The recent cyberattack on the Colonial Pipeline is impacting gas prices in the U.S. While most of the impact is in the Southeast, there are trickle effects felt even here in Westwood, Massachusetts. Coupled with the upcoming Memorial Day weekend and the pent-up demand everyone is feeling to get out and go, we should expect to pay more at the pump over the near-term.
But what happened with the pipeline is about more than just gas prices. It’s got us all thinking about cybersecurity, and what’s really at risk in a world where so much of our business and personal lives are carried out online.
Unfortunately, there’s a lot at risk. And this week we wanted to share some resources to help manage that risk.
Let’s Get Shredding
Despite how much of our lives have moved online, we still seem to be swimming in paper. And lots of that paper has our personal information on it. Names, addresses, account numbers, and more. At Heritage Financial, we encourage clients to routinely destroy documents that include sensitive information. Using a trusted, professional shredding service is an easy and effective way to do that.
Next month, we are inviting clients of Heritage to join us at one of two upcoming Shred-It events taking place at our corporate office locations – one in Westwood, MA on Saturday, June 5th, and one in Woburn, MA on Saturday, June 12th.
Stop by with your bins of sensitive documents. You can chat with the Heritage team and enjoy some coffee and breakfast pastries from Montilio’s Baking Company. Make sure to register so we know you are coming.
What to Keep and What to Shred
It’s tempting to shred everything…to really clear out the clutter. But let’s not go crazy. Some sensitive documents should be retained for a while.
Not sure what to file and what to put in the shred bin? Here’s an excellent resource from HerMoney.com by Jean Chatzky to use as a guide for what you want to hang on to, and for how long.
When to Keep and When to Throw Away Financial Documents
How to Minimize the Risk of Identity Theft
In today’s world, you can be doing a lot of things to proactively protect your identity but still feel exposed. The reality is, new threats arise almost every day.
To help you cover the bases, we’ve created a comprehensive list of potential cyber threats, common scams, and other identity theft risks. Review this list occasionally to see where you might be exposed.
Am I at Risk of Having My Identity Stolen or Being a Victim of Fraud?
Being proactive is the name of the game when it comes to protecting your personal information. And there’s no better time than Spring to clean up and get organized.
Let us know if we can help and, if you are a client of ours, we look forward to sharing coffee and pastries with you at our Shred-It events this coming June.
