Avoiding Credit and Identity Theft Scams

Debit and credit card use is becoming popular with millions of transactions carried out each day to purchase goods and services. Although credit card fraud is rare in Canada, it does occur, and it is important to protect yourself and know how to minimize your risk of fraud.

Many savvy internet shoppers know that it’s riskier to give your credit card to a waiter in a restaurant than it is to purchase an item online through a secured connection—nothing can prevent your waiter from writing down your credit card number.

How to Protect Your Credit Card

The best way to protect your credit card is to take an active role in maintaining responsibility for it—spend and make payments wisely, and never compromise the security of your card or identity.

How Does Credit Card Fraud Happen?

Credit card fraud can occur in a number of ways, so it’s important to treat your credit cards like cash and to become aware of common ways where fraud may occur. Common types of fraud include:

• Lost or Stolen Credit Card: someone uses your lost or stolen credit card
• Identity Theft: someone applies for a credit card using your personal information
• Counterfeit Credit Card: Scammers duplicate legitimate credit cards for the use of fraudulent activities
• Non Receipt Fraud: Your new or replaced credit card gets stolen before you receive it in the mail
• No Card Fraud: Your credit card number is being used to make transactions over the phone or internet without your knowledge
  
  
  
   

Tips for Credit Card Fraud Prevention

To prevent credit card fraud, as a cardholder, you should protect your card and card number to the best of your ability. Some tips for fraud prevention include:

• Pay attention to your billing cycles. Follow up with creditors if your bills don’t arrive on time.
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• Guard your mail against theft. Don’t leave mail unattended or unsecured in a mailbox and shred discarded mail that contains personal information.
• Put passwords on your credit card, bank, and phone accounts, whenever possible.
• Be protective of your personal information. Be cautious when giving out your credit card number, address, or other personal information. When possible, only share this information when you know you are dealing with a reputable organization.
• Protect your personal information in your home. Tear or shred documents like charge receipts, copies of credit offers and applications, insurance forms, doctor’s statements, discarded bank cheques, and statements, and expired credit cards before you throw them away.
• Never carry your Social Security card with you. Leave it in a secure place at home.
• Confirm online purchases are secure. Look for clues such as a lock and key at the bottom corner of your browser, a URL that begins https://, or the words Secure Sockets Layer (SSL).
• Avoid using your credit card as ID. Thieves can use this information to assume your identity and open bank accounts, make purchases, obtain cash, and even get a job or an apartment. However, some merchants require a credit card as a secondary form of ID. Only use your credit card at recognized and reputable merchants.
• Ignore emails that ask you to provide your credit card number via email.
• Avoid ‘phishing’ scams by disregarding emails that require you to verify your credit card information on a site.

Saving Money for Your First Home

When it comes to buying your first home, a big part of that decision should be based on what your current financial position is and the impact a home loan will have on your finances and lifestyle.

For many first-time homebuyers, saving what is required for a down payment can seem overwhelming. However, sometimes saving for a down payment is as simple as managing your budget differently.

Start with a goal
One of the best ways to save is to have a goal. It will keep you motivated and give you something to work towards. For example, you may choose to save a 10% deposit plus expenses (usually 5%) for your first home. But the more you can save, the better off you’ll be. Find out how much you need to put aside in order to reach your savings goal.

Create a budget
Write down how much money you bring home each month; write down the payment amounts for each of your monthly bills; subtract your expenses from your income to determine how much extra money you have each month.

Develop a culture of saving
Your first priority should be developing a culture of saving. This not only helps you in budgeting and planning for the future, but also satisfies banks and other lending institutions that you have a clear commitment to save.

When you go shopping, ask yourself if you really need the item you are thinking of buying. If you don't need it, don't buy it. Put the money into your savings account instead. Remember that small amounts of money can add up to large sums over time.

Start an automatic saving plan
Make saving automatic by setting up an automatic savings plan at your bank to regularly move a specific amount of money directly from your chequing account to a savings account. You’ll be surprised at how much you can save and how quickly the “pay yourself first” approach adds up.
  
Borrow from your RRSPs
If you qualify as a first-time homebuyer, you may be eligible for the government's Home Buyers' Plan (HBP). This allows you and your spouse or partner to withdraw up to $25,000 each from your Registered Retirement Saving Plans (RRSPs) to add to your down payment or to cover purchase-related costs.

Best of all, you don't have to pay income tax on the funds, as long as you repay the total amount to your RRSP over the next 15 years. The repayment period starts the second year following the year you made your withdrawals. If the full $25,000 is withdrawn, the minimum annual repayment would be $1,666.

Take a holiday from tax
If you open a new Tax-Free Savings Account (TFSA), you won’t pay any tax on earnings, which will help you compound your savings. You can contribute up to $5,000 a year to a TFSA, and save for anything you like, tax-free.
 
Review your mortgage options
Once you make the decision to purchase a property, the next choice is the type of loan to suit your budget. The two most common types of loans are the variable interest rate loan and the fixed interest rate loan. 
 
You can now choose to pay back your mortgage over 25 or 30 years, instead of the traditional 20-year amortization period. This means you will pay more interest over the long term, but you can reduce monthly payments to get into your starter home. You can always change this later, once your income rises and you can pay your mortgage down faster.
 
