ELGA has contracted with Digital Defense Inc. to bring our members a wealth of FREE training, education and awareness modules concerning your digital safety. The content is designed for quick, informative reading full of useful tips. Take a look at the topics that are included:

• Online Shopping
• ATM Safety
• Banking Myths
• Home Firewalls
• Home Computer Tips
• Secure Transactions
• Online Fraud
• Passwords
• Viruses/Worms
• Trojans & Spyware
• Child Safety Online
• Wireless Security
• Keylogging
• Vishing
• Botnets
• Old Computer Disposal
• Social Networking Online
• VoIP Security
• Social Media Dangers
• Identity Theft Prevention

You can access this information here:    It’s FREE and we don’t ask for identifying information.

We’ve also put it under the link at the top of our Alerts Page under Web Security so that you can find it any time!

We hope you’ll take advantage of this valuable resource.

If you are ever in a situation where you try to use a VISA or MasterCard debit card with your PIN and your transaction is denied, please try the transaction again, but have the merchant run it as a credit card.

Interbank networks (i.e. Maestro, Cirrus, NYCE, Money Pass, Plus) occasionally go down. These are the services that talk to your financial institution to verify your PIN based transactions. If the interbank network can’t communicate back to the financial institution that issued the card, the PIN will be denied. But if you use your debit card as a credit card, the verification goes to VISA or MasterCard.

We hope this information makes it even easier for you to rely on your debit card working when you need it.

A recent Facebook Meme for Mother’s Day could potentially hand valuable information about your children over to criminals. The meme asks you to post your children’s names, birth dates, birth weights and other information.

A child’s identity is a blank slate, which unfortunately makes their social security numbers very attractive to criminals. Parents typically don’t monitor their children’s identities, so it could take years before fraud is detected.

The potential impact of identity fraud on a child’s future is profound; it could destroy or damage the ability to get student loans, obtain a job or secure a place to live.

Don’t post information about your kids on Facebook that you wouldn’t consider giving to a telemarketer.

The following are tips from a Carnegie Mellon report on Child Identity Theft:
“Here are several signs that can tip you off to the fact that someone has misused your child’s personal information.

• Watch for mail in your child’s name: If you begin receiving pre-approved credit cards or other unsolicited financial offers in your child’s name, it is an indicator that your child may have an open credit file.
• Teach your child about identity theft and online safety: Talk to your child about the dangers of sharing personal data online. Children surfing the web are particularly vulnerable to exposing personal information in chat rooms or on social networking sites. Make sure children understand the importance of keeping this data private.
• Don’t make your child susceptible to “friendly” identity theft: Don’t ever use your child’s name to open utility or other credit accounts. Protect your child’s personal information by keeping it locked up in your home where visitors cannot access it.
• Keep your child’s sensitive documents safe: Gauge your child’s level of responsibility before you share banking and credit information with them, even accounts in their name. Most children will need their Social Security card when they go off to college, but make sure they know to keep their card in a safe place rather than carry it around in a wallet or purse.”

Wire Instructions

Sending a wire to ELGA?  Please follow these instructions to ensure your funds are credited to your account:

Wire to:
ELGA Credit Union
2305 S Center Rd
Burton, MI 48519

ABA: (Also known as Routing Number)
272479935

Credit to: 
Member’s Name
Member’s Account Number

These wire instructions are used for all ELGA Credit Union branches.

Tips for Avoiding Mortgage Modification Scams

Homeowners struggling to make their mortgage payments should beware of con artists and scams that
promise to save their homes and lower their mortgage debt or payments.

If you are struggling to pay your mortgage and are seeking a mortgage modification, keep the following tips in mind:

• You can apply to the federal Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) on your own or with free help from a housing counselor approved by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Applying to the program is always FREE. For more information on how to apply, call the Homeowner’s HOPE™ Hotline at 1-888-995-HOPE (1-888-995-4673) or visit www.MakingHomeAffordable.gov.
• Only your mortgage servicer has discretion to grant a loan modification. Therefore, no third party can guarantee or pre-approve your HAMP mortgage modification application.
• Beware of anyone seeking to charge you in advance for mortgage modification services – in most cases, charging fees in advance for a mortgage modification is illegal.
• Paying a third party to assist with your HAMP application does not improve your likelihood of receiving a mortgage modification. Accordingly, beware of individuals or companies that ask you for payment and tout success rates or claim to be “experts” in HAMP.
• If an individual or company claims to be affiliated with HAMP or displays a seal or logo representing the U.S. government in correspondence or on the Web, you should check the connection by calling the Homeowner’s HOPE™ Hotline.
• Beware of individuals or companies that offer money-back guarantees.
• Beware of individuals or companies that advise you as a homeowner to stop making your mortgage payments or to not contact your mortgage servicer.

Financially troubled homeowners can avoid scams by working with a HUD-approved housing counselor to understand their options and to apply for assistance. Assistance from HUD-approved housing counselors is free, and homeowners can reach them by calling the Homeowner’s HOPE™ Hotline at 1-888-995-HOPE (1-888-995-4673) or by visiting www.MakingHomeAffordable.gov.

This message is courtesy of the Office of the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program
(SIGTARP), the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and the U.S. Department of the Treasury. To report illicit activityinvolving HAMP, dial the SIGTARP Hotline at 1-877-SIG-2009 (1-877-744-2009). For more information, visit www.SIGTARP.gov and www.ConsumerFinance.gov.

The president this week proclaimed October as National Cybersecurity Awareness Month and urged Americans to observe it with “activities, events and trainings that will enhance our national security and resilience.”

ELGA Credit Union is committed to protecting our members by providing Computer Safety Education through DDI Frontline and letting you know of current online risks and scams.

Computer Safety Education Program.

Click on the Logo for FREE online training, articles and quizzes!