4 Ways to Keep Hackers, Banks and Insurers From Stealing Your Money
It seems like each day there’s a new massive data breach. You hear about gas station ATM skimmers on the local news. You scroll through a friend’s Tweet-rant about how her identity was stolen, and someone wracked up $1,239 in charges at Chick-fil-A.
It’s a little scary, right? Well, your wary feelings are valid.
Here’s how to keep your protect yourself and keep your money from being stolen…
1. Keep the Hackers From Stealing Your Identity
Imagine a foreclosure sign being pounded into your front yard because a hacker got a hold of your Social Security number.
That could happen tomorrow — as if this year could get any worse. In 2019, there were 3.2 million reports of identity theft and fraud in the U.S, and many of them led to financial ruin.
But there’s something you can do today to make sure your family never has to deal with this. We found a free service called Credit Sesame that will protect your personal information and reimburse your losses (up to $50,000) if someone ever steals your identity.
It starts by giving you your free credit score, then it’ll keep an eye out for anything suspicious and alert you if it suspects possible identity theft.
It’s always free to use and only takes 90 seconds to sign up to protect yourself from hackers, so Credit Sesame is kind of a no-brainer.
2. Cancel Your Car Insurance
When was the last time you compared car insurance rates? Chances are you’re seriously overpaying with your current policy.
If it’s been more than six months since your last car insurance quote, you should look again.
And if you look through a digital marketplace called SmartFinancial, you could be getting rates as low as $22 a month — and saving yourself more than $700 a year.
It takes one minute to get quotes from multiple insurers, so you can see all the best rates side-by-side. Yep — in just one minute you could save yourself $715 this year. That’s some major cash back in your pocket.
So if you haven’t checked car insurance rates in a while, see how much you can save with a new policy.
3. Find Out if You’re Overpaying for Homeowners Insurance
If you’re a homeowner, you probably have home insurance, but you hardly ever think about it. That’s good — it means you haven’t needed to use it. But it also means you don’t know if you’re being overcharged for it.
It’s easy to find out, though. An insurance marketplace called Policygenius can look for discounts or even a cheaper policy for you. And your new policy could be similar to the one you already have — just cheaper. Seriously. They have saved people an average of $455 a year, compared to their previous policies.
The best part? They do all the heavy lifting. They’ll move you over to your new policy for free. They’ll even do all the paperwork. (You’re allowed to cancel your insurance policy at any time, and your company should issue you a refund.)
It takes just a few minutes to answer some quick questions and see how much money you could save. And don’t worry: Policygenius doesn’t sell your info to spammers.
4. Ask This Website to Pay Your Credit Card Bills This Month
If you have credit card debt, you know. The anxiety, the interest rates, the fear you’re never going to escape…
And the truth is, your credit card company doesn’t really care. It’s just getting rich by ripping you off with high interest rates. But a website called AmOne wants to help.
If you owe your credit card companies $50,000 or less, AmOne will match you with a low-interest loan you can use to pay off every single one of your balances.
The benefit? You’ll be left with one bill to pay each month. And because personal loans have lower interest rates (AmOne rates start at 2.49% APR), you’ll get out of debt that much faster. Plus: No credit card payment this month.
AmOne won’t make you stand in line or call your bank, either. And if you’re worried you won’t qualify, it’s free to check online. It takes just two minutes, and it could help you pay off your debt years faster.
