The Extraco Banks Blog | Banking

Consider Yahoo, Marriott International, Adult Friend Finder, Anthem, and Target. What do these companies have in common? They’ve all experienced some of the largest data breaches in history. The scary thing is that you can’t protect all your data all the time, but there are many things you can do to guard against a cyber-attack.

You’re already familiar with the concept of a virtual assistant. Chat bots and virtual assistants have been around for a while, but they aren’t always as helpful as we’d like them to be. Newer technology, however, has improved this to provide you with the best answers to some of the most common questions we receive. You may have a question that falls outside the norm. Never fear! Our brand new chat feature also helps you to reach a real Extraco Relationship Banker to streamline the process from question to solution.

Approximately 12 million adults — nearly 5% of U.S. households-- don't have any accounts at a mainstream bank. These people represent an unbanked population. Nearly 24 million adults, or 10% of homes in the United States, use fringe financial services, such as check-cashing services or prepaid cards, from non-mainstream banks. They are considered an underbanked population.

Every day, thousands of people fall victim to fraudulent emails, texts and calls from scammers pretending to be their bank. And in this time of expanded use of online banking, the problem is only growing worse.

As long as there are people making money, there will be others who will try to take it from them. While Skimming has been around for a while, the newest forms of theft are Bank Jugging and Card Cracking. You need to be aware of these new schemes so that they don’t happen to you.

“Need cash quick with no strings attached? Have I got a deal for you?” Who couldn’t use some extra money, especially high school or college students that are just finding their way in the real world

Once you decide to buy something, you then must determine the form of payment you’ll use. Is cash easiest? Will you write a check? Or is your debit card the best way to go? Pros and cons exist for all methods of payment. Many of us decide quickly without thinking through potential fraud or payment protection.

As a mom of two young daughters, teaching my children about money and finances is very important. I often hear myself saying, “Mommy and Daddy work to pay for our life.” The other day I asked my six