Protect Your Pre-Marriage Finances: Use Secure Vendors, Check Credit Score

Every year, couples become engaged and must manage pre-marriage finances. Credit checks are not usually necessary when choosing wedding vendors, like cake vendors, wedding planners, Officiants and many more. Although, with increases in slow payments by customers, many vendors now require electronic deposits to remedy that issue. The problem with that solution is that this common practice can place an engaged couple's data at risk for fraud.

Face-to-face vendor activity is key to fraud prevention

This summer, I attended an e-commerce solutions seminar, and learned that over $198 billion dollars was spent online in one year. Today, many wedding vendors manