June 2008

Traveling Out Of The Country??  Let Us Know!! 

        It is “summertime, and the living is easy, the fish are jumping, the cotton is high, your daddy's rich, your mama's good looking…” and you are going to take a well-deserved vacation. Congratulations!!!  If you need a loan, come see us. If you have saved and are now rewarding yourself for a job well done, congratulations. One of the most convenient ways to pay is to put it on our Visa Card (debit or credit). If you are traveling outside the United States, please let us know. 

        Crooks have figured a few new ways to steal from honest people. One way is to get a card number and put charges on it. This is happening in the US but is more prevalent in transactions from outside the US. Canada and Mexico are the most common because they are next door. We have put a block on all transactions originating in those two countries. If you go to Canada and try to use your card, it won’t work because we have blocked it. The same is true for Mexico. If we know you are traveling to one of those countries, we will remove the block and monitor the activity. Just let us know.

        Enjoy the summer. Enjoy your vacation. If we can be of service, let us know.

United 1st Federal Credit Union Announces Technology
Alliance with Intuit's Quicken® and Microsoft Money®

       In order to further simplify the way members manage their finances, United 1st Federal Credit Union announced a technology alliance with Intuit Inc. and Microsoft Money, that will allow members to download current United 1st account information into Quicken Personal Finance Software and Microsoft Money automatically. This eliminates the need to manually enter transaction data. As a result, members can save time, improve accuracy, and better manage their complete financial picture.

       Through this new relationship, members have the convenience of downloading their account statements directly into Quicken or Money from C.U. Online. With this connectivity, downloading current United 1st Federal Credit Union statement and transaction information into Quicken or Money can be done in minutes. Log in to CU Online and go to Account Summary. Click on either Shares or Drafts and Quicken, Money, and QuickBooks are offered. You must have the software installed on your computer in order to use this feature of CU Online.   

United 1st Celebrates Teacher Appreciation Day

       One of the oldest locally owned personal financial institutions in Southeast Georgia is celebrating Teacher Appreciation Day in a big way. Every teacher in Camden, Charlton, Pierce, Dodge, Ware, Bleckley, Ben Hill, Wilcox, Wheeler, and Telfair Counties received a card from United 1st. When the teacher takes the card to the closest Member Service Center, it can be redeemed for an insulated Thermos-type bottle. 

“The gift is United 1st’s way of saying “Thank You” to our teachers for the awesome job they do. Teachers are the ones that give our future its promise. They are the ones that give the next generation its direction,” according to Ed Walker, Director of Business Development for United 1st. He continued, “Sometimes people forget to show their appreciation. Tuesday, May 6, 2008, has been designated as Teacher Appreciation Day. We are extending it to the entire month of May because teachers are so important to our country’s future. I hope every teacher will bring the card in to one of our Service Centers.” 

United 1st Honored By Pierce County High School’s Work-Based Learning Program As
“BUSINESS OF THE YEAR”

        Ms. Jan Dixon, as the Work-based Learning Coordinator for Pierce County High School, announced at the Annual Employer Appreciation Luncheon Thursday, April 17, 2008, the selection of United 1st as the “Business of the Year” for school year 2007-2008. Ms. Sherry Strickland, Manager of the Blackshear Member Service Center, and Ms. Rosalind Inman, an employee of the credit union, accepted the award. 

        Ms. Dixon cited the Credit Union for their numerous guest speakers who spoke to business classes.  The speakers talked about credit, savings, credit cards, and debit cards, as well as how to conduct oneself in job interviews.  They also discussed the importance of credit scores and how the scores are used by lenders and employers.  Speakers included Ms. Strickland, Ms. Jeanne Bovair, Director of Human Resources for United 1st, and Ed Walker, Director of Business Development for United 1st.

        Ms. Inman of United 1st also opened a “High School Member Service Center” at PCHS and served as the teller at the high school every Tuesday.  All students and teachers were able to open accounts and make deposits.  Ms. Inman was the primary teller and also supervised the high school student, Suzanne Doggett, who worked part time during the school year at the Member Service Center on Highway 84. 