Get into a starter house
Try to be as flexible as possible when choosing your first home. Unless you’re status conscious, your first home doesn’t necessarily have to be your dream home. You could settle for a starter home, which you can afford with a small down payment and easy mortgage installments. There are plenty of lower-priced houses out there in need of repair, with some "Do-It-Yourself" projects where you can add more value to the house. Be careful not to buy a place where the cost of repairs will eat up any profits you might make when you sell.

In just a few years you will build enough equity in your starter home to make it easier for you to sell and move into to your dream home.

Buying your first home is an exciting process. After all, your home could be the largest asset you’ll ever own. Being able to finance most of its cost will take a load off your back in the future.

Retractable Awnings Can Add Enjoyment to Your Backyard

Everyone wants to enjoy the beautiful weather that summer brings. But the warm sun and damaging rays sometimes force us to retreat inside, where we crank the costly air conditioning to stay cool.

Creating an outdoor room is a great way to expand your home's living space without the cost of an addition. Retractable awnings expand homes by turning decks and patios into added living space, combining the comfort of the indoors with the enjoyment of the outdoors.

During hot summer days, an awning provides a simple solution that shields out harmful sunrays while keeping you cool. It also helps homeowners conserve energy and therefore save money because awnings block the sun from entering the home through windows. Not only do your cooling costs go down, but your furniture and carpet are also protected from fading.

Awnings are fully customizable and available in a wide variety of style options with over 200 vibrant 100% acrylic fabric colours and patterns to complement any décor.

Some brands come with an optional wind or motion sensor which allows awnings to automatically retract when wind speeds reach a predetermined level, preventing awning damage. A sun sensor can also be added to allow for automatic operation determined by the sun's strength. Also, an interior wireless remote control is an option that provides easy-access operation. When not in use, awnings can be easily retracted, safely stored, and will subtly blend in with the exterior beauty of any home.

On those summer days when it normally would be too hot to be outside, awnings enable homeowners to fully embrace the season creating their vacation oasis right in their own backyard, and there is nothing cooler than instant shade at the touch of a button.

Awnings and shade structures come in a variety of styles, and even oddly shaped patios can be covered with retractable awnings. Retractable awnings operate with a crank or motor, and they don’t require any framework. Awnings that retract are perfect for families with large outdoor pets that may be a bit rambunctious around freestanding structures.

Awnings are visually stunning while harmonizing with the architectural design of any home or commercial building, so they capture attention in a way that complements your existing structure. With a decades-long lifetime, retractable awnings can bring beauty and panache to a building in ways that surpass any other comparable landscaping or enhancement, and this beauty is something many homeowners appreciate. With retractable awnings, you can expand your usable living space outdoors for a much smaller price tag than new construction or remodeling.

Match your awning to the style of your choice and it truly becomes an extension of your home's personality.

Garage Makeovers

Garages are the most hardworking spaces in your home. Investing a few hundred dollars in garage organization tools during one weekend will pay off in savings of both time and money.

A clean and organized garage saves you time by keeping essentials in clear view, so you can find what you need without tripping over items or causing an avalanche whenever you pull something from the bottom of a pile.

You'll also save money because your sporting goods and tools will last longer when they’re stored safe from moisture, heavy weights, and dust. Even your car will be protected from falling debris.

Step 1: Aim for spotless clean and clutter-free
Start by cleaning out the junk. Remove the clutter in your garage by selling or throwing away the things you never use. Getting rid of unneeded possessions makes more space for items you use and need. Once the clutter is dwindled down to the necessities, organize it by category: athletic supplies, lawn and garden tools, carpentry tools, etc.

Step 2: Use suitable storage units
Take a look at what’s left and decide what storage solutions would work best for you.
The essentials include:

• Closed storage: Make sure to include at least one closed-door, lockable unit. It's essential for keeping poisons like antifreeze, plant food, or pest control products and sharp tools behind a locked door.
• Open shelving: Shelves are best for frequently used items that you need readily available and within reach. Vented metal styles, wood slats, or vented plastic minimize the volume of dust that can collect.
• Hooks, clamps, and holders: These allow you to make use of vertical space, getting big items like bikes, trikes and paddles, rakes, and brooms off the ground and out of your way.
  • Bags: Most wall-mounted garage organization systems include clamp-on mesh bags that make it easy to store soccer balls, basketballs, tennis balls, etc.
• Boxes and bins: Group irregular items and place them in big bins so you can put them under a shelving unit or work table. Group them accordingly so items are easy to find: bags of soil, grass seeds, etc. Boxes and baskets can also hold smaller items neatly on shelves.

Step 3: Paint and stain
The floor can be transformed with acid stain for concrete or heavy-duty floor paint. If you plan to park your car on your newly painted floor, lay a sheet of cardboard down to catch drips of oil. The garage walls can be painted as well, especially if they still look like they are part of a construction site. Don't feel like you have to limit yourself to the traditional white walls. Get creative!

Step 4: Make it suitable for your needs
Another major decision is to determine what kind of work areas you will need, and what kind of counter tops are appropriate for those areas. For instance, if you want to use garage space as a hobby area, you might want a sink area or solid surface counters. If you enjoy woodworking, you might need a wooden counter top. Figure out where these areas will be located and roughly sketch out how the area should look. Imagine yourself standing in the work area and think about the placement of things you will use. Thinking through this process will certainly make the space more user-friendly.

Ready to get your garage in order? Following those tips will help you find a place for everything and allow you to transform that dusty garage into something spotless in a short time.