.org/greenpath/ or call 1-877-337-3399.
Safeguarding Your Child’s Identity In Today’s World
October is cyber-security awareness month, and our Identity Theft Protection with your Secure, Select or Premier Checking can help if any kind of identity theft happens to you.
Child identity theft isn’t something we often think about. However, it occurs more often than you might expect. According to Javelin’s Child Identity Fraud Report, child identity theft affects 1.25 million kids every year, which translates to about one in 50 children in America. When you see those numbers, it becomes apparent that we must act now to protect the children in our lives.
What Is Child Identity Theft? According to the Federal Trade Commission, “Child identity theft happens when someone takes a child’s sensitive personal information and uses it to get services or benefits or to commit fraud. They might use your child’s Social Security number, name and address, or date of birth.”
Child identity theft happens for a multitude of reasons. The perpetrator could use this information to open a bank or credit card account, apply for government benefits, or even to sign up for a utility service or to rent a place to live. Much like other types of identity theft, it can be easy for this type of identity theft go undetected for months or even years.
October is cyber-security awareness month, and our Identity Theft Protection with your Secure, Select or Premier Checking can help if any kind of identity theft happens to you.
Child identity theft isn’t something we often think about. However, it occurs more often than you might expect. According to Javelin’s Child Identity Fraud Report, child identity theft affects 1.25 million kids every year, which translates to about one in 50 children in America. When you see those numbers, it becomes apparent that we must act now to protect the children in our lives.
What Is Child Identity Theft? According to the Federal Trade Commission, “Child identity theft happens when someone takes a child’s sensitive personal information and uses it to get services or benefits or to commit fraud. They might use your child’s Social Security number, name and address, or date of birth.”
Child identity theft happens for a multitude of reasons. The perpetrator could use this information to open a bank or credit card account, apply for government benefits, or even to sign up for a utility service or to rent a place to live. Much like other types of identity theft, it can be easy for this type of identity theft go undetected for months or even years.
How It Happens As with adults, identity theft against children can be perpetrated through a variety of sources. Below we have listed some ways that children’s personal identifying information (PII) could be exposed and then potentially used for fraudulent purposes.
Data Breaches. Kids’ personal identifying information is in so many places, and nothing is completely secure. Schools, doctors’ offices, and your home can all experience security breaches. After a child’s confidential information or PII is exposed, whether the data breach incident is accidental or with malicious intent, the security breach cannot be undone. Often, criminals will wait to utilize the confiscated information for their own purposes.
Familial Fraud. Three out of four cases of child identity theft come from those close to the victim, in what is known as familial fraud, and often occurs in correlation with other forms of abuse, according to Javelin’s Child Identity Fraud Report. Kids are often more trusting than adults, especially when they know the person who is asking for their information. Unscrupulous individuals at times utilize the PII of their own children, or children they know through family or friends, for their own benefit.
Phishing. These scams don’t just target adults. Children that use the internet without parental supervision have a higher chance of giving their sensitive information to a scammer, not realizing that they are being tricked. Kids don’t always know not to share their birth date, place of birth, and passwords with strangers or online “friends.”
Hacking. As more children have their own devices, and often multiple devices (computers, tablets, and phones), hacking becomes more common. Hackers can gain access to the information stored on these devices and can also log in to social media accounts, which they could use to attempt to defraud friends and family, acting as your child.
–Warning Signs Of Child Identity Theft Regardless of the way the information makes it into the hands of identity thieves, below are some warning signs that your child’s identity may have been stolen: –Unexpected Mail. Your child begins receiving credit card offers, collection notices, or bills under their name. –Collection Calls. You or your family members begin to receive calls from collection agencies for unpaid bills in your child’s name. –Government Benefits Denials. Your child is denied government benefits because they already being claimed, when this is not the case. –IRS Notifications. The IRS contacts you or your child about your child owing taxes, or indicates that their SSN was used on another tax return.
How You Can Help Protect Your Children The best way to help protect your family from identity theft is to be proactive in helping to prevent it. The most effective preventative measure is education. This type of education will not only help protect them now, but it is information that will benefit them as adults.