        Ms. Dixon also mentioned the credit union’s participation in the financial literacy program held at the high school auditorium Monday, April 21, 2008.  The speakers at the seminar were Ed Walker and Sherry Strickland.  The staff of the Blackshear Member Service Center was on hand to answer questions and assist as needed. The credit union provided an iPod as a prize for a drawing to increase attendance.  The purpose of the seminar was to increase awareness of financial matters for parents and students.  It was very well attended.  Sebastian Martin won the iPod.

        Pat Conn, CEO of United 1st said, “We really appreciate this recognition of the efforts of the Blackshear Member Service Center Team.  It is always good to be recognized for what you do and, as the credit union of choice for a lot of the education professionals in this area, recognition by a school is really special.  We thank the Business Department of Pierce County High School for the plaque and the opportunity to help educate the students in financial matters.”    

United 1st And Camden County High School
Business Department Team To Give Teens Financial Knowledge

        Rachel Baldwin, Youth Apprenticeship Director, was instrumental in the planning, organizing, and bringing to fruition a day of talking finance to the business students of Camden County High.  Ms. Baldwin said, “I believe every student should know five things before they graduate from High School:  They need to know how to read, how to swim, how to keyboard (type), how to drive, and how to balance their checkbook.”  To help her accomplish the last of those things, Ms. Baldwin enlisted the aid of United 1st Federal Credit Union and the Business Department of CCHS.

        Laura Koch, Youth Programs Coordinator for United 1st and a graduate of CCHS, prepared a power point presentation.  Ed Walker, Director of Business Development, Shannon Sasser, Manager of the St Marys Member Service Center, and Ms. Koch addressed many financial questions with the Business students at a Financial Literacy Seminar.  Ms. Koch talked about budgeting and saving when the students are no longer living at home.  Mr. Walker talked about debit cards and how to use them.  Ms. Sasser was the best received as she discussed matters of real interest to the students – loans for vehicles, credit cards, and credit scores.

        The Business Department teachers brought in their students for “practical, real life information the students can use now and later.”  While many students are planning to attend college, some will join the work force immediately after graduation.  As Ms. Baldwin pointed out, “The number one reason people do not finish college is finances.”  About 500 students attended the presentation.  One student said, “This was really helpful.  I wondered about credit scores.  Thanks, United 1st.”  

United 1st Folkston Helps With Cancer Survivor Dinner

        Marian Sikes, United 1st Member Service Center Manager, led the contingent of employees who served the dinner to the cancer survivors of Charlton County.  There were well over one hundred survivors and their families in attendance and the staff of the Folkston Member Service Center was kept busy the evening of April 15, 2008.  The dinner was to recognize the cancer survivors and to start the American Cancer Society’s “Relay For Life” in Charlton County. 

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       Employees from United 1st have been instrumental in the Survivors’ Dinner for many years.  Community service is an important aspect of the credit union movement and, as the only credit union in Charlton County, United 1st personifies that movement.  According to Ed Walker, Director of Business Development for United 1st, “Sometimes we get so hung up on having the lowest loan interest rates that we neglect to publicize the really positive things our staff does.  Marian Sikes, Collien Collins, Victoria Todd, and Nikki Edwards are a tremendous asset to our credit union and to Folkston.  Shelly Wymer from Camden County helped with the serving and our staff photographer, Ann Walker, took pictures for the event.  Credit Unions have always given back to the communities they serve and this is just one example.”

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       In addition to serving the meals to the survivors, United 1st also donated a beautiful basket as one of the items for a drawing.  The basket was done by Faith Brown from the Information Systems Department of United 1st.  Faith called it her “relaxation basket” because it contained a relaxation cd, a candle, bubble bath, bath oil, and back scratchers as well as a towel and a cup.  The basket was won by Barbara Chesser.

