Community News
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Protecting Yourself from Romance Scams
March 24, 2025
Categories: Community Banking, Community Banking Advocacy, Community News, Electronic Banking, General
This blog post was written by Beauceron Security. Romance scams are among the most psychologically manipulative forms of cyber fraud. According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), Americans reported over $1 billion in losses to romance scams in 2023, making it one of the costliest types of consumer fraud. Given the right circumstances, any person can fall prey to these scams as they tap into powerful aspects of what it is to be human. Being vigilant to these scams can protect
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U.S. Regional Economic Outlook on Tariff Troubles: Which regional economies could be affected?
March 18, 2025
Categories: Community Events, Community News, General
This is an excerpt from the Visa Business and Economic Insights for February 2025. For more in depth information regarding this article, download the entire report here. Our regional forecasts indicate that all U.S. regions outperformed our economic growth expectations for Q4-2024. The pace of job creation accelerated in the final two months of the year, leading us to upwardly revise our employment growth estimates for the South and West. As a result of stronger hiring and two additional rate
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Protecting Your Kids from Identity Theft
March 18, 2025
Categories: Community News, Electronic Banking, General
This blog post was published by Chis O’Shea from SavvyMoney Hub. What to know about child identity theft. Believe it or not, child identity theft is a big deal. According to a study, from 2021 to 2022, 900,000 children were the victims of identity fraud, with kids under seven the most likely targets. Let’s take a look at this issue and find ways to prevent it from ever happening. Signs of ID Theft There are some ways you can tell if your child has been the victim of identity
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Scammers Continue to Steal Billions From Elderly Adults
March 5, 2025
Categories: Community Banking, Community Banking Advocacy, Community Events, Community News, General
This blog post was published by Jean Chatzky from SavvyMoney, with reporting by Casandra Andrews. Follow these fraud prevention tips to help protect seniors from losing their savings. It seems like scammers never sleep. Criminals are constantly coming up with creative ways to steal money from unsuspecting people, especially older Americans. Each year, millions of elderly adults in the United States fall victim to financial frauds, suffering $3 billion or more in losses, according to the FBI. A
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What to do If You're a Victim of Identity Theft
March 5, 2025
Categories: Community Events, Community News, General
This guide was published by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. By contacting the nationwide credit reporting companies, you can place a fraud alert or security freeze on your credit report. You can also request that they block or remove fraudulent debts. You can contact the three nationwide credit reporting companies: Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion: Equifax (800) 685-1111 Equifax Consumer Fraud Division P.O. Box 740256 Atlanta, GA 30374 Experian (888)
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Cooler Weather Brings a Cooler Economy, an excerpt from Experian’s Beyond the Trends Report for Fall 2024
November 12, 2024
Categories: Commercial Loans, Community Banking, Community Banking Advocacy, Community Events, Community News, General
For more in depth information regarding this article, download the entire report here. This article was written by Brodie Oldham, Vice President of Commercial Data Sciences from Experian Business Information Services. Beyond the Trends is a quarterly report written by Experian Business Information Services. The report offers a unique view of the small business economy based on what we see in the data. With up to date information on over 33 million active businesses and how they perform from a
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Scammers Continue to Steal Billions From Elderly Adults
June 14, 2024
Categories: Community Banking, Community Banking Advocacy, Community Events, Community News, General
This blog post was published by Jean Chatzky from SavvyMoney Hub, with reporting by Casandra Andrews. Follow these fraud prevention tips to help protect seniors from losing their savings It seems like scammers never sleep. Criminals are constantly coming up with creative ways to steal money from unsuspecting people, especially older Americans. Each year, millions of elderly adults in the United States fall victim to financial frauds, suffering $3 billion or more in losses, according to the
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It’s Time for a Financial Check Up
April 29, 2024
Categories: Community Banking, Community Banking Advocacy, Community Events, Community News, General
This blog post was published by Jean Chatzky from SavvyMoney Hub, with reporting by Casandra Andrews. Why track spending and saving? Because what gets measured gets managed If you already live on a budget and have been dutifully checking your spending plan at the end of each month, bravo! Unfortunately, research shows that not everyone is disciplined enough to track their financial habits with regularity. For those who could use a little — ahem -– nudge, read on. In
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FCBT, ICBA: Learning Fiscally Responsible Habits Can Help You Reach Your Financial Goals
April 4, 2024
Categories: Community Banking, Community Banking Advocacy, Community Events, Community News, General
Beecher, IL. (April 4, 2024) First Community Bank and Trust (FCBT) and the Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA) are celebrating Financial Literacy Month in April by encouraging Americans to take control of their financial future and learn fiscally responsible habits that can benefit them at every age and stage of their financial journey. Twenty-seven percent of Americans report that “just getting by financially or finding it hard to get by” describes them completely or very
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ICBA and FCBT: The Power of Reinvesting in Our Community
April 1, 2024
Categories: Community Banking, Community Banking Advocacy, Community Events, Community News, General
Reinvesting in your community sounds great, but how does one really put that into action? If you’ve ever wondered if it matters where you deposit your hard-earned money, let us assure you it does. Not only does banking locally support small businesses (community banks fund more than 60% of small business loans and more than 80% of ag loans nationally), but as locally owned and operated businesses themselves, they are part of the economic engines that create 62 percent of new jobs annually
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