| Cascade Bank's name used in fraud scheme
Let's get right to the point: Everett-based Cascade Bank is not e-mailing you trying to get you to verify your account or to do anything else with online banking.
But somebody else is.
And what they're really looking to do is to rip you off.
Like many of its counterparts around the country, Cascade has been targeted recently in an Internet scheme called phishing.
You've probably heard of it before. Phishing (pronounced fishing) is where someone masquerades as a trusted organization, government agency or business and tries to hook you into revealing information so they can tap into your financial accounts or your credit.
Carol Nelson, Cascade's president and CEO, has been learning a lot about phishing these days as the bank has brought in some federal agents to help it crack down on mass e-mails and to shut down the fake bank sites that the messages direct people to.
Don't let financial myths derail you
NEW YORK - Whether you're a young adult tackling money management for the first time, or a financial late bloomer struggling to get a grip on your spending, you would do well to heed the warnings of Steven B. Smith, president of Finicity, a company offering online money-management tools to consumers and businesses. Smith debunks four financial myths that frequently derail people's efforts to manage spending, reduce debt and increase savings: • Myth 1: It's always best to open a savings account at a brick-and-mortar bank. .
Protect yourself from phishing scams
Posted: Tuesday, November 13, 2007 at 10:55 a.m. We've told you to keep an eye on your email for a scam known as phishing -- when it appears a reputable company you're doing business with, asks you to submit personal information to confirm an account. We got one last week, claiming that an online account with a local bank had expired and that the bank needed the person's current information. We did some checking and found two things that didn't add up. First of all, the bank says its employees will never ask people for this type of information and second. The person who received this email doesn't even have an account with the bank. If you ever get these emails, experts say the best defense is to call the company yourself to see if they do business this way.
Wachovia adds mobile-banking service
Wachovia Corp. will launch an online banking system via cell phones that allows customers to view account balances, transfer funds and pay bills. The mobile-banking application will be pre-loaded on future AT&T Inc. handsets beginning this year. All wireless transactions will be encrypted. Customers will need an AT&T wireless data plan to access the mobile-banking service. According to Celent, a research and consulting firm, about 46 million households bank online. By 2010, 17 million households will use mobile banking as an alternative online-banking source, Celent says. "The ability to perform banking functions using a wireless handset is attractive for people who need to make financial decisions on the go -- business travelers, college students and anyone who desires the flexibility that wireless delivers," says Mark Collins, vice president of consumer data for AT&T's wireless unit.
Wachovia boosts online offerings for small biz
Wachovia Corp. is expanding its online product offerings to include electronic deposits and bad-check recovery. The Charlotte, N.C.-based bank -- Central Florida's third-largest financial institution -- says the service will provide small businesses with cash-management services comparable to those available to most large businesses. With online deposits, small business owners can scan paper checks from their desktops and electronically send the images to Wachovia for deposit. Wachovia says the Internet-based application eliminates the need for software installation. To qualify, customers must have been in business for at least one year and have a Wachovia deposit account. In addition, Wachovia (NYSE: WB) has hired Federal Automated Recovery Systems, a subsidiary of Infinity Business Group Inc., to manage the electronic re-presentment of checks that have been returned for insufficient funds.
AT&T, Wachovia launch mobile banking service
AT&T Inc. and Wachovia Corp. joined forces to launch an online banking system via cell phones that allows customers to view account balances, transfer funds and pay bills. According to Celent, a research and consulting firm, about 46 million households currently bank online. By 2010, 17 million households will use mobile banking as an alternative online banking source. "The ability to perform banking functions using a wireless handset is attractive for people who need to make financial decisions on the go - business travelers, college students and anyone who desires the flexibility that wireless delivers," said Mark Collins, vice president, Consumer Data, for AT&T's wireless unit. Mississippi-based BancorpSouth, which has a presence in the Birmingham market, also offers mobile banking through AT&T.
Madisha 'angry and sad'
Embattled Cosatu president Willie Madisha is "saddened and angry" - and demanding action after being "grossly libelled" by an employee of Cosatu's media department. SA Communist Party member Dominic Tweedie, who is editor of the online Cosatu Today and head of a self-styled Communist University, has labelled Madisha a "liar" and stated that he provided confidential documents for publication. Madisha noted on Wednesday he was reluctant to speak out, but felt it was essential he defend himself against "slanders and libels". He will not, however, take the matter to court, but will insist it be dealt with within "the relevant structures". On his Communist University website, Tweedie refers to bank statements and documents relating to an initially secret SACP bank account that Cape Town journalist and Business Report columnist Terry Bell disclosed last week.
'Text' banking at your fingertips
Banks are joining the text message nation, creating services that allow customers instant access to account information through cell phones. Two Milwaukee-area banks recently began offering the service, while another expects to roll out its product in 2008. Bank executives say it's a way to reach younger customers in a manner they prefer, satisfy consumers' needs for instant gratification and help people be more responsible about their spending. "We have a generation of mobile people who gravitate toward this technology," said Joanne Weber, retail market manager for Chase Wisconsin, which launched its mobile banking service in September. "You can't ignore it." Adding the text messaging service is a way to attract younger customers to the bank, she said.
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