ICBA and RELIABANK Encourage Americans to Save During America Saves Week February 20-27

Washington, D.C. (February 20, 2011)—The Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA) and RELIABANK are proud to add their voices to the nearly 1,000 organizations nationwide that are encouraging Americans to save as part of America Saves Week, Feb. 20-27.

“Saving is key to financial stability and independence,” said Jim MacPhee, ICBA chairman and CEO of Kalamazoo County State Bank in Schoolcraft, Mich. “Studies show most Americans have too much debt and not enough savings. The recent economic crisis demonstrated just how important it is to have a cushion to help you weather the unexpected. Now more than ever, people need to develop good saving habits. By participating in America Saves Week, ICBA and our nearly 5,000 member community banks are helping raise awareness of how important it is for community bank customers to make saving a part of their everyday lives.”

ICBA and RELIABANK offer the following simple tips to help you boost your savings:

• Pay yourself first. Join a retirement plan at work that automatically deducts money from your paycheck. You can also have money automatically withdrawn from your checking account into your savings or an investment vehicle. Many employers offer automatic payroll deduction, one of the best ways to start and keep saving.

• Create a spending plan. Unlike a strict budget, a spending plan is a guide to help you take better control of your finances by tracking where your money goes. In a spending plan, you list expenses, compare them to income and then make changes based on your priorities.

• Start small. Save your loose change. Setting aside just 50 cents a day for one year can garner you a $500 emergency fund.

• Long range, aim to have an emergency savings of six to nine months of living expenses.

• Use your credit cards wisely so that you don’t take on too much debt and minimize interest charges.

It is also important to consider these factors in choosing where to place your savings:

• Access. How quickly can you access your money? Community banks are local and use up-to-the-minute technology so that customers can access their money when and where they need it.

• Safety. How safe is your money? At community banks, the FDIC insures deposits up to $250,000 per depositor and $250,000 for certain retirement accounts. No one has ever lost a penny of FDIC-insured funds. Talk to your community banker for more information.

• Earnings. How much money will you earn? Community banks offer personalized customer service tailored to individual needs and savings products and services at rates that are comparable to or often better than larger institutions.

“Fortunately, it’s never too late to start saving,” Hugh Bartels, President of Reliabank in Watertown said. “We here at RELIABANK can help you create a savings plan to help you reach your financial goals.”

America Saves Week is a nationwide campaign in which a broad coalition of nonprofit, corporate and government organizations help individuals and families save and build wealth. Through information, advice and encouragement, America Saves Week assists those who wish to pay down debt, build an emergency fund or save for a home, education or retirement. Learn more about why saving is so important and how to get started on building a nest egg at www.icba.org and www.americasavesweek.org.

About ICBA

The Independent Community Bankers of America, the nation’s voice for community banks, represents nearly 5,000 community banks of all sizes and charter types throughout the United States and is dedicated exclusively to representing the interests of the community banking industry and the communities and customers we serve. For more information, visit www.icba.org

Turn Your Winter Blues Into Green!

You could win $10,000 just by paying your bills with Reliabank's Online Bill Pay!

Don't let the bill paying routine make you blue this winter. With Reliabank's Online Bill Pay, you control who, when, and how much to pay. And right now, pay at least 3 bills using Online Bill Pay in February and March, and you'll receive an entry into the sweepstakes.*

 

Take a look at what Online Bill Pay can do for you:

• Change, edit or stop pending payments, unlike auto-debit
• Add billers quickly with minimal information
• Pay anyone who you normally send a check  
• Pay all your bills from one convenient location

Each bill you pay online increases your chance of winning
GRAND PRIZE: $10,000
FIRST PRIZE: $1,000
SECOND PRIZE: $500

Get started today at http://www.reliabank.com/.

 

 

 

*NO PURCHASE OR PAYMENT NECESSARY. Sweepstakes ends 3/31/11. Open to legal US residents residing in any of the 50 United States or DC, who are 18 years of age or older and have a unique, personal and valid social security number at the time of entry. Subject to full official rules available at http://impact.fiserv.com/sweepsrules. Void in Puerto Rico, US territories and possessions, outside of the US and where restricted or prohibited by law.

 

Watertown Farm Show a Big Hit in 2011

Walk around the Watertown Winter Farm Show and you will see many different ages taking in the sites. All come out to support this 5-day event held at the Watertown Armory and The Extension Complex. Booths vary from farm equipment to radio stations, banks to home cleaning equipment - there's something for everyone. Not to mention the great food offered by the 4-H members!

We thank the Watertown Chamber Ag Committee who put numerous hours into this event to make it such a huge success each year.

We have a great time working our booth, giving away prizes and visiting with everyone! Join us March 4-6 at the Watertown Home Show for more prizes and giveaways!

Beware of Vishing Attacks

VISHING: a social engineering scam that involves fraudsters pretending to be associated with a financial institution or well-known business requesting personal or account information through the telephone or voice-enabled software on your computer. The term "vishing" is a combination of "VoIP" and "phishing."

Fraudsters using vishing scams are more inclined to leave a message on a machine rather than directly speak to individuals, it is significantly easier to recognize a vishing attempt rather than a phishing attack. However, these types of scams can appear to be very real messages. They often use urgent or official sounding language to convey the need for you to "confirm" your personal or account information.

How it works:
A fraudster will call your home or cellular telephone number pretending to be a representative of a financial institution or well-known business and leave a message requesting your urgent attention about your account or online profile being compromised. The message will include a number for you to return a call reminding you about the urgent need to secure your information as soon as possible.

When you return the call, the posing fraudster will ask you for your personal or account information.

Once they have the information, your identity and account are now susceptible to fraud.

There may be times they request this information from you if you answer the telephone. If this happens, do not provide the caller with any information. Instead, identify the organization they are representing and the name of the caller and inform them you will call them back from a more secure line and hang up. Look up the public number for the organization they said they were from, and call that number. Explain to their representative why you are calling and you suspect you are being vished and ask to speak with the individual that contacted you.
Remember: Do not use the number the potential fraudster has provided you. It is imperative you verify if the caller is with the organization they claim to be with.

Similar to most of the other types of social engineering, you remain in control of your information. Fraudsters are trying to get this information from you, so by using extra caution and some common sense, your information will remain perfectly safe.

A recent VISHING attack is under way where consumers receive a call from SHAZAM (ATM/debit card provifer) demanding account information. This is a scam and has not been authorized by Shazam ATM/debit card services. Some calls that consumers have received, have referenced “Visa® debit” or "MasterCard® debit". Some have included recorded messages while others have had a live operator or callback option. Anytime you receive a call like this please remember to NEVER give out personal information over the phone or in an email. Simply hang up on them.