Pull the Plug on Scammers! - 121 Financial Credit Union

A 121 FINANCIAL CREDIT UNION PUBLICATION
Pull the Plug on
Scammers!
— If it walks like duck,
talks like a duck...
SCAMMERS are very active
and as soon as one type of
scam is discovered, they are
off to create a new one.
To help you recognize and
avoid being taken advantage
of, here are some areas that
you need to pay special
attention to:
• Work from home schemes or secret
shopper.
While there are legitimate work-from-home
and secret shopper opportunities, they won’t
work like this:
►You receive a check and are told to cash it
and send money back by Money Gram. If you
worked for this money, why do you have to
give any back to them?
• Telephone calls that tell you your credit
card or debit card has been blocked and you
must enter personal information to unblock.
►YOUR CARD WAS NOT BLOCKED, but if you
give them your information, you will begin to
see huge purchases on your card.
• Email that indicates UPS has tried to leave
you a package.
►If you click on the link and provide your
personal information your have just given
your personal information to a scammer.
UPS doesn’t have your email address; they
leave a little sticky note on your door.
See “Scammer” page 3
Summer 2013
Don’t Tax My
Credit Union
— A Message from our CEO
Hours of
Operation
I am writing with an important message
about the future of credit unions.
Lobbies:
You may have heard that Congress is
considering an overhaul of the federal tax
code. I want to alert you to an idea being
discussed that could greatly impact 121
Financial Credit Union and its members.
As a member, you know that 121 Financial
is owned and directed by you. Unlike
banks that seek to maximize profits for
the benefit of their stockholders, credit
unions exist to serve their members,
including working families, small
businesses, and the local community.
Because we return benefits to our
members, we are able, in general, to offer
higher returns on savings, lower rate on
loans, and most importantly, low or no
fees. That’s why your credit union is notfor-profit and tax exempt.
So Washington is talking about taxing
credit unions to partially mitigate our
country’s deficit problem, despite the
fact that we are not-for-profit. They say
we can balance the budget, in part, by
taxing credit unions, even though credit
unions hold only 6% of all financial assets
nationwide.
However, taxing credit unions won’t even
scratch the surface of our budget deficit.
For every $1 in new taxes on credit
unions, the government would wipe out
See “No Tax” page
Monday - Friday:
9:00 am to 5:00 pm
Saturday:
9:00 am to Noon*
Drive-Up:
Monday - Thursday:
7:30 am to 5:00 pm
Friday
7:30 am to 6:00 pm**
Saturday:
9:00 am to Noon*
*All Branches, except
Downtown & Swisher.
**Downtown Drive Thru
closes at 5:00 pm.
Holiday Closing
Labor Day
Monday, Sept 2
Columbus Day
Monday, Oct 14
2
Board of
Directors
Executive
Team
Billie Greenlief
Chairman
904.992.3718
William Braddock, Jr.
President/CEO
Eddie Clanton
Vice-Chairman
904.282.5885
Davis Johnston
SVP, Operations
Becky Hulett
SVP/CFO
Cynthia deLassus Gretchen Quisenberry
Treasurer
SVP, Human Resources
904.646.4406
Terri Thomas
Len Pickett
VP, Administrative Services
Secretary
Cindy Breslin
904.910.4394
VP, Marketing
Bill Cauley
Cathy Hufstetler
904.641.3031
VP, Lending
Bill Macomber
904.733.4220
Bob Gipson
904.223.1234
Joe Hardcastle
904.268.2869
Michael Hogan
904.778.2143
Shelba Williams
904.504.1740
Supervisory
Committee
Lyn DeLoach
Chairman
904.824.8660
Arzada Haynes
904.693.9400
Ellen Page
904.757.6818
Convenient
Telephone Numbers
All Locations:
904.723.6300
(Toll Free)
800.342.2352
FAX (Headquarters)
904.722.6694
VISA Credit Cards:
Credit Card Customer Service:
1.866.820.3097
Credit Card Lost/Stolen:
1.800.449.7728
Credit Card Activation:
1.800.527.7728
Credit Card Fraud (24/7):
1.888.918.7313
VISA Debit Cards:
Debit Card/Lost Stolen:
1.866.209.7029
Debit Card/Check Card Fraud
(24/7):
1.866.262.8981
Scammers, Con’t from page 1
No Tax, con’t from page 1
• You won an international lottery of over
a million dollars.
$10 in benefits to credit union members
and consumers. So taxing credit unions is
not only bad for our nation’s economy, a
tax on credit unions is really just a tax on
you, the member.