United 1st Federal Credit Union Starts A Sammy SavASaurus Club At South Dodge Elementary School

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Ms. Scarlett Driggers and Mr. Elvis Davis of South Dodge Elementary and Ms. Ann Harrell and Ms. Cindy Singletary of United 1st.

        Ms. Scarlett Driggers, Community/Family Involvement Coordinator at South Dodge Elementary School, was greeted by a green dinosaur Wednesday morning when she arrived for work.  Sammy SavASaurus, the mascot for United 1st Federal Credit Union Youth Savings Program, was on hand to stir up interest in saving money.  Ann Harrell, local manager for United 1st, was on hand to help students (and teachers) open accounts and get in the savings habit.  The credit union will place Teller Cindy Singletary at South Dodge every Wednesday until the school year is ended.  Ms. Singletary will train students to be tellers and they will be taking deposits from 7:30 until school starts at 8:15.
 
        Ms. Driggers is the school liaison between the school and United 1st.  Ed Walker, Director of Business Development for the credit union, said, “We look forward to working with the teachers and staff of South Dodge to develop the saving habit in the children.  The savings rate in the United States is the lowest it has been in many years and we need to reverse the downward trend.  Children are the future and we want to get them started saving early.” 

        Ms. Singletary said, “We will give toys to the kids who open accounts or make deposits.  We know that will encourage them to save.  Everyone who lives, works, worships, or attends school in Dodge County is eligible for membership in United 1st.  We look forward to getting these young people saving.”

United 1st Federal Credit Union Has Remodeled
The Blackshear Member Service Center

Picture left to right front- Chamber Board Member Jim Dennison; Blackshear Mayor Tom Davis; Chamber Board Member Margie P. Wallace; United 1st Director, Business Development Ed Walker; Blackshear Member Service Center Manager Sherry Strickland; President of United 1st Board of Directors J. T. Blount; United 1st Chief Executive Officer Pat Conn; Chamber of Commerce Secretary Deborah Lee; BACK- Chamber President Sharon Dial; Chamber Board Member Christy Marr; Construction Contractor Andy Day; Chamber Board Member Matt Cochran.

In a ceremony Tuesday, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of United 1st Federal Credit Union, J. T. Blount, pointed out the differences between the first opening of the Blackshear Member Service Center and the re-opening.  Mr. Blount attended both and said, “The Member Service Center is more impressive than ever.  Our first building was less than half this size.  Sherry Strickland and her staff have really done a great job providing member service while the building was refurbished.” 

Pat Conn, CEO of the credit union, was also very complimentary to Ms. Strickland and her staff while also pointing out the advantages “to the consumer of a credit union in difficult economic times.  We almost always have lower fees, lower loan rates and higher rates on savings.  We are able to loan money based on character because our members are our owners.”  Mr. Conn noted the presence of City and County officials and thanked them as well as the President and the Director of the Pierce County Chamber of Commerce, Ms. Sharon Dial and Ms. Deborah Lee, respectively, for their attendance.  Mr. Conn also mentioned the partnership with educators to improve the financial literacy of our youth.  There will be a seminar held at Pierce County High School the evening of April 21, 2008 covering basic financial matters.

The President of the Chamber complimented the Credit Union on the building and said she was pleased with the professional appearance and that she knew Pierce County was growing and would use the facility to its fullest. 

County and Credit Union officials joined in a ceremonial ribbon cutting at the front door.  There was finger food, cake, soft drinks, and gifts for all the attendees. 

Life Is Good And
GETTING BETTER

        Life is good for the members of United 1st Federal Credit Union and now it has gotten better. “How?” you might ask. We have always had the friendliest staff around. We have always gone above and beyond to please our members. Now, we are going even further to please our members. We are a part of Credit Union 24 (CU 24), which is the network of ATMs our members can use surcharge-free.  CU 24 has entered into an agreement with Allpoint Financial to make those ATMs surcharge-free. That means there are a lot more ATMs for us to use and they are located in many very convenient places.

        Go to www.CU24.com and click on ATM locator. Enter the zip code and put a check in CU Here Premium Program. Click on the Search button.  That is it.  Publix is a member of Presto network.  Many of the Allpoint Financial ATMs are in Flash Foods stores and other conveniently located establishments. Be certain to check the ATM itself to make sure it has the Allpoint or CU24 logo on it. ONE WORD OF CAUTION: BE CERTAIN THE MACHINE HAS THE APPROPRIATE SURCHARGE FREE LOGO ON IT. Sometimes there are two or more ATMs in the same location. Not all ATMs are surcharge free, but we are working on it. 

United 1st Opens A New Member Service Center 

        Camden County’s oldest locally owned financial institution opened a new Member Service Center in Woodbine Elementary School.  The Center is located in the lobby of the school and will be staffed every Tuesday from 7:30 a.m. until school convenes at 8:00 a.m. This is the third such facility in Camden County, following the ones at St Marys Elementary, also open on Tuesday mornings, and Mamie Lou Gross Elementary which is open on Thursday mornings. 

        Dr. L. M. Cain, Media Specialist for Woodbine Elementary, asked for United 1st to help teach the young people in the North End of Camden County about saving.  The Credit Union responded by opening the Member Service Center. According to Ed Walker, Director of Business Development, “This is a win-win-win situation for all concerned. The students learn about money and how to save it; the school has an additional teaching tool; and the Credit Union gets new members. The savings rate for the United States has been in the negative for the past few years.  Hopefully, this will help to reverse that trend.”

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New Scam/Phishing Attempt

       I received an email awarding me money from a drawing.  It is from Microsoft and my email has been selected as a consultation prize and I will get £500,000.  That is FIVE HUNDRED THOUSAND GREAT BRITAIN POUNDS according to the email.  A pound is worth about two US dollars so I have about a million dollars.  It says in the email that I will be “obliged to donate 10% of your winning to any listed charitable organization in Africa.”  My Fiduciary Agent is Mr. Right Philip. 

       The scammers are trying to get information from you to use to get more information from you.  If you call them, they use caller ID to get your name and/or phone number.  Once they have your phone number, they can get your address.  They will call you and send you mail and email to get more information.  They just keep trying to get more information until they have an account number or a social security number or a credit card number.  Once they get those things, they are capable of using your information to purchase things and/or get money. 

       If you receive any emails giving you something/awarding you something, BE CAREFUL.  If you receive any regular mail giving you something/awarding you something, BE CAREFUL.  If you receive phone calls or solicitation calls at your home, BE CAREFUL.  There are people who will try to steal your identity and/or your money.  Remember:  If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. 

Improvements to Online Services 

        A lot of our members have been asking for an online service that will enable them to pay their bills without going out of the house.  Butch Ford in Information Systems listened and has set up this service for our members. 

        Here is how you can pay your bills without leaving the house:  Go to the web site of the company you owe money.  Pay the bill using your United 1st VISA.  Some companies encourage you to set up a monthly payment method using your VISA.  Do so if you want.  When you receive your VISA bill, open CU ONLINE and transfer the funds from savings or checking to your VISA account.  The last part is really the hardest part.  Even though you know financially speaking, it is better to pay off your VISA completely every month, a lot of people will not.  Our interest rates are pretty low but you should pay that bill off every month to avoid paying any interest.

        According to Ed Walker, Director of Business Development, “Many of our members are more comfortable paying their bills with their VISA credit card instead of allowing the billing company to have access to their checking account through some other internet bill pay service.  We may offer one of those sometime in the next few years.  It depends on cost and our members’ desires.  I am glad Butch was able to set up the VISA method for our members.” 

DISGUSTING STUFF

        Scammers and phishers are using the fires in Southern California to lure unsuspecting nice folks to give them money and account numbers.  Here is how it works:  You see an ad on a web site you visit saying the fire victims in San Diego need money for clothes, shelter, food, whatever.  You click on the ad and are directed to a site that looks like the Red Cross, Salvation Army, or some other good organization.  The web address is a lot like the organization’s address, except it has an extra letter or number or two on the end.  (Who really bothers to look at the web address, anyway?)  There is a story or pictures of the fire and you want to help the victims.  You give them a contribution using VISA and you just gave them the account number and the three digits on the back of the card.  They can do what they want.  Or you send them a check.  They have your account number, routing number, everything. 

