Cybersecurity Awareness

October is Cybersecurity Awareness month, and the fraudsters have decided to celebrate by upping their unrelenting phishing¹ attempts.

Charles Schwab has reported a number of phishing attempts on its client base in recent weeks. Emails with masked addresses designed to look like they’re from Charles Schwab & Co., and with fake links to phishing sites. Schwab is meeting these hacking attempts head-on with their internal security, and by providing useful resources like its Security Knowledge Center.

While we are happy to be partnered with an industry leader like Schwab, we also wanted to provide some additional cybersecurity tips:

• The most important rule: if you are ever suspicious about a phone call, email, or text from Charles Schwab or Allied Investment Advisors, don’t be afraid to double-check by calling our office back using a known phone number.

• To help protect your Schwab accounts, use two-factor authentication. In addition to a password, two-factor authentication uses a unique code that is sent to your personal smartphone. You can set this up by contacting Schwab Alliance at (800) 515-2157.

• Allied also provides two separate ways for sharing information securely:

1. The best way is through the Black Diamond Client Portal. This provides a secure way for us to share sensitive documents with you, or for you to upload files with personal information. We are happy to provide you with access to this feature – let us know and we will send you an invitation!
2. We also use email encryption to send sensitive documents. This is an added security step that allows you to receive emails from us simply and securely.

If you would like to discuss our security processes in more detail, or have concerns about any potential phishing attempts, please reach out to us at (406) 839-2037².

¹Phishing: sending fake emails purporting to be from reputable businesses in orders to access personal information. Email links (if clicked) can contain malware designed to capture sensitive information.

²As a good cyber citizen, you won’t take our word on our phone number, but will double-check it with your records or another source (like our website alliedinvest.net).

The views expressed in this post represents the opinion of Allied Investment Advisors, a Registered Investment Adviser. This material is for informational purposes only. It does not constitute investment advice and is not intended as an endorsement of any specific investment or services. Nothing contained herein constitutes financial, legal, tax, or other advice. The information provided herein is obtained from sources believed to be reliable, but no representation or warranty is made as to its accuracy or completeness. Investing in equity securities involves risks, including the potential loss of principal. While equities may offer the potential for greater long-term growth than most debt securities, they generally have higher volatility. International investments may involve risk of capital loss from unfavorable fluctuation in currency values, from differences in generally accepted accounting principles, or from economic or political instability in other nations. Investment recommendations may change and readers are encouraged to check with their investment advisors before making any investment decisions. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Investments are not a deposit of or guaranteed by a bank or any bank affiliate. Please notify Allied Investment Advisors if there have been any changes to your financial situation or investment objectives or if you wish to impose or modify any reasonable restrictions on the management of your accounts through Allied Investment Advisors.