►First, international lotteries are illegal
and this could be considered money
laundering. You receive a large check to
help pay the taxes, but you have to get a
money order to send most of the money
back. And then the check bounces, leaving
you responsible for the amount.
• Click here for your Walmart gift card
►Don’t click. You’ll be asked for personal
information and told to pick up your gift
card at Walmart. There won’t be a gift card
waiting for you, but criminals now have
your personal info.
• The IRS or FBI sends you an email and
tells you to click on the link
►The IRS/FBI, or other law enforcement
isn’t going to email you, they are going
to knock on your door and identify
themselves.
If it sounds too good to be true or too
far-fetched, stop and verify or you may
become the victim of identity theft or of
counterfeit checks. You are responsible for
the money that was given to you from a
counterfeit, and you will be expected to
pay this back.
In its simplest form, taxing credit unions
could destroy credit unions as we know
them, thus limiting or eliminating what we
believe to the most advantageous financial
choice for consumers.
That’s why I am writing to urge you to
send a message to Congress: “Don’t Tax My
Credit Union.”
t’s easy to take action: just visit www.
DontTaxMyCreditUnion.org to contact
your U.S. Representative and Senators.
While there, you can also watch a video,
follow our campaign on social media, and
learn more about how you can help us tell
Congress, “Don’t Tax My Credit Union!”
President/CEO, 121 Financial CU
www.DontTaxMyCreditUnion.org
121 Charitable Giving
First Quarter: American Cancer Society/Relay
For Life: $4,000 (combination of employee
raised funds and Credit Union contribution)
Second Quarter: The Gabriel House: $1,000,
three dinners and two lunches prepared and
served by 121 Financial staff, one cleaning day.
Third Quarter: Autism Speaks-- you
can help us help this worthy cause by
purchasing “puzzle pieces” for $1 at
any branch. Employees will also be able
to purchase “dress down days” for $5
each. We’ll see you September 28th at
the Jacksonville Landing. Join our team:
http://tinyurl.com/mhp4dvx
Fourth Quarter: Florida Baptist Children’s
Home Society
“Thank you to 121 FCU for donating over
60 tote bags and drawstring sacks to the
Better Bags for Kids campaign. Together
with those donated by individuals, we
can supply Jacksonville’s child abuse
detectives and social workers with Better
Bags so no abused or foster child ever
has to use a trash bag for luggage. I love
my bank!!”
~ Sydney w/Better Bags
How Impatience Hurts Retirement Savings
— Keep Calm & Carry On - it may be good for your portfolio
3
A message from the Financial Retirement & Investments Program ~ Presented by Randy Nakamura
Why do so many
retirement savers
underperform the
market? From 19932012, the S&P 500
achieved a (compound) annual return of 8.2%. Across
the same period, the
average investor in
U.S. stock funds got
only a 4.3% return.
What accounts for
the difference?1,2
One big factor is impatience. It is expressed
in emotional investment decisions. Too
many people trade themselves into mediocrity – they react to the headlines of the
moment, buy high and sell low. Dalbar, the
noted investing research firm, estimates this
accounts for 2.0% of the above-mentioned
3.9% difference. (It attributes another 1.3%
of the gap to mutual fund operating costs
and the remaining 0.6% to portfolio turnover
within funds.)2
Impatience encourages market timing. Some
investors consider “buy and hold” passé, but
it has certainly worked well since 2009. How
did market timing work in comparison? Citing
Investment Company Institute calculations of
equity fund asset inflows and outflows from
January 2007 to August 2012, U.S. News &
World Report notes that it didn’t work very
well. During that stretch, mutual fund investors either sold market declines or bought
after market ascents 57.4% of the time. In
addition, while the total return of the S&P
500 (i.e., including dividends) was -0.13% in
this time frame, equity mutual fund investors
lost 35.8% (adjusted for dividends). 3
Most of us don’t “buy and hold” for very
long. Dalbar’s latest report notes that the
average equity fund investor owned his or
her shares for 3.3 years during 1993-2012.
Investors in balanced funds (a mix of stocks
and bonds), held on a bit longer, an average
of about 4.5 years.
They didn’t come out any better – the report
notes that while the Barclays Aggregate
Bond Index notched a 6.3% annual return
over the 20-year period studied, the average
balanced fund investor’s annual return was
only 2.3% .2
What’s the takeaway here for retirement
savers? This amounts to a decent argument
for dollar cost averaging – the slow and
steady investment method by which you buy
shares over time, a little at a time. When the
market sinks, you are buying more shares as
they have become cheaper – meaning you
will own more (quality) shares when they
regain value.