        The disgusting part??  The fire victims never received a cent.  Be careful; be very, very careful.  There are bad people out there.

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Risk Alert

United 1st Federal recently learned of a phishing scam that has resulted in  fraud. The reported cases have involved a fraudulent email that appeared to be sent from the cardholder’s financial institution. The email instructs the recipient to complete a survey to receive $50.00.

Upon completing the survey, a transaction, typically exceeding $1,000.00, was submitted from WESTERN UNION.COM to the cardholder’s account. The initial transaction was denied; however, a subsequent attempt typically ranging from $200.00 to $800.00 was approved. In addition, the criminals may have other personal information about the cardholders and have fraudulently enrolled them in Verified by Visa or MasterCard SecureCode, as evidenced by $1.00 authorization transactions.

We recommend that you review your monthly bill for any unusual activity, including Western Union internet-based transactions. If fraud is suspected, please notify us.

MOST IMPORTANTLY:  Never reply to emails requesting YOUR FINANCIAL INFORMATION.

United 1st Takes Action To Prevent
Credit Card FRAUD 

        In a move designed to prevent people from becoming a victim of credit card fraud, United 1st Federal Credit Union today announced the implementation of a “sophisticated neural network”.  This neural network is designed to “think” and prevent fraudulent transactions from occurring. 

        If you don’t buy any $1,000.00 books and, all of a sudden, that transaction occurs, an “alert” is created.  A fraud analyst or an automated voice system will then contact you at your home or office to verify you authorized this transaction.  The analyst or system will ask you to confirm the last four (4) digits of your SSN on file.  Once the system knows it is really you, it will ask you to confirm the transaction.  You do and everything continues.  You don’t and that credit card is “killed” and a new one issued.

        If the system is not successful in contacting you, transactions will be suspended for that card until you can be reached for confirmation.  As you can see, it is critical the phone number you supply United 1st be current. 

        We hope you enjoy the security that comes with knowing your credit card carries “state of the art” security features.

Mystery Shopper Scam

This One is GOOD

We learn everything from our members. A fella came in with a check for a little less than five thousand dollars. He got it in the mail with a packet saying he had been selected to be a “mystery shopper”. There was a “Customer Service Evaluation Tool” and a “Code of Business Conduct and Ethics” sheet. Seems the company “Shop Until You Drop Inc.” had selected our member to be an employee who would shop at Wal Mart and the Gap. He would also need to get a Western Union transfer and a Money Gram transfer. He could buy anything he wanted at the stores but he had to send the transfers to “Shop Until You Drop Inc.”. They gave him a phone number to call for “detailed instructions”. He was to receive $886.00 for all his hard work. The Human Resources Manager signed the letter and it really looked good.

Our member brought the check in to us to talk about it. He thought it was suspicious. He was old enough (over 15) to know people don’t send money to you for nothing. He wanted to know how to notify the proper authorities. He knew that once he deposited the check, he was guaranteeing it was good. He would have been out the money for the goods he purchased and the two money transfers. These crooks are pretty smart. Amounts less than $5,000.00 are usually not questioned by financial institutions. Our Operations Manager, Charlotte Poston, has a stack of checks that are all over $5,000.00 and are all fake as a $3.00 bill. Every check and/or transaction over $10,000.00 is reported to the Feds because of money laundering concerns. $5,000.00 is not.

Other clues leading him to believe it was fake: Check was issued by a bank in Ripley, TN. The letter was postmarked in Canada. The area code is for Canada. The web site listed for the company did not display (It had that 404 error – site not found.) The address for the company was in Waterloo, Ontario. Why would they hire mystery shoppers in Georgia? They could just tell some of the snowbirds to stop in and buy something and report to them. J

The bottom line of all this is “Watch yourself. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.”

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