Many credit counseling organizations are nonprofit and work with you to solve your financial problems. Beware that just because an organization says it is "nonprofit" does not guarantee that its services are free or affordable, or that its services are legitimate. A reputable credit counseling agency should send you free information about itself and its services without requiring you to provide any details about your situation. If an organization does not do that, then consider it a red flag and go elsewhere for help. Below are links and contact information to consumer credit counseling and financial education program resources.

• Routing Numbers: The American Banking Association (ABA) has launched a new online tool allowing customers to look up bank routing numbers. Routing numbers were created to ensure accuracy by assigning a unique nine-digit identifier to a financial institution and can be used for check processing, electronic funds transfer and online banking. Check for routing numbers here.
  
• FDIC: To learn more about smart ways to manage your money, you can complete the FDIC Money Smart financial education program online through www.fdic.gov/moneysmart. Read the FDIC's free publications, become a better informed consumer and submit comments here. 
  
• U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD): Want advice on buying a home, renting, default, foreclosure avoidance, credit issues or reverse mortgages? HUD sponsors housing counseling agencies throughout the country to provide free or low cost advice. To locate a Housing Counseling Agency in your area, call HUD's interactive voice system at (800)569-4287 or search online here.
  
• Foreclosure Avoidance Counselor: To locate a Foreclosure Avoidance Counselor in your area, call HUD's interactive voice system at (800)569-4287 or search online here.
  
• Reverse Mortgage Counselor: To locate a Reverse Mortgage Counselor in your area, call HUD's interactive voice system at (800)569-4287 or search online here.
  
• National Foundation for Credit Counseling (NFCC): To locate a NFCC Member Agency in your area, call 800-388-2227 or visit their site.
  
• U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ): To locate a nonprofit budget and credit counseling agency approved to provide counseling that individuals must take before they are eligible to file for bankruptcy protection, 11U.S.C.109(h), search online here.
  
• Federal Trade Commission (FTC): For information on how to choose a credit counselor, the FTC has information regarding what constitutes reputable credit counseling organizations, questions to ask, tip-offs to rip-offs, and other valuable information on its website. The FTC has also created a Money Matters website to help consumers tackle money issues and includes tips and resources on money matter including scam watch, credit cards, managing your money, dealing with debt, your home, and jobs. You can access the Money Matters website here.
  

• Small Business Administration
  
• Georgia Department of Economic Development
  
• Georgia's Business Resource website
  
• University of Georgia's Small Business Development Center (SBDC)
  
• Employment Services (GA Department of Labor)
  
• Georgia Department of Revenue
  
• U.S. Internal Revenue Service
  
• First Stop Business Information Center
  
• U.S. Chamber of Commerce - Internet Security Essentials for Business
  
• Federal Communications Commission - Small Business Cyber Planner
  
• Federal Trade Commission – Privacy & Security 
  
• Federal Trade Commission – Data Security - Data Security | Federal Trade Commission
  
• U.S. Secret Service – Preparing for a Cyber Incident
• Ready.gov – Be Prepared for a Cyber Attack
  
• U.S. Department of Homeland Security – Cyber Incident Reporting
  
• U.S. Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) – Cybersecurity
  
• U.S. Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) – Infrastructure Security
  
• U.S. Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) – National Cyber Awareness System
  
• U.S. National Institute of Standards & Technology (NIST) – Cybersecurity
  
• U.S. National Institute of Standards & Technology (NIST) – Small Business Cybersecurity Corner
  
• U.S. National Institute of Standards & Technology (NIST) – Protecting Your Small Business from Phishing
  
• U.S. National Institute of Standards & Technology (NIST) – Ransomware Protection & Response
  

• Federal Trade Commission - Computers & The Internet
  
• Federal Trade Commission - Consumer Information
  
• Internal Revenue Service (IRS) - Identity Protection & Identity Theft
  
• The United States Department of Justice - Identity Theft & Identity Fraud
  
• Mastercard
• Visa - Security & Protection
  
• Internet Crime Complaint Center - Online Internet Crime Complaints
  
• U.S. Social Security Administration - Reporting a Stolen Social Security Number
  
• CFPB - How to Spot Frauds & Scams (Opens in a new Window) (Opens in a new Window)

• OnGuardOnline.gov
  
• Federal Trade Commission - Consumer
  
• The Better Business Bureau - Scam, Con, & Rip Off Resources
  
• The United States Department of Justice -Mass Marketing Fraud
  
• Internet Fraud Information - USA.gov
  
• Internal Revenue Service - Tax Scams / Consumer Alerts
  

• Experian - Identity Theft Protection
  
• TransUnion - Identity Theft & Fraud Protection
  
• Equifax - Add a Fraud Alert or Active Duty Alert to Your Credit Report
  
• Free Annual Credit Report
  
• TeleCheck - How to Request Your TeleCheck File Report
  
• ChexSystems, Inc.
  

As a consumer or a business that uses online banking you will be interested to know that supervisory guidance from the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council will guide banks to continue to assure that your accounts are properly secure and all types of online transactions are safer and more secure.

The authentication process is vital to insure that it is you, and not someone that has stolen your identity or taken over your business account, logging into your online account and conducting transactions. Multi-factor authentication uses more than one method of verification and is a stronger fraud deterrent. 

Our solution is designed to reduce the risk of fraud by confirming user identity when a user accesses online banking with their user ID, plus additional security layers/components.

Customer vigilance is critical to your online safety. Knowing how fraudsters work and understanding the risks will help you have a safe online banking experience. Following are links that provide critical “need to know” information.

• 7 tips for protecting yourself online (Opens in a new Window) (Opens in a new Window)
  
• 8 tips to protect your identity (Opens in a new Window) (Opens in a new Window)
  
• 5 ways to protect your small business from account fraud (Opens in a new Window) (Opens in a new Window)
  
• 10 ways to protect your mobile device (Opens in a new Window) (Opens in a new Window)
  

Additional Resources on Cybersecurity

• FDIC Cybersecurity Awareness
  
• FTC Computer Security
  
• FBI Scams and Safety
  
• FTC Identity Theft
  
• FDIC Customer's Guide to Cybersecurity (Opens in a new Window) (Opens in a new Window)
• C (Opens in a new Window) (Opens in a new Window)ybersecurity Guide for Customers (Opens in a new Window) (Opens in a new Window)
• Cybersecurity Guide for Businesses (Opens in a new Window) (Opens in a new Window)
• ABA Consumer Resources
• FCC - Cybersecurity Tips for Small Business
• SBA – Cybersecurity
• US-CERT Cybersecurity Tips
• Department of Homeland Security – Cybersecurity