How Strong Are Your Passwords?

How long do you think it would take a hacker to crack your current passwords? On average, it takes a hacker about 2 seconds to crack an 11-character password that only uses numbers. See the attached chart that illustrates the time it takes for a hacker to brute force attack your password. A brute force […]

Financial Advisory and a Service-Centered Approach

Financial advisory firms have historically endured a bad reputation ­– either because they were too expensive, or they only helped people with lots of money to invest, or they were trying to sell clients a product or plan that didn’t align with the heart of their goals and situation. Too many Americans don’t think they […]

Is it time to Re-evaluate your Financial Plan?

Re-evaluating your plan and re-evaluating your opportunities is really important. According to Northwestern’s 2020 Planning and progress study, 71% of Americans feel their financial plan could use some improvement. So maybe you have a plan, but you’re saying, “Maybe I can use some improvement”. At Trilogy Financial we look at the work that’s been done […]

The Knowns & Unknowns

Here’s a tip: Review your spending habits. It’s really hard to mitigate or manage financial anxiety if you don’t have a clear sense of your spending. When talking with clients, questions that come up all the time are “Where’s my money going? I don’t know where all of our dollars go, we’re making a good […]

Tax Refund Scams

Tax-related fraud and identity theft have continued to grow, with millions of people becoming targets. Scammers need little more than your Social Security number and other general information to file a fraudulent tax return and hijack your tax refund. Taxpayers typically don’t discover the fraud until they attempt to file their own returns, which is […]

Cell Phone Security

As scammers get more sophisticated, be sure to protect yourself and your access points, such as your smartphone. Start by making sure your phone is encrypted. Most phones, such as iPhones, Google Pixels and post-2018 Samsung phones are encrypted by default. Should you have a different model, search online for instructions on how to encrypt […]

TSA PreCheck Scams

TSA PreCheck Scams   TSA PreCheck is garnering a lot of interest, from both travelers and scammers alike. In addition to pocketing your renewal/application fee, these scammers take your personal information to sell on the dark web or create false identities that can be used illegally. TSA PreCheck scam emails are quite sophisticated, lacking many […]

Data Privacy Tips

Data Privacy governs how data is collected, shared and used. When private data gets in the wrong hands, bad things can happen.  Whether you are in the office or working from home, here are a few tips on how to keep your data private: VARY YOUR PASSWORDS Use unique, complex passwords on different sites and […]

Post Covid-19 Scams

Beware of Post Covid-19 Scams. Using bogus surveys or social media posts, criminals are crafting scams to target a new audience as more COVID-19 vaccines are being administered.  Be suspicious of any post-vaccine evaluations/surveys you receive and do not post a picture of your vaccine card on social media.   There may be legitimate surveys and […]

The Importance of Password Security

Weak passwords can compromise the best security tools and controls. With a never-ending list of applications and services that users and consumers access, people may have dozens of passwords to maintain at any given time. Often, the temptation to use familiar terms such as pet names, favorite teams or the names of children or friends […]