Silver State Schools Credit Union Member

Finance a vehicle easily, quickly,
and at a rate and term that works for YOU!
I’m a
REAL
Silver State
Schools Credit
Union Member
and I received amazing
service when I was approved
for my Auto Loan!
*
REAL Life low-rate Auto Loans!
As low as
✔ R
EALly low rates
✔ F ast, REAL simple application
✔ O
nline calculators to help you figure out how much vehicle you
can REALly afford
Apply today! Call 800.357.9654, log on to
silverstatecu.com, or visit any branch!
*APR=Annual Percentage Rate. Rate depends on relationship with SSSCU, credit score, term, amount of loan, and auto pay
discount. All loans subject to credit approval, verification, and collateral evaluation. All rates subject to change without notice.
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“...we know the road ahead is still long and
challenging, but we continue to believe that we
are heading in the right direction.”
Andy Hunter, President/CEO
President’s Message
The Credit Union’s financial results for the quarter ending June
30, 2012, showed a marked improvement. We reported $1.2
million in net income for the second quarter, reducing the yearto-date net loss to $2.3 million. This is an improvement from the
prior year when SSSCU reported a $2.9 million net loss for the
second quarter of 2011, and a net loss of $2.8 million for the first
half of 2011.
We have cause for further optimism in that, over the last six
months, delinquencies have declined 46%, from $52 million at
December 31, 2011, to $37 million at March 31, 2012 and to $28
million at June 30, 2012. As a result, provision for loan losses
decreased from $6.8 million in the first quarter to $3.6 million for
the second quarter 2012.
We attribute the improved outlook to both external and internal
factors. Most significantly, we are experiencing gradually
improving economic conditions in the Las Vegas valley,
particularly as regards to home prices. And although our results
for the second quarter include a $200,000 non-recurring gain, our
ongoing operating results are benefiting from improvements in
our internal loss mitigation efforts and continued expense control.
In fact, SSSCU’s cost of operations decreased approximately 17%,
from $6.5 million for the second quarter of 2011 to $5.4 million
for the second quarter of 2012.
construction issues as well as with the Southern Nevada Regional
Planning Coalition, Committee on Youth. At the federal level,
she coordinates initiatives with congressional offices in Las Vegas
and Washington, D.C., the Council of Great City Schools, and
other organizations related to the national education agenda.
Nicole also spends four months every other year in Carson City
during each legislative session working with legislators, staff,
and community members to meet the needs of students in Clark
County.
Nicole Rourke has a Masters Degree in Public Administration
from the University of Oklahoma and a Bachelor of Business
Administration Degree in International Finance and Marketing
from the University of Miami. Nicole has two sons attending
CCSD schools and has been married to her husband Robert for
16 years.
Call for Entries – 27th Annual
Happy Times Calendar Contest!
While we are pleased with our progress during the second quarter,
we know the road ahead is still long and challenging, but we
continue to believe that we are heading in the right direction. We
are thankful to you, our members, for your continuing support
and loyalty, as the Credit Union steadily continues to regain its
financial footing.
In other news, the Credit Union is pleased
to announce the appointment to its board
of directors of Nicole Rourke. Nicole has
been employed with the Clark County
School District for fourteen years. She has
served as an underwriting representative
with Vegas PBS, a grant coordinator in
Grants Development and Administration,
and the Director of Intergovernmental
Relations. In her current role as the Executive Director of
Government Affairs, Nicole works with local municipalities
on the Open Schools Open Doors agreement and school
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Art Specialist/Teachers; Kindergarten through 12th Grade!
Get your budding Picassos busy painting! We’re holding our 27th
Annual Happy Times Calendar Contest and we’re accepting submissions
NOW… with a deadline of Saturday, October 13, 2012.
For complete details on how and where to submit your students’
artwork, and all of the contest details, including what you and your
student might win if chosen, please visit our website!
Identity Theft Up Among
Smartphone Users
an extract from a Wall Street Journal Article
About 12 million Americans got hit by identity fraud in 2011, a
13% increase from a year earlier, thanks to consumers’ growing use
of social-media websites and smartphones, plus a sharp jump in
security breaches, according to a recent report from Javelin Strategy
& Research. In fact, some 7% of smartphone owners became identityfraud victims in 2011, the Javelin survey of 5,000 consumers found.
Smartphone users are about one-third more likely to fall prey to
identity fraud than the general public, the report found.
That’s because smartphones are minicomputers that store vast
quantities of personal information, yet many users don’t protect
their smartphones the way they do laptops and PCs. Javelin found
that 32% of smartphone owners don’t update to new operating
systems when they become available. And 62% don’t use a password
on their home screen, meaning that anyone who steals or finds their
smartphone can easily access their personal information.
Meanwhile, fraudsters are mining your status updates or, worse
yet, taking note of personal information such as your birth date
on social-media sites. LinkedIn, a site most users consider more
“business” than “social,” had the highest identity-fraud incident
rate, at 10%, versus 5% for the general population, the Javelin study
found. Meanwhile, 7% of Google+ users and 6.3% of those on Twitter
reported a case of identity fraud. Among Facebook users, 5.7% said
they were victims, a surprisingly low percentage—perhaps because
of widespread media attention on Facebook’s privacy policies.
People with public profiles that are visible to anyone online were
likelier to expose personal information that could be used to access
accounts.
On LinkedIn, for example, users tend to be careless about allowing
access to their information. Presumably, they assume the site is
about connecting with people in the business world, not scammers.
“It’s almost like the desire to be part of something is too great to
be cautious,” says Steve Schwartz, executive vice president of
Intersections, a risk-management services provider. He encourages
users to dig deep into the privacy settings of social-media sites to
make sure information is available only to those whom you trust.
Here are SOME tips to avoid
identity fraud:
• Pay attention to security-breach
notifications. As consumers we all
see a lot of these notifications and
unfortunately it’s become a little
bit of white noise. It’s important,
however, to pay attention, because
most notifications come with
some sort of educational note that
consumers can use.
• Keep a close watch on your credit
cards and bank accounts.
• Don’t give out your Social Security
number unless you absolutely
must, such as to your employer
or insurer. If you have health
insurance, for example, you
shouldn’t have to give the doctor’s
office your Social Security number
because it’s already tied to your
insurance.
• Keep your antivirus software upto-date on all devices, including
your smartphone.
• Use strong passwords—a mix
of letters, numbers and symbols—and use different passwords
for each account. Yes, it’s inconvenient but getting your identity
stolen is more agonizing. According to credit-reporting firm
TransUnion, it takes victims about 30 hours and $500 to resolve
identity fraud.
• Be careful what you tell your “friends” on social-media sites;
scammers may be reading, too.
• Don’t store personal information on mobile devices.
• Leave your unneeded credit cards, Social Security card, birth
certificate and passport at home.
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Mark Your Calendars!
Shred Day Event
Saturday, October 6, 2012
McLeod Branch ♦ 9am to 2pm
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We’re doing it again! Silver State Schools Credit Union will offer
onsite document destruction at a Shred Day event at our McLeod
Branch (Flamingo & McLeod), Las Vegas, on Saturday, October 6,
from 9am to 2pm. Please come by early… we must limit shredding
to two boxes within reasonable weight. Shred event will close early
if the truck is filled to capacity.
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