Cyber Tips—Protecting your identity and your money
There are some relatively easy things you can do to help protect yourself against identity theft, or just plain theft. Here are some New Year’s resolutions to make your 2026 a safe year.
Get notified of credit card charges. Most credit cards let you log in to your account online to set up notifications. There are many different kinds of notifications, but the most important one is for the card issuer to notify you by email or text whenever someone uses your card. Then, if someone else uses it, you will know immediately.
Freeze your credit to make it harder for someone else to use your information. A credit freeze keeps scammers and other people from accessing your report. While a freeze is in place, nobody can open a new credit account in your name. And it’s free to place the freeze, or to temporarily lift the freeze if you need to apply for new credit. Contact each of the three major credit bureaus online or by phone to restrict access to your reports:
Experian.com/help or 888-397-3742
TransUnion.com/credit-help or 888-909-8872
Equifax.com/personal/credit-report-services or 800-685-1111
If you’re concerned about identity theft, you can also place a free, one-year fraud alert by contacting one of the three credit bureaus. A fraud alert makes it harder for someone else to open a new credit account in your name because a business has to verify your identity before it opens the account.
Check your credit reports periodically at AnnualCreditReport.com to watch for anything you don’t recognize. You can check your reports every week for free online or by calling 877-322-8228.
Protect your personal information. Shred documents with key personal information before you throw them out. Give your Social Security number only when you must. Use strong passwords online.
Find more helpful tips on how to stop scams on the FTC Consumer Advice website.
Protect yourself against telephone fraud, too. Beware if you answer your phone and hear a recorded message—a robocall—or a live person selling something. Or, if it’s not who your caller ID said it was. Or, your caller ID displays only a city or a state. Or, you get an unexpected text message saying you won a prize, have a package waiting, or must contact your bank.
Hang up on unwanted calls and ignore unexpected texts. Do not press any numbers or click on any links.
Blocking services might reduce unwanted calls and texts. Ask your phone carrier about call and message blocking. Read expert reviews about your options. Learn more on the FTC Consumer Advice website about how to stop unwanted calls.
Do you get calls asking for donations to your local first responders, like firefighters or police officers? Fundraising calls are allowed even if your number is on the National Do Not Call Registry. To avoid fake charities, ask them to mail you and then do your research! Do not donate to unverified entities over the phone.
—Cathy Lee Gierke, UMRA webmaster
News
Declining government funding, inflation, loss of purchasing power, low birthrates, and lack of trust in the nation’s institutions have combined to create a confidence crisis in higher education not seen for decades. Minnesota is no exception.
Since its inception 40 years ago, the University Retirees Volunteer Center has focused on identifying where help is needed within the University community and has provided opportunities for thousands of retirees to use their skills, experience, and interests to help address those needs.
Meet UMRA member Nancy Carpenter. She grew up in the American heartland; nevertheless, she was surprised by the frigid, snow-covered landscape when she visited Minnesota for the first tine to interview for a job teaching chemistry at UMN Morris.
UMRA’s Professional Development Grants for Retirees are intended to support projects related to University of Minnesota retirees' research, instructional or work history, or new scholarly interests that contribute to the academic reputation of the University.
After working decades in communications for the U’s Center for Transportation Studies, Pam Snople perks up whenever she sees transportation news. It’s usually the salacious stuff that makes the headlines. But, behind the scenes, vehicle automation research keeps rolling along — including key work by UMN researchers.
Renée Good was killed in Minneapolis on January 7, 2026, during Operation Metro Surge. One month later, a community memorial to mourn her death and celebrate her life was held. Susan Ranney attended the ceremony and wrote an evocative essay on the service, which was published recently in UMRA’s Journal of Opinions, Ideas & Essays.
Professor Emeritus Alan Kagan has played many roles in his nearly 30 years of service with the University Retirees Volunteer Center. From assisting with phone calls to becoming office manager and eventually serving on and chairing the Volunteer Center’s board, Kagan helped build the organization into the robust operation it is today.
We’re already getting organized to identify and recruit members to step into leadership roles in 2027. As a well-informed and engaged UMRA member, you are invited to play a role in the process.
I’ve been an UMRA member for more than a decade and each year I’m impressed anew by the energy and dedication of the volunteers who do the work of the organization. I invite you to join in their efforts. But if that’s not possible, there’s something else you can do to help support UMRA: Renew your membership.
You don’t have to go far, and you don’t have to drink coffee. It’s the conversation that matters. It’s a new, experimental effort being organized by the wizards of UMRA; a meet-up of members who live in the same zip code.
Beginning January 1, 2027, the University of Minnesota is making updates to medical plans, the pharmacy vendor, and the Wellbeing Program incentive that apply to retirees and dependents enrolled in these plans.
The University of Minnesota has had a presence at the Great Minnesota Get-Together for 167 years. And on September 3, 2026, UMRA made its Minnesota State Fair debut to talk with fairgoers (on Seniors Day) about retirement and to promote opportunities to volunteer through our University Retirees Volunteer Center.
Like all of us, UMRA member Barbara Heinemann has been reflecting on 9/11 and life in the 25 years since then, with mixed feelings.
December 31 is the application deadline for UMRA’s 2027 Professional Development Grants for Retirees competition. Retirees from all five University of Minnesota campuses are eligible to apply. We invited Brad Hokanson, professor emeritus, UMN Department of Design Innovation, to tell us about the work supported by his 2026 grant to promote teaching creativity in high schools.
Meet UMRA member and volunteer extraordinaire Kay Louis. She devoted her career as an Extension educator — “bringing the University to the people” — to developing and providing programming for adults and youth.
The UMRA membership year runs from July 1 through June 30 of the following year. If you haven’t yet renewed your membership for 2027, it’s definitely time to do so!
UMRA has a Facebook group that is open to UMN retirees and others with close ties to the University, for posting messages about anything University- or retiree-related. Learn more.
This will be a new regular column where you can find organizational tasks that need your help! We are currently looking for help researching a new UMRA Membership Database and URVC volunteer database, and a co-producer for UMRA's Zoom webinars. See more details: