The Bottom Line
Small business is important to Central Oregon, and to Mid Oregon. Find tips and resources for business, and information about Mid Oregon’s commercial services and business members.
Preparing for the Stick Horse Race!
It’s that time of year again. Excitement, fun, and warmer summer weather on the streets of Prineville. And the creation of dozens and dozens of colorful wooden steeds to be used in the Crooked River Roundup Stick Horse Races as kids paint and decorate their horses the day before at Western Daze in Prineville!
Horses and Decorating Materials Provided
This year, on Saturday, 6/25, children will be coming to the Mid Oregon booth at Pioneer Park in Prineville, where the credit union will be providing stick horses and decorating supplies for the Stick Horse Race on Sunday. Starting at 10 am, as long as supplies last, kids will customize their own wooden steed for the race. scheduled to start at approximately 3:00 pm the following day at the Crooked River Roundup Rodeo at the Fairgrounds in Prineville.
The Stick Horse decorating is part of Western Daze, organized each year by Crook County Park & Recreation at Pioneer Park in Prineville. Starting Friday with vendors, live music, dancing, games and prizes, Western Daze culminates on Saturday with the Crooked River Round Up Parade from 9 to 11:30 am, followed by live music, entertainment and more. Visit the Crook County Park & Rec event Facebook Page for details.
Mid Oregon Sponsoring Sunday at the Rodeo
Mid Oregon has been providing the stick horses and decorations with Credit Union staff volunteering for many years. The Stick Horse Race held on 6/26 is part of the Mid Oregon Credit Union sponsored Sunday at the Rodeo, starting at 2 pm, where kids under 18 get in for free. All children under 10 years old are eligible to participate in the Stick Horse Race.
The Crooked River Roundup Rodeo starts Friday night at 7 pm, sponsored by St. Charles Health Care System, continues Saturday at 7 pm, sponsored by Oregonians Credit Union and finishes on Sunday. The first rodeo event, however, is the Crooked River Roundup Cattle Drive on Wednesday 6/22, down 3rd street & Main Street in Prineville, starting at 5 pm. Visit the Crooked River Roundup website or its Facebook page for all the details.
The blank stick horses are free and so are the decorating paints, but they are for kids to compete in the race on Sunday, and quantities are limited. Please come early.
See you at the Park!
Is Social Media Scamming You?
June 17, 2016, Stickley on Security
Cyber criminals will use whatever they can think of to try to get your online banking credentials or other information they can sell on the dark web. Here are five ways they use social media scams to do it and how you can avoid giving up your information, in no particular order.
Commenting To Legitimate Articles
- They use the comments to news articles and popular posts on Facebook by adding their own posts with a conveniently clickable link included. Those who click the link may be taking to fake websites or presented a form for which the user is supposed to enter information. Often the links are accompanied by catchy headlines (click bait) themselves.
- They create fake customer service accounts on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, or other social media that pretend to help customer. For example, they may see a Twitter user complaining about not being able to reach a representative. They reply to that user with a post that includes a link to another site where the user is led to believe he or she will get assistance. Unfortunately, the link really is phony and asks for login credentials and/or other sensitive information.
Create Accounts With Sound-A-Like Names
- They create social media accounts using names that sound like legitimate companies, such as Netflix and offer discounts. When users click links included in these, they are asked for account information or other details that can be sold.
- They use fake online surveys and polls to trick users into inputting information that can be later sold or used for fraud. An example is setting up a realistic news story and asking what users think. A link is included, naturally, but it goes to a fake site where personal information is requested. Often the “surveys” promise a chance to win a fabulous prize.
Request Your Personal Information
- They pretend to offer live streaming of big events, such as the Olympics or other popular sporting events. Often they attach a link to a posted story about the event that is on Facebook. However, when the included links are clicked, a request for personal information appears claiming the video cannot play until they are entered.
Avoid these scams by not clicking links or putting information into any form that appears as a result of clicking links. If you need to reach your financial institution or other organization for any kind of support, contact them directly using information from their website that you have previously bookmarked. Alternately, type the name of the site into the browser manually.
Be Suspicious
View any comment posted in social media that claims to help you or offer you something sensational with suspicion. If you want to stream an event, go to the website of a well-known and trusted source to get there, such as the major sports broadcasting companies, media outlets, or television networks.
Use apps that are downloaded from the official app stores for your devices. These are typically put under additional scrutiny for security before being allowed into the app stores. Sideloading,downloading apps from places other than the app stores is not recommended because it introduces additional risk of executing malware on your devices.
As always, make sure all internet-connected devices have anti-malware installed and it is kept updated. Also, keep all your software and operating systems updated with the latest critical and security patches. While these actions don’t guarantee malware won’t be installed or a vulnerability won’t be exploited, they reduce your risk significantly and it’s worth the relatively small effort versus dealing with malware.
© Copyright 2016 Stickley on Security
Security and Fraud Center Powered by Stickley on Security
Jim Stickley has stolen credit cards, hacked Social Security numbers, robbed banks, and created fake ATMs. He is an identity thief, but he is no criminal. Fortunately for all victims involved, Stickley is a cyber security expert with over 20 years in the industry who was hired to perform these attacks by corporations testing their security. His job is to find security flaws before the real criminals find them and warn people and organizations about what they can do to protect themselves.
Teach Your Kids to Pump Up Their Savings
Good Financial Start
Getting financially fit isn’t easy. But when children learn how to pump up their savings they’ll have one of the most difficult aspects of finance mastered by the time they’re teens—being consistent savers.
Here are a few ideas to help your kids and grandkids get money fit:
* Have young children—preschool age—sort different types of money into piles by color and size.
* Play store. Help them use a pretend cash register.
* At the grocery store, let children of all ages help you shop. Teach them how to comparison shop—for example, show them that for every $4.85 box of cereal, there may be similar brands on sale for half as much.
* As children get older, let them know what things cost. Share sales receipts and bills that you receive for items or services you’ve purchased for them.
* If you decide to pay your children an allowance, include them in the decision. Discuss allowance amounts and what they should use their allowance for. The amount is your call, but allow their input. One idea is to have children set aside part of their allowance for spending, part for saving, and part for sharing. Explain what you’ll pay for and what they should be responsible for. For example, when you’re at the movies, maybe you agree to pay for the movie ticket, but the Milk Duds are on them.
* As they reach high-school age, clarify what you will pay for and what your teens are responsible for. For example, they may want the newest cellphone that comes with a really high price tag. Establish your spending limit. If they still want the more expensive version, have them make up the difference. Often, once the responsibility of paying for items is on them, the “latest and greatest” aren’t as important.
Children’s Financial Resources
Savings Calculator: How much will your child save over time
Learn about Mid Oregon Savings Accounts
When to Start Saving for College– Smart About Money Calculator