Lessons Learned From an ‘Almost’ Scam; Read More in September/October BizVoice

Have you ever been financially scammed?

I was, nearly. In my senior year of college, I got a phone call one night from a chipper-sounding gal that let me know I had won something (I don’t even remember now what the thing was!) and all I had to do was give my credit card information (I didn’t have a credit card, but did have a debit card. So, that’s much worse).

She made it sound like a sweet deal and was very persuasive. I obliged and handed out my numbers.

There was something in the pit of my stomach that didn’t feel right in the moment. As soon as I’d hung up the phone, I knew I’d made a huge mistake. I was at the local branch of my bank the first thing the next morning. As I stumbled through my explanation and through the tears of worry – and most of all embarrassment: how could I have fallen for it? – they assured me they had canceled my card and nothing illicit had happened.

I was lucky.

Lucky I listened to my gut and stopped it before anything could happen.
And lucky I was a college kid who didn’t have much money in her account anyway, had things turned out differently.

Not a grandmother who is scammed into giving away her life savings. Or a single parent in a desperate situation who is willing to put their hope into something – anything – that seems like a way out of a financial mess, only to have things get a lot worse.

And while banks and financial institutions have become more proactive about educating customers, improving their fraud policies and offering protection services and other means of fortification, there are still “bad actors” out there causing financial havoc.
As those “bad actors” have become more sophisticated over time, the ease of the internet has made all of us relax on our privacy and security. Who’s got a banking app on their phone? Is your password secure enough a thief couldn’t guess it? Are the answers to the security questions easy enough to figure out if someone were to do some research into your social media presence?

What are banking institutions doing to fight fraud? And how can customers – businesses and individuals – help shield their interests from falling into the hands of scammers?

We’re diving into the topic of fighting financial fraud in the September-October edition of BizVoice®. I’ll be speaking with Andy Shank, professional fraud investigator for Elements Financial, who spent 13 years as an investigator with the Indiana State Police and worked with the Federal Bureau of Investigation in that time.

We’ll look at what financial institutions are doing to guard their customers’ interests and ward against fraud, and Hoosier experts will offer tips on how you can protect your company and your personal financial interests.

See you in September!

Elements Financial: Maximizing Its Chamber Investment Through Wellness

Shickel_ToddWhen people want to be healthy, they usually consider a balanced diet and regular exercise. Too often, though, they do not think of how their personal finances are part of their health.

Todd Shickel, assistant vice president of business development at Elements Financial (a Chamber member since 1999 with 150 employees), believes companies should take a more holistic approach to wellness. Elements Financial’s partnership with the Wellness Council of Indiana (WCI) has allowed it to reach a new audience as an expert in the field of financial wellness.

“We found that sometimes employers have been hesitant in supporting their employees’ financial wellness,” Shickel explains. “We have been able to demonstrate to them the effect it has on their (employees’) performance at work. The stressors connected to that can impact physical health, which affects productivity and performance.”

Elements Financial is a credit union which works with businesses to help employees plan and manage their personal finances. The company is a premiere sponsor of the WCI and Shickel is a member of its board of advisors.

Shickel worked with Chuck Gillespie, executive director of the WCI, to learn about the five components of well-being: physical, financial, community, social and personal wellness. These components guided a company wellness program at Elements Financial that has improved the workplace. Elements Financial has been named as one of Indiana’s Best Places to Work for six years running.

“If you look at the five components of well-being, our company definitely has something in place for each of those and we can talk to other employers about it,” Shickel says. “We are practicing what we preach, and it gives us credibility.”

Shickel’s workplace also incentivizes wellness for its employees by giving “wellness points” that may add up to a gift or a reimbursement to employees’ health savings accounts. He says employees have really incorporated wellness into the office culture.

“Wellness doesn’t have to be this huge mountain that is impossible to climb,” Shickel assures. “If you reach out to the Wellness Council, you are going to find there are a lot of resources out there and ways to keep the costs down.”