How do
you like to receive your financial information? You can choose the old-fashioned
way with statements, confirmations and any other news about your accounts and
allow them to arrive in the mail box. Or would you prefer to save a tree, and
ask that mail about your accounts be suppressed with everything coming to you
in the form of an email that directs you to a secure electronic portal where
your information resides? I am not the most computer literate person in the
world, but my preference is to eliminate mail and paper, and go paperless for
this information.
A top
concern of many is Internet security. Clients want to know how safe their
information is in cyberspace. I’m not sure that anyone can answer that for
sure, but understand that between government standards and the financial
services firm integrity on the line, most major financial firms take Internet
security very seriously.
Another
issue for many is the difficult task of remembering too many passwords. This is
especially true for the do-it-yourselfer with accounts all over the place. In
this day of regularly changing passwords, this task is only getting more
difficult. To alleviate this pain, consider storing all of your passwords in a
protected place not accessible to anyone but you.
Frequently
not considered is the possible danger of receiving paper information through
the mail. The U.S. Mail in particular is quite secure and reliable, but once
the information gets to your mail box, it is under your control and the
vulnerability of the information contained in the envelope increases. While not
prevalent, there are thieves out there whose primary targets are mailboxes.
Their mission is to intercept as much confidential information about you as
possible to either steal your identity or use your credit cards.
If you
migrate to, or already are an electronic financial user, make sure that your
Internet connection is secure and that your anti-virus protection is strong and
current.
John P. Napolitano is CEO of U.S. Wealth Managementin
Braintree, Mass., and 2012 president of the Financial Planning Association of
Massachusetts. He may be reached at jnap@uswealthcompanies.com
or on Facebook as JohnPNapolitano and US Wealth
Securities offered through LPL Financial, Member FINRA/SIPC.
Investment advice offered through U.S. Financial Advisors, a registered investment advisor and separate entity from LPL Financial. The LPL Financial Registered Representatives associated with this site may only discuss and/or transact securities business with resident of the following states: AL, AR, AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, FL, GA, HI, IA, ID, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MA, MD, ME, MN, NC, ND, NH, NJ, NM, NV, NY, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, TN, TX, UT, VA, VT, WA, WV. USFA, and U.S. Insurance Brokers, LLC are wholly-owned subsidiaries of U.S. Wealth Management. U.S. Wealth Management companies are not affiliated with LPL Financial.
The information being provided is strictly as a courtesy. When you link to any of the web sites provided here, you are leaving this web site. We make no representation as to the completeness or accuracy of information provided at these web sites. Nor is the company liable for any direct or indirect technical or system issues or any consequences arising out of your access to or your use of third-party technologies, web sites, information and programs made available through this web site. When you access one of these web sites, you are leaving our web site and assume total responsibility and risk for your use of the web sites you are linking to.
Securities offered through LPL Financial, Member FINRA/SIPC.
Investment advice offered through U.S. Financial Advisors, a registered investment advisor and separate entity from LPL Financial. The LPL Financial Registered Representatives associated with this site may only discuss and/or transact securities business with resident of the following states: AL, AR, AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, FL, GA, HI, IA, ID, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MA, MD, ME, MN, NC, ND, NH, NJ, NM, NV, NY, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, TN, TX, UT, VA, VT, WA, WV. USFA, and U.S. Insurance Brokers, LLC are wholly-owned subsidiaries of U.S. Wealth Management. U.S. Wealth Management companies are not affiliated with LPL Financial.
The information being provided is strictly as a courtesy. When you link to any of the web sites provided here, you are leaving this web site. We make no representation as to the completeness or accuracy of information provided at these web sites. Nor is the company liable for any direct or indirect technical or system issues or any consequences arising out of your access to or your use of third-party technologies, web sites, information and programs made available through this web site. When you access one of these web sites, you are leaving our web site and assume total responsibility and risk for your use of the web sites you are linking to.