It also shows you the value of thinking
long-term. When you save for retirement,
you are saving with a time horizon in mind
- a distant horizon. Consistent saving from a
(relatively) early age and the power of compounding can potentially have much greater
effect on the outcome of your retirement
savings effort than investment selection.
Keep your eyes on your long-term retirement
planning objectives, not the short-term
volatility highlighted in the headlines of the
moment.
Locations
Headquarters:
Southside
9700 Touchton Road
(near Tinseltown)
Branch Locations:
Arlington
9730 Hutchinson Park Dr
@Kendall Town
Downtown
300 W. Adams St
@Adams St Julia St
Intracoastal West
12740-12 Atlantic Blvd
@Atlantic Blvd Girvin Rd
Mandarin
12250 San Jose Blvd
@ Marbon Rd
Northside
14023 Revell Dr
@River City Marketplace
Orange Park
6072 Youngerman Circle
@ I-295 Blanding Blvd
Westside
8101 Normandy Blvd
(West of I-295)
Mini Branch at
Swisher International
(Restricted Access)
This material was prepared by MarketingLibrary.Net Inc., and
does not necessarily represent the views of the presenting
party, nor their affiliates. All information is believed to be
from reliable sources; however we make no representation
as to its completeness or accuracy. Please note - investing
involves risk, and past performance is no guarantee of future
results. The publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting or other professional services. If assistance is needed,
the reader is advised to engage the services of a competent
professional. This information should not be construed as
investment, tax or legal advice and may not be relied on for
the purpose of avoiding any Federal tax penalty. This is neither
a solicitation nor recommendation to purchase or sell any
investment or insurance product or service, and should not
be relied upon as such. All indices are unmanaged and are not
illustrative of any particular investment.
Citations.
1 - finance.yahoo.com/news/p-fund-tops-p-500-142700129.html [5/3/13]
2 - marketwatch.com/story/7-reasons-why-retirement-savers-fail-2013-06-26
[6/26/13]
3 - money.usnews.com/money/blogs/the-smarter-mutual-fund-investor/2012/11/05/herd-behavior-hurts-fund-investors [11/5/12]
07012013-WR-808
For a no-cost, no obligation consultation call
Randy Nakamura, CFP® CRPC®
Financial Advisor
904.720.1760
Available to Meet at Any Branch
Representatives are registered,
securities are sold, and investment
advisory services offered through
CUNA Brokerage Services, Inc. (CBSI),
member FINRA/SIPC , a registered
broker/dealer and investment advisor,
2000 Heritage Way, Waverly, Iowa
50677, toll-free 800-369-2862. Nondeposit investment and insurance
products are not federally insured,
involve investment risk, may lose
value and are not obligations of
or guaranteed by the financial institution. CBSI is under contract with
the financial institution, through the
financial services program, to make
securities available to members.
VIRTUAL CAR SALE
Low Rates, Terms up to 72 months!
When: August 3rd 24th. (Must apply by
August 17)
What: Special low rates
as low as 1.89% APR up
to 60 Months and as low as
2.64% APR up to 72 months.
Auto Advisor Recommended Dealers:
• Tom Bush AutoPlex
• Key Buick / GMC / Hyundai
• Coggin Toyota of the Avenues
• Duval Honda
Where: Shop the preferred Auto Advisor
• Nimnicht Chevrolet
dealers (listed here) for the best credit union deals. If you • Duval Ford
live outside the Jacksonville area, give the Auto Advisor a • Darcars Westside Superstore
call for a preferred dealer near you!
Payment Example:
Payment Example:
904.608.3424, [email protected].
Examples are estimates only.
Don’t Fear Your
Credit Report
www.121fcu.org/carsale
Amount Financed: $25,000
Term: 72 months
Rate: 2. 64% APR
Monthly Payment: $376
Total Interest:$2.059
Total Cost of Loan:$ 27,059
Your credit report doesn’t have
to be intimidating. A free credit
report review can help you
correct problems now.
1-877-33ACCEL
Or visit www.accelservices.org
Rate/payment comparison calculator and
printable dealer list with contacts available at
Amount Financed: $25,000
Term: 60 months
Rate: 1. 89% APR
Monthly Payment: $437
Total Interest:$1,220
Total Cost of Loan:$ 26,220