As the market continues to fluctuate, I’ve reiterated how we recommend following The Stash Way during particularly turbulent times. It can help you to tune out the noise and remain confident in your investment approach. 

And, I’m thankful that you’re listening! Amid the market turmoil that started last week, more Stash customers deposited money on the platform than any week so far this year.¹ We are also seeing more and more people make Stash their bank and earn stock-back for their everyday spending.

Our responsibility to you remains unchanged. You’ve trusted us to help guide you on your financial journey, and we don’t take that for granted. 

 It’s business as usual at Stash. Here’s how we’re working to stay one step ahead of the situation: 

• First and foremost, we value the health and safety of our employees. We’re taking appropriate steps to help ensure their well-being, and we will continue to support your day-to-day needs.
• We have business continuity and resilience measures in place to help keep our technology up and running seamlessly. 
• We’re working closely with our banking, trading, and customer service partners across the board to learn how to adapt quickly to ensure you get the service you deserve.
• We’re following the CDC’s COVID-19 precautions very closely, and are consistently updating our Stash employee team on how to best comply with the CDC’s guidance. We’re also ensuring the Stash app remains fully-functional, and giving you the highest level of support you deserve.

As we continue to monitor COVID-19, and its potential impact on our team, we remain vigilant, but calm. If anything changes that affects the reliability of our service, we’ll share updates via email and on Twitter at @Stash, including the best ways to contact us for speedy support. Please continue to reach out to us through email, phone, or our easy self-servicing tool here. 

Stay healthy and keep Stashing,
Brandon 

The post How Stash Protects Its Customers appeared first on Stash Learn.

But we also want you to have confidence that when you use Stash, you know that we take the security of your money, accounts, and personal information very seriously. That way, you can rest assured that your experience with us will always be a great one.

Here’s how Stash works to keep you safe:

Protecting your money

• Your Stash debit account¹ is insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, a federal agency that protects consumer bank accounts against loss.
• Your investments are held by our custodian Apex Clearing Corporation, a third party SEC registered broker-dealer and member FINRA/SPIC.
• Apex Clearing is a member of the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC). This means your investments in your account are protected up to $500,000 total (including $250,000 for claims for cash). For details, please see www.sipc.org.

Protecting your personal information

• Stash has undergone an extensive internal examination called a Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard audit (PCI DSS), which all merchants and organizations that store, process or transmit credit and debit data must perform. It ensures your cardholder data is stored and safeguarded against malicious attacks.
• We use 256-bit encryption, an industry-standard, to protect information as it moves across the network, and to encode information such as your Social Security number and transaction history.
• We also use something called Transport Layer Security (TLS), which protects your information when you’re communicating with Stash via the Web or your mobile device.
• Biometric recognition: You can use your fingerprint—to log into your Stash account. Since your fingerprint is unique to you, it can provide greater account access security than simply using a password.
• Access controls: Stash times your sessions, and will automatically log you out after a set period of inactivity.  We also continuously monitor log-ons for access from unauthorized users.

What you can do

You can also take action to make sure your account stays secure. Here’s how:

• Don’t use easy-to-guess passwords, such as your birth date, your name, or names of friends, as well as current or past addresses.
• Use complex passwords that combine upper and lower case letters, numbers, as well as symbols.
• Don’t use the same password for multiple web sites or apps.
• Change your passwords every 90 days.
• And remember, Stash is always here to help. Contact us 24 hours a day if you suspect fraud or other suspicious activity related to your account.

Email: Support@stash.com
Phone: 800-205-5164

You can find more information on the Stash security page.

The post What Stash Does to Keep You Safe appeared first on Stash Learn.

Two years ago, cybercriminals gained access to Equifax’s network by exploiting a website vulnerability, making off with the personal information for 147 million U.S. consumers (nearly half the country’s population). That information included names, addresses, Social Security numbers, birth dates, and in some cases driver’s license numbers.

Additionally, criminals walked away with credit card details for 209,000 consumers, and personally identifying information related to credit disputes for an additional 182,000 consumers, according to Reuters.

Here are the details:

• Equifax agreed to pay up to $700 million for problems related to the security break in two years ago. That deal must still be approved by a federal court.
• The settlement is reportedly the largest payment in corporate history for a cybersecurity breach. The money will go to 48 states that launched lawsuits against the company for damages, as well as to consumers, to help them restore their online identities, and to repair other financial data.
• $425 million of the settlement money reportedly will be used to set up a “restitution fund.” While the money is slated to go to consumers who suffered financial damage as a result of the hack, it will be hard for consumers to prove they were actually affected by the breach, experts warn.
• Consumers who are already signed up for credit monitoring services–which monitor for fraudulent borrowing behavior–may be eligible for a one-time reimbursement of $125. Other consumers may be eligible for up to 7 years of free credit monitoring and identity restoration services.
• Consumers who can prove they suffered losses related to fraud and misuse of their personal information may be eligible for repayment of up $20,000.

You can find out more about the settlement here.

What is Equifax?

Equifax is one of three credit reporting agencies, or bureaus. The others are Experian and Transunion. Credit reporting agencies collect data on consumers related to all aspects of their financial lives, including bank and credit card account information, mortgages, and bankruptcies. They file this information in something called a credit report, and sell it to mortgage, automobile, and credit card companies, among others, that wish to build customer profiles for loans.

Credit reporting agencies also create something called a credit score, ranging from 300 to 850; the latter is considered perfect credit. Credit scores affect the cost of loans, and all consumers who have applied for credit have a credit score.

More about the breach

The information stolen in the Equifax break-in is most typically bought and sold by criminals on the black market, and via something called the Dark Web, an underground criminal network. So far, there is no evidence that the information has been used for that purpose. That has led some experts to theorize a foreign nation was involved in the attack, for the purpose of spying.

Numerous other companies in recent years have suffered big hack attacks resulting in the loss of important customer data. In 2018, hotel chain Marriott announced that its systems had been hacked by criminals who made off with data related to 500 million guests. Similarly, Yahoo had email addresses for 3 billion customers stolen in two separate attacks starting in 2013, and JPMorgan Chase which lost names and log-ins for about 80 million accounts in 2014. The Equifax hack attack, however, is the most significant such breach in terms of potential damage to consumers, financial experts said.

Find out more about the Equifax hack here.

The post All About the Equifax Data Breach Settlement appeared first on Stash Learn.

What happened?

Credit card numbers, addresses, email addresses, and passport numbers were among the information stolen by criminals after they breached the hotel chain’s reservation system, starting as far back as 2014, according to reports.

Marriott acquired the Starwood Hotels & Resorts in 2016, which owns Sheraton, Westin, and W Hotels, among others. So if you stayed in one of the other hotel brands, you may be affected as well.

Numerous other companies in recent years have suffered big hack attacks resulting in the loss of important customer data.

Two such attacks include Yahoo, where names and email addresses for 3 billion customers were stolen in two attacks starting in 2013, and JPMorgan Chase which lost names and log-ins for about 80 million accounts in 2014.

How to protect yourself against data breaches?

Even if you haven’t stayed at a Marriott or affiliated hotel brand in recent years, it’s worth paying attention to cyber break-ins.

That’s because information pilfered by criminals can be used to steal your identity, and conduct online fraud that can result in financial losses–or worse–for you and your family.

Get smarter about your money

To find out more about what you can do to protect your data and your online identity, including credit freezes and using two-factor authentication, read here.

Handling your money can mean more than just banking and budgets. You can get tips, tools, and strategies in your inbox, every week.

The post The Marriott Cyber Attack: What You Need to Know appeared first on Stash Learn.