Phishing: fake emails designed to steal sensitive information.
Everyone hates getting junk emails or spam in their inbox. But
beware not all junk email and spam is created equal. There are certain pieces
of email that may look legitimate, but are just tools criminals use to gain
access to your username, password or other sensitive information. These are
called phishing attacks
The most popular phishing attacks look like they are from
banks or other financial institutions. The design of the email will look
professional, and it almost always includes the logo of the company it is
supposedly sent from to make it appear more genuine. However, all it takes is a
little investigating and a trained eye to find out if it is real or not.
The first thing you should look at is the email address, and
there can be a couple of warning signs here. If the name of the sender and the
email address do not match up, or if you do not recognize the email address as
someone or a company you have done business with before, it is most likely a
phishing attack. Another huge hint is if your email has flagged it as spam.
There are also giveaways in the body
of the email. Always hover over links or buttons to see where
you will be taken if you click one of them. The web address shown may be
completely different, meaning that the criminal has hijacked that website to
store their forms that capture secure information.
If you do these three things, you can verify that an email
is a phishing attack. This allows you to not only avoid falling into a trap,
but your coworkers as well if it was sent to others within your company. View
an illustrated video of these points - How
to Avoid a Phishing Scam by LSB’s Mike McCrary.
We hope this information keeps you safe from phishing
attacks and prevents you from becoming a victim of financial and/or identity
theft.
Credit Unions pose large risk to your community banks.
Over the past few years you may have noticed the appearance
of credit unions around your community. While they may appear to be the same as
a bank like Lincoln Savings Bank on the surface and offer many of the same
services, credit unions also have very distinct difference: they are exempt
from paying federal income taxes.
Now, there are calls from the credit union industry to allow
them to increase their business-lending authority from 12.25 percent to 27.5
percent. This, according to a study done by Ike Brannon of Capital Policy
Analytics, would reduce tax revenues and pose a large risk to both the credit
union industry and the financial industry as a whole. This position is supported
by the Iowa Community Bankers Association (ICBA), of which LSB is a member.
Therefore, LSB encourages you to look through the following
findings of the study to see the damage an increase in lending power to credit
unions could inflict:
Additional commercial
lending from tax-subsidized credit unions would decrease tax revenues. The
taxes that would otherwise be paid by commercial banks like LSB on those
loans would not be paid.
Credit unions with high
business loan-to-asset ratios makeup a large share of credit union
failures since 2008. Therefore, allowing for even higher loan-to-asset
ratios could result in even more credit union failures.
A large majority of credit
unions are nowhere near their business-lending limit, and over 70 percent
of credit unions have no member business lending loans at all. Why then do
they need this controversial legislation?
Job-growth estimates by
those in favor of this legislation paint a far more cheerful picture than
real world data from the last three years indicates.
Along with the ICBA, LSB will continue to oppose any
legislation that hurts tax-paying community banks and increases the
business-lending cap for credit unions. We urge you to help us contact our
Congressional representatives to halt this legislation that could cause damage
to community banks and the financial industry as a whole.
At Lincoln
Savings Bank, our main goal is not to win awards or be publicly recognized for
the services we provide. We do strive to
meet your financial needs with honesty and integrity every day. Our
company-wide commitment to excellence is a result of the hard work we put in
day in and day out.
However, we as a
company, as well as several individual employees, have received humbling awards
and recognition in 2012. We are so very thankful to our loyal customers for
bringing our hard working associates recognition they truly deserve. We are
proud to share a few of the accolades awarded to LSB and our associates this
past year.
Steve
Tscherter, President / CEO, Lincoln Savings Bank
Honored as a 2012
Business Hall of Fame Laureates for Junior Achievement
Emily J.
Girsch, CPA, MBA, Executive Vice President – Chief Financial Officer, Lincoln
Savings Bank
Lincoln Savings
Bank was awarded the “Gift of the Heart Philanthropy Award”. That award is
given to recognize persons or organizations whose lifetime of long-term
achievements exemplifies commitment and dedication toward helping
society.
Various Courier Best of the Best Awards, 2012
Best of the Best – Bank – Lincoln Savings Bank
Best of the Best - Bank Teller – Deni Badker
Best of the Best – Financial/Investment – LSB Financial
Honorable Mention – Real Estate Company – Century 21 LSB
Real Estate
Honorable Mention – Real Estate Agent – Robin Shrader
USDA Lending
LSB was one of the top lenders for the USDA’s Guaranteed
Rural Housing Program during the last fiscal year, making 80 loans for $9.4
million.
Again, we are so humbled by these awards and thankful to all
of our customers and hard working associates for making these awards possible.
LSB will endeavor to continue providing the best financial services possible
through building engaging and supportive relationships with our customers into
the future.
Lincoln Savings Bank is the #1 community
bank in the Cedar Valley* and our employees are also our owners. Stop in
or check out our website to learn about our many services and banking account
options – we have what’s right for you!
*based on the 2012 FDIC Deposit Market
Share Report.
Over the past week, the LPL Financial Current Conditions Index (CCI) slid further to 219. The path of the CCI remains consistent with continued, though sluggish, economic growth in the United States.
This year, the CCI has echoed the spring and summer slides of 2010 and 2011, as the economy softened. The CCI has also reflected a repeat of the subsequent rebounds seen in the past two years. However, decoupling from the trends of the past couple of years, momentum has slowed in recent weeks and has returned to the lows of the summer.
View the entire Current Conditions Index (pdf format) ________________________________________________________________________ Lincoln Savings Bank and LSB Financial are pleased to provide the above current conditions index for the week of December 12, 2012. The commentary is prepared by LPL FINANCIAL RESEARCH, the broker-dealer partner for Lincoln Savings Bank and LSB Financial. The above commentary and others like it can be found at www.mylsb.com/investments/commentary.aspx ________________________________________________________________________ This information is being provided by Lincoln Savings Bank (LSB) / LSB Financial, an Iowa-based institution devoted to providing complete financial services since 1902. http://www.mylsb.com/ Securities and Insurance products offered through LPL Financial and its affiliates, member FINRA / SIPC.
Not FDIC Insured
No Bank Guarantee
May Lose Value
Not a Deposit
Not Insured by any Federal Government Agency
Lincoln Savings Bank and LSB Financial are not registered broker/dealers, nor are they affiliated with LPL Financial. This site is designed for U.S. residents only. The services offered within this site are available exclusively through our U.S. Investment Representatives. LPL Financials U.S. Investment Representatives may only conduct business with residents of the states for which they are properly registered. Please note that not all of the investments and services mentioned are available in every state.
We expect the Federal Reserve (Fed) to continue Operation Twist at this week’s Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting. Before ending quantitative easing (QE), the Fed has repeatedly said it is looking for “sustained and substantial” improvement in the labor market.
The Fed’s communication policy is likely to be at the heart of the agenda.
Looking ahead, the rotation to new FOMC members in January 2013 is unlikely to significantly impact monetary policy in 2013.
View the entire economic commentary (pdf format) ________________________________________________________________________ Lincoln Savings Bank and LSB Financial are pleased to provide the above Economic Commentary for the week of December 12, 2012. The commentary is prepared by LPL FINANCIAL RESEARCH, the broker-dealer partner for Lincoln Savings Bank and LSB Financial. The above commentary and others like it can be found at www.mylsb.com/investments/commentary.aspx ________________________________________________________________________ This information is being provided by Lincoln Savings Bank (LSB) / LSB Financial, an Iowa-based institution devoted to providing complete financial services since 1902.http://www.mylsb.com/ Securities and Insurance products offered through LPL Financial and its affiliates, member FINRA / SIPC.
Not FDIC Insured
No Bank Guarantee
May Lose Value
Not a Deposit
Not Insured by any Federal Government Agency
Lincoln Savings Bank and LSB Financial are not registered broker/dealers, nor are they affiliated with LPL Financial. This site is designed for U.S. residents only. The services offered within this site are available exclusively through our U.S. Investment Representatives. LPL Financials U.S. Investment Representatives may only conduct business with residents of the states for which they are properly registered. Please note that not all of the investments and services mentioned are available in every state.
As a community bank, Lincoln
Savings Bank believes it is essential that we work to help our communities
stay vibrant, healthy and growing. One way that LSB is working toward this goal
is through supporting the Blue Zones
Project, which strives to make Iowa the healthiest state by 2016.
Corey Clark, Senior VP at LSB.
The project, a partnership between Blue Zones®, Healthways and Wellmark Blue
Cross and Blue Shield, provides funding and resources to chosen cities in Iowa,
such as Waterloo, to help residents make healthy lifestyle changes. Like other
Blue Zones projects, this one will have a community-based approach to improve
the way Iowans live, work and play to improve their physical, emotional and
social health.
In our community, LSB is at work in various ways to make a
difference in the health of our friends and neighbors. Here’s a look at what we
are doing:
Corey Clark, Senior VP/Business Development
Officer, has been active serving as a member of the Waterloo “Power 9”
committee. The Power 9 committee is responsible for leading the development
of a strategic “blueprint” for the city of Waterloo. This blueprint acknowledges
the unique opportunities and needs of Waterloo, and will serve as an outline of
work that will be coordinated and implemented in the years ahead.
LSB will work to help improve people’s emotional
health through addressing matters that cause financial stress. While not incorporated
in the formal blueprint described above, LSB is well aware that if financial
stress is ignored, like physical and mental stress, it can be unhealthy. LSB
has developed a process, called LSB+, to work with individuals on developing a
plan that will address their financial stress issues. LSB will also provide educational seminars to
assist in dealing with financial stress.
LSB’s various branches and workplaces will be
learning what it means to be “Blue Zones Designated” in order to promote and
live a healthier lifestyle.
We hope you will join LSB in
working together toward a healthier future for the Waterloo community and for
the entire state of Iowa.
Lincoln Savings Bank is the
#1 community bank in the Cedar Valley* and our employees are also our
owners. Stop in or check out our website
to learn about our many services and banking account options – we have what’s
right for you!
*based on the 2012 FDIC
Deposit Market Share Report.
The holiday season brings a lot of fun and excitement, but
the ever-present sound of holiday music and the never-ending list of things to
get done may become monotonous. Lincoln Savings Bank is helping you break
through the holiday season monotony with a chance to win tickets to the new
critically acclaimed movie “Lincoln” all through the month of December! We will
be giving away two pairs of tickets to “Lincoln” every Friday this month with a
ticket giveaway on our Facebook page!
Here’s how the giveaway works. First, login to your Facebook
page and then go to our page at https://www.facebook.com/mylsb.
From there, click on the tab that says “Win LINCOLN Tickets.” Then, all you
have to do is “Like” the page, complete the requested information and you’re entered!
Every Friday this month, we will randomly select two names
from our entries, and the winners will be given a pair of tickets to see this
amazing movie! The winners will be announced on our Facebook page, so be sure
to check back every Friday to see if you’ve won!
But wait, there’s more! When you enter your information, you
will also be asked to “share” the competition with your friends. Every time
someone enters from your share, your name will be entered in to the contest
again, giving you a better chance of being selected! Be sure to share and
invite as many of your friends as possible for the best chance at winning!
Film critics have been in awe of “Lincoln,” with popular
film critic Roger Ebert giving it 4 out 4 stars, so you don’t want to miss this
chance to see this remarkable movie for free! Visit our Facebook page today and
get entered! All of us at LSB wish everyone that enters good luck, and we hope
everyone has a wonderful holiday season!