Keep Important Documents in a Secure Location. Keep your family’s personal identifying information in a secure place in your home, be selective about what services you sign up for, and don’t give your information out unless it is absolutely necessary. Make sure that any important documents in your home – such as Social Security cards, birth certificates, or other legal documents – are stored securely, to avoid compromise.
Share Personal Information with Caution. Assess the need before listing your child’s Social Security number (SSN) on forms. Schools and school break camps shouldn’t be using it as the only unique ID for each child. If SSN is required, don’t be afraid to ask if it’s ok to share only the last 4 digits of your child’s SSN.
Educate Your Child. Talk to your child about the importance of privacy and the dangers of sharing personal information, online and offline.Ensure that your child isn’t sharing personal information like their birthdate, address, or school on social media, other online platforms, or with other individuals without your permission.
Secure Your Mail. If you’re sending or receiving mail with personal details, especially if those personal details pertain to your children, consider using a mailbox that locks or opt for electronic delivery. Retrieve your mail daily as soon after delivery as possible. Consider opting into the U.S. Postal Services “Informed Delivery” service. It’s free to sign up and it will provide a Daily Digest email that will preview your mail and packages scheduled to arrive soon, along with an image of each of your incoming letter-sized mail. This will help you stay vigilant to any missing mail that never arrives.
Discard Unnecessary Documents with Care. If you have postal mail or other important documents that you no longer need to keep on file, make sure that you use a cross-cut shredder to securely destroy the paperwork. Criminals can engage in “dumpster diving” to retrieve discarded paperwork with personal information, potentially compromising you and your family.
Child identity theft can have long-lasting consequences, potentially impacting your child’s credit and future opportunities. By remaining vigilant, educating your child, and keeping a close eye on his or her personal information, you can help better protect your child from the impacts of identity theft.
We Are Standing Ready To Help YouAnd Your Family If you suspect identity fraud has affected any member of your family, even your minor children, you have access to a professional Identity Theft Recovery Advocate as a no-cost benefit of your Secure, Select, or Premier Checking account. Our team of Identity Theft Recovery Advocates is standing by, ready to support you and your family. Our Advocates are experienced in spotting child identity theft and supporting you through the process of repairing the harm it may cause now and in the future.
In July, staff and members donated school supplies for the KETV/Salvation Army Backpack Drive. Thank you to everyone who gave!!
Rate Matching
Ask us about matching a rate before moving your deposits or certificates somewhere else! Let’s see what we can do to help you! Give us a call at (402) 492-9100.
Did you know?
An auto warranty can save you thousands on auto repairs?
8/2023 – We’re excited to welcome a new Branch Manager to our Bedford Branch.
Shelby Stone has been in banking for more than 6 years.
She is engaged and has a blended family of 6 children, 2 girls and 4 boys. Shelby has lived in Nebraska all her life, and enjoys experiencing new things and places, and being a mom!
She looks forward to building her career and leadership skills with First Nebraska while getting to know our amazing members!
Please stop in and meet Shelby when you have a chance.
Lori has three grown boys and a fabulous partner. She moved to the country a few years ago, and likes the peace and quiet much more than she ever imagined she could.
She said, “I love summer and hot weather, so we can be in the pool or on the boat.” She is a fan of Royals baseball and the Huskers.
Congrats to Stephanie Marker!
Celebrating 20 years with FNCU!
In Memoriam
Mary Moberg, longtime FNCU Board Member
In August, we lost a great patron when longtime Board member Mary Moberg passed away. Mary served on the FNCU board from 1973 to 2018. She originally started serving with Educators Credit Union and continued her role after the merger with First Nebraska Credit Union in April 2000. She also served many years as the Secretary/Treasurer. Mary taught Kindergarten for 37 years. She had been a member, officer and President of the Omaha Education Association, a member of the Nebraska State Education Association, and as a board member for the Metro District. She enjoyed spending free time with family, friends and education colleagues, as well as golfing and volunteering.
We extend our condolences to her family.
What our members are saying
“Not just Professional service, but Personal service. The staff if thorough, attentive & friendly.”
– Tracy S.
Closed for the Holidays
Columbus Day and Indigenous Peoples’ Day Monday, Oct. 9
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