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
One last reminder that the Nominating Committee is looking for your suggestions for candidates to serve on the UMRA Board—primarily president-elect, who serves as Program Committee chair for one year before becoming president; secretary; and up to five directors. The Board meets monthly from September through May and directors serve three-year terms.
Volunteerism is declining across the country, and the University Retirees Volunteer Center is gearing up to help reverse the trend. Please be on the lookout for a short survey in February or March. URVC wants to hear about your interests, experiences, and suggestions related to volunteering.
Meet UMRA member Nanette Hanks, a fourth-generation Texan who has hiked the Camino de Santiago in Spain nearly 40 times! She’s going back in June, and still has a couple places left if you’d like to join the group she will be leading.
There are some relatively easy things you can do to help protect yourself against identity theft and online and telephone fraud. Here are some New Year’s resolutions to help make your 2026 a safe year.
The third of Marilynn Erickson's three stories about her family history. She wrote each story “to check out the verbal family stories and connect them to documentation and photos.”
This third story is about Scandal in the Graveyard.
The second of Marilynn Erickson's three stories about her family history. She wrote each story “to check out the verbal family stories and connect them to documentation and photos.”
This second story is about the Sea Wing disaster.