Category Archives: Cyber

Sudden Increase in Spam both email and text…. Reminder to complete those patches! 18 examples recorded in less than two weeks for your viewing! Do not Bite on a Spam Email/Text Could Be Hazardous!

The following is another reason to make sure your patches are being installed, both from the hardware, such as the maker of your phone, or other device, and software standpoint. Not doing your updates may subject you to more continued spam, and one slip up could cause much greater problems…

Have you experienced a sudden increase in email or text spams? If not consider yourself lucky, but not necessarily out of the woods yet!

About two weeks ago an email spam increase seem to occur. Luckily and just by chance a decision to start taking snapshots of the email spams was made as multiple emails occurred from a regular go to flight provider located here in Dallas, Southwest!

Counter Action Problems Better than the Alternative

With an electronic fax delivery system and email delivery of this post being blocked, the largest providers, most notably, Microsoft have taken note and attempted to raise the gates. This increase in their spam filters, garners unintended consequences such as a loss of the route delivery of the aforementioned items. In our case, our IT department re-issued safe acceptance of our key items, and we were back in business.

Think to yourself if you are missing a regular contact from something, your provider may have blocked while trying to attempt coverage of this new Spam attack!

Examples of the last two weeks record keeping! Do not bite!

The Golf Cart is my favorite and most clever… Not sure where the Ace Hardware came from!

Have a Great Spam Update Reminder Day!

John A. Kvale CFA, CFP

Founder of J.K. Financial, Inc.

A Dallas Texas based fee only

Financial Planning Total Wealth

Management firm.

jkfinancialinc

street-cents

Friday Office Hours, Out but Tethered …Time Change Weekend … Spring Break … Punxsutawney Phil Spring Tree Update … Spam/Cyber Preview – Look Out they are Back!

As mentioned last Friday … with the kids completely out today, for the betterment and the safety of the streets, we are out today as well … officially starting our spring break a bit early as next week IS spring break, and we will be out of the office all week next week …. but tethered electronically as always!

Time Change Weekend!

One of our favorite days of the year occurs this weekend, the time change. Don’t forget to change whatever few clocks you may have that do not automatically change Saturday night as that leads to an irregular time read and unnecessary stress usually occurring when we’re in a hurry of course….at least in my experience!

Snapped less than 24 Hours Ago – Spring Tree

Thank you for the Spring Tree Comments…. you have personally spurred us to continue the tracking… although we are likely nearing the end of our journey… Hence the bigger picture!

The following Punxsutawney Phil Spring Tree update was snapped (used same camera and same location for better reference) less than 24 hours ago …

Now we are cooking… Hello Spring … at least in Texas!

Closing Break Reflections and Personal Thoughts

For some reason being out of the office brings clarity….

Maybe it is the slow Wifi or maybe just different location/surrounding….

No matter… we are happily “Lightly” Tethered… the keyboard is tapping with residual to do’s/Newsletter/Blog posts… speaking of which, a great Cyber related post coming Monday… worth your time… and yes, really enjoy doing this over time off…. never work!

Have a Great Friday/Weekend and if Your Spring Break… that too… Talk Next Week!

John A. Kvale CFA, CFP

Founder of J.K. Financial, Inc.

A Dallas Texas based fee only

Financial Planning Total Wealth

Management firm.

jkfinancialinc

street-cents

Updates from the Conference – Today’s FOMC Announcement Analysis – Cyber Security …

As mentioned last week, the first in-person large conference in some time is going on this week…. It is very nice to see everyone “In Person” …. we had forgotten just how full the schedules are during these events … full day ahead …

Briefly our two most important topics so far!

FOMC – Federal Open Market Committee Thoughts for Today’s Announcment

Just after lunch hour today the FOMC lead by Jerome Powell are set to raise rates (Fed Funds Rates – think overnight checkbook rate) by .75% (75 basis points) ….

The experts here say focus on the future (for the record we have been crowing on looking forward throughout this slowdown see here and here – digressing) as the Wall Street chatter is a step down possibility at the next meeting to a .50% — a firming of the higher .75% increase as the next meeting OR an even softer talk of maybe no .50% would be market moving… again according to our experts…

Cybersecurity – No Email of Social Security or the Like Documents

Condensing this event into one important topic – we all need to make sure we do not send documents with Social Security numbers or the like through email…. the hackers are just too good…

This is more of a reminder for all… but as we enter tax season next year, a good reminder!

Alright, that is it for now, a quick jog and workout… then to breakfast and back in doors for a full scheduld of events today!

John A. Kvale CFA, CFP

Founder of J.K. Financial, Inc.

A Dallas Texas based fee only

Financial Planning Total Wealth

Management firm.

jkfinancialinc

street-cents

Home Sweet Home … On the way … Saw Sharpened … School About to start … Fun Friday

It has been nice being remote in a cooler climate….

Many of you know it truly is a working (but it never is work) remote vacation…

Tomorrow we rise before sun and hit the road back to the familiar surroundings…

School beacons not only for our family but for new minted “God Mother” daughter at a super close to home college… neat honor!

