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Shipping Scams

Avoid Phishing Messages This Holiday Season

Posted On: December 20, 2024 by Home State Bank in: Community, Personal Banking

During the holiday season, you might expect to get more deliveries. Some might even be surprise gifts. Scammers are counting on that when they send fake delivery notifications to you by email and text, hoping you'll click. Here's how to spot these scams.

You get an email or text saying you missed the delivery. Or it might say your item can't be delivered because you need to update your street address or zip code. Sometimes, these scammers create a sense of urgency...

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Tags: fraud, holiday scams, phishing scams, safe banking, Text scams

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Skip the Scams this Holiday Season

Posted On: December 9, 2024 by Home State Bank in: Community, Personal Banking

As we're now in the full holiday season swing, there are more fake shopping sites. The ads on social media show expensive products like electric scooters, designer bags, and other popular toys and gifts at unbelievably low prices. Many of these bogus sites use photos and logos the scammers steal from legitimate businesses, but they won't send you authentic products. If you're wondering how to avoid these phony offers, there are a few ways to help you detect them.

Unusually...

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Tags: holiday scams, holidays, online scams, scams

Cyber Safe

Staying Cyber-Safe

Posted On: October 16, 2024 by Home State Bank in: Community, Personal Banking

At Home State Bank, we are committed to the security and safeguarding of your financial assets. While we have the state-of-the-art systems in place to prevent cybersecurity on our end, cybercrime doesn’t happen in one place.

October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month. To keep your financial assets safe from hackers and scammers, follow these tips:

Always Enable Multifactor Authentication (MFA). This adds a second layer of defense that criminals have to work/guess...
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Tags: cybersecurity, online banking, safe banking, security

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The New Age of Phishing

Posted On: May 21, 2024 by Home State Bank in: Community, Personal Banking

What do Email, Text, social media, and Online Messaging all have in common? They can all be used to share memories from around the world, but they can also be used to distribute phishing attacks. The new reality of phishing is that they are using a multipronged approach; they are now reaching your social media feed, text messages, and phone calls.

Social Media/Trusted Platforms

We all love to connect with friends and family – be aware that attackers are leaning on those...

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Tags: financial security, phishing, phishing scams, scams

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5 Steps to Prepare Your Graduate for College

Posted On: May 13, 2024 by Home State Bank in: Personal Banking

High school graduation is quickly approaching and so is another chapter in their financial journey. College is a great opportunity to continue developing good money management skills for when they graduate and head into the workforce full time.

At Home State Bank, we’re passionate about educating about financial responsibility and opportunities. As we approach this fun milestone, we want to share some tips for parents to send off your student to college to...

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Tags: budget planning, budgeting, college prep, financial education, savings

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5 Budget Blunders to Avoid

Posted On: April 1, 2024 by Home State Bank in: General, Personal Banking

Budgeting is an important and valuable financial tool to use when managing your money. The long- and short-term benefits of budgeting also make it a popular tool for those setting goals, both small and large.

Budgeting is only as effective as you make it.  While it doesn’t have to be overly complicated, there are some important steps that can cause blunders rather than benefits.

Setting Unrealistic Budgets

Those who don’t...

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Tags: budget mistakes, budget planning, budgeting, financial planning, personal savings

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4 Ways to Spring Clean Your Finances

Posted On: March 6, 2024 by Home State Bank in: Personal Banking

As we quickly shift into Springtime, this time of year motivates many to participate in spring cleaning.

But Spring cleaning doesn’t have to stop with your old clothes, shoes, and emptying out that junk closet. Often overlooked, your finances should be added to your spring cleaning to-do list to ensure you’re on track with your goals and making life easier for yourself.

How do you spring clean your finances? Let’s take a look!

Consolidate Accounts....
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Tags: personal banking, personal savings, shred day, smart banking

Savings Club

Save Now, Enjoy Later

Posted On: January 22, 2024 by Home State Bank in: Personal Banking

Savings can be difficult, and nothing reminds us of this more than when the holiday season hits or we’re trying to save for a well-deserved vacation.

While intentions are always good, making sure to set aside the money can be the challenging. Not to mention the length of time it may take you to reach your savings goal.

At Home State Bank, we understand these challenges and wanted to make it easier for you to save. That’s why we created the Christmas and...

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Tags: Christmas club, personal savings, savings, Savings Clubs, Vacation Club

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Scary Scams to Avoid

Posted On: October 24, 2023 by Home State Bank in: General

The rise in technological advances have unfortunately also brought on the rise of scams. While scams are not new by any means, the ways in which scammers can attempt to compromise your assets or identity have grown significantly with the use of technology.

Here are some common scams to look out for and ways to avoid them.

Social Media

From Marketplace to messenger and even new friend requests, social media allows scammers to learn enough about...

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Tags: fraud, fraud prevention, Fraud Protection, online scams, scams

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Dedication to Financial Literacy

Posted On: August 4, 2023 by Home State Bank in: Community, Personal Banking

When it comes to financial literacy, Home State Bank is dedicated to bringing awareness and hands-on experience all year round to our customers and our whole community. While Home State Bank offers financial literacy support within our walls to our customers, we also want to

ensure everyone in our community has the opportunity to learn lifelong financial skills, such as how to manage, save, budget, and invest their money wisely.

Progress Through Partnerships

We’re...

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Tags: budgeting, Everfi, financial education, financial literacy, savings, zogo