Speaking of working vacations, two 5 hour virtual seminars were completed midweek…. one of the most interesting sessions discussed the fact that mailed statements actually have a greater fraud exposure than electronic now… interesting… more to come!

Ahhhh….. today is a Friday heading into a mid month weekend, enjoy and talk next week!

John A. Kvale CFA, CFP

Founder of J.K. Financial, Inc.

A Dallas Texas based fee only

Financial Planning Total Wealth

Management firm.

jkfinancialinc

street-cents

Check Your Junk Email, Especially Yahoo Users … Friday …

Long time friends and clients who we have communicated with for years, suddenly found some of our email in their spam folder in the last two weeks…. noted yahoo users were especially stricken…

We also have found the same in our folder here at the office and as you guys know we are very strict with our safety and cyber ware…

It’s likely there has been some type of major update due to a new spam or threat… no matter, be sure to check your spam folder for the next few weeks and “Trust” any friend emails that landed there,…

Ahhh…today is a Friday, and after breaking all kinds of records the last two weeks here in the south with temps approaching 100 very early in the season, we are looking at much more normal temps this weekend…

Enjoy and talk next week!

John A. Kvale CFA, CFP

Founder of J.K. Financial, Inc.

A Dallas Texas based fee only

Financial Planning Total Wealth

Management firm.

jkfinancialinc

street-cents

Tax Forms Delivery and Corrections Update/Reminder, Watch the Cyber Tricks and a Brilliant New Cell Spam Calling Method that ALMOST Got Us – They Figured Out How to Put a Fake Name as the Number … Friday

With a lot of questions this week on Tax forms, we thought it time to review estimated delivery dates AND take note of the first round of corrected 1099’s of March 3:

Timing of Available Tax Documentation

  • Delivery of 1099s: Currently, we expect the first wave of 1099s to begin posting online on January 21, 2022 with Advisor and client notifications going out shortly after. Estimated dates for the waves are below:
 Target Delivery Date*Details
Wave 1Close of business January 21, 2022No holdings subject to reallocation (ex. RICs, REITs)
Wave 2Close of business February 4, 2022Low risk for reallocation; income reallocations finalized through January 29th
Wave 3Close of business February 11, 2022Clients with finalized income reallocations received from January 30th through February 3rd
Wave 4Close of business February 11, 2022Remaining clients
  • Correction Cycles - Begins March 3, 2022 and occurring every 2 weeks through April 14, 2022

Do Not Fall for the Call Microsoft Computer Fraud

They are back, so BE CAREFUL… Within one week we have noted TWO fake Microsoft computer hacks…

Here is how it goes:

Upon turning your computer on you are told to call Microsoft to help “Fix” your ailing computer….

DO NOT BITE–

This from Microsoft Support

Avoid and report Microsoft technical support scams

Microsoft will never proactively reach out to you to provide unsolicited PC or technical support. If you receive a phone call claiming to be from Microsoft, or see a pop-up window on your PC with a fake warning message and a phone number to call and get your “issue” fixed, it’s better to be safe and not click any links or provide any personal information.

Never call the number provided in the error message. Real Microsoft error messages never include a phone number to call.

Brilliant Fake Cell Call

Ok, so we warned/lectured enough up top… this one ALMOST got yours truly….

Looked very similar to a tennis player parent in my contacts….

Say goodbye to the unknown numbers… looks like they figured out how to impose a fake name-

Ahh…today is a Friday and just a week ago with the frozen tundra…. looks to be almost 80 degrees here…

Enjoy!! Talk next week!

John A. Kvale CFA, CFP

  • Founder of J.K. Financial, Inc.
  • A Dallas Texas based fee only
  • Financial Planning Total Wealth
  • Management firm.
  • jkfinancialinc
  • street-cents

Cell Phone Replacement … How Many Passwords Can a Cell Phone Have? … Friday

With travels hopefully opening up … a rather old Cell AND the opportunity to get jet speed coverage (5G+ which I have yet to see connected…grrrr) … longer battery life, the switch was on!

Not sure if the prior switch was smoother or maybe it is our obsession with security i.e. Two Factor Authentication, Authenticators, Face Recognition…

Sure know why they give you 30 days to turn your old cell in!

EEEEEKKKKKKKKKKKKK

The amount of Passwords from emails, to websites to log ins is staggering… have them all, but just when the thought of the coast is clear…. “Please Enter Your XXXX!”

Ya, ya, all real world problems, but sure will not upgrade the cell anytime soon again – Wow!

Next week we say good bye to January … a Month End Video is in the cards with some hopeful Inflation analysis, unless of course some thing more important jumps to the front of the line…

Ahhhh…. but that is next week, today is a Friday heading into a weekend… hopefully a chance to wish my 94 year old Father Happy Belated Birthday in person without the family being non symptomatic !

Have a Great Friday and weekend!

John A. Kvale CFA, CFP

Founder of J.K. Financial, Inc.

A Dallas Texas based fee only

Financial Planning Total Wealth

Management firm.

jkfinancialinc

street-cents

No Tax Law Changes for 2021, Same as 2020 … Last Minute Shoppers Watch Out, New Cyber Email

Of coarse …. the keyboard is calling even while out of the office with the 14 year old….

Felt this very important, and the WiFi is pretty good at this location!

Will keep it short, just two important items to tell you!

Washington Goes Home – No Tax Law Changes for 2021 – All Bets Off for 2022

Late last week it was agreed that the House and Senate would adjourn for the year, pushing any tax law changes that you may have heard (there were A LOT… remember often noise) as a 2022 issue!

With some new research ears on the ground in Washington, we hear there may be relief for the SALT tax cap … but never a guarantee on rumors…

On a personal self serving note, WHEW …. the Newsletter can finally not be smacked at the last minute and need to be completely redone … let our New York based printing presses begin … it is done! Yay

Last Minute Cyber Shoppers LOOK OUT – Clever Spam Email

In the span of two days the family received very clever spam emails from the following, each with an enticing link to click…. DO NOT BITE:

  • Home Depot Confirmation – But we did not make an on-line purchase and thankfully did not click on the hot link to the fake “Receipt”
  • Ace Hardware – This one was easier as we have not made any purchases at this establishment, BUT the format of the email was the same as the above HD
  • Best Buy – We have made Holiday purchases at BB (14 year old) but thankfully the email contained only “Best” and no Buy in the header, but the spam email address looked to come from BB

Have a Great “No Tax Changes and Don’t Click Bite” Day!

John A. Kvale CFA, CFP

Founder of J.K. Financial, Inc.

A Dallas Texas based fee only

Financial Planning Total Wealth

Management firm.

jkfinancialinc

street-cents

NFT’s (Non-Fungible Tokens) … Explained … Ecosystems

We are certainly not recommending these as an investment, but we are watching the development of NFT’s and as such, thought it worth giving you a little background on them… of course a great chart from our friends at Visual Capitalist set us on our way….

NFT Definition

This from Investopedia

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

  • NFTs are unique cryptographic tokens that exist on a blockchain and cannot be replicated.
  • NFTs can be used to represent real-world items like artwork and real-estate.
  • “Tokeninzing” these real-world tangible assets allows them to be bought, sold, and traded more efficiently while reducing the probability of fraud.
  • NFTs can also be used to represent peoples identities, property rights, and more.

NFT’s and Their Ecosystems

This great Chart from our friends at Visual Capitalist:

What are NFTs? The NFT Ecosystem, Explained

Have a Great “NFT’s Explained” Day!

John A. Kvale CFA, CFP

Founder of J.K. Financial, Inc.

A Dallas Texas based fee only

Financial Planning Total Wealth

Management firm.

jkfinancialinc

street-cents

BREAK IN – Financial Processing Bottlenecks Continue to be Delayed, DO NOT PROCRASTINATE … Party Tomorrow … Crooks are Still Out, Credit Card Fraud X 2 … Friday Before Thanksgiving Week … Office Hours Next Week, Technology Tethered Mostly

BREAK IN – Financial Processing Bottlenecks Continue

We mentioned earlier, but want to reiterate that we are seeing slowing of processing especially manual (think human touch processes) as we near the end of the year.

DO NOT PROCRASTINATE any unique financial transaction as there is likely a slow player somewhere in the Financial Food chain! Curve balls happen, but really try to anticipate any unusual Financial movements you may have from here to years end… it will make for a much less stressful ride to the finish line!

Party, it’s a Party Party – Tomorrow DAC 3-5 pm

We look forward to seeing all of you at the party tomorrow at DAC from 3-5 PM…

We lucked out on the weather and as such will have an indoor and outdoor area to meet and greet… Moving closer to Norm once again! YAY

Crooks are NOT on Holiday

As mentioned here, the travel schedule has happily fired back up, for the record in a very quick time…

With a two day turnaround trip to another state about two weeks ago, the large Fraudulent charge was not a surprise and caught immediately….

The second immediate charge of slightly different amount but to the same company slipped through the cracks as a slow processing of the original charge…. Well done there Mr. Crook…. but no harm done…

Needless to say, the Crooks are out in full force…. Oh… and for the record a new Travel Only Card is in the works for just this type of defense …

Friday Before Thanksgiving Week – Office Hours

Ahhhh…. Today is a Friday heading into a Thanksgiving Day Week…

With the kids off the ENTIRE week for the first time ever, we will be loosely covering the office in alternating shifts, thanks to tethered technology… (None of us are 100% on where we will actually be, thanks again Mr. Technology!)

Expect MAYBE one last posting of the most popular video EVER, Blooper’s Happy Thanksgiving!

Have a GREAT Friday, enjoy your day, weekend, and restful Holiday Week Next Week!

John A. Kvale CFA, CFP

Founder of J.K. Financial, Inc.

A Dallas Texas based fee only

Financial Planning Total Wealth

Management firm.

jkfinancialinc

street-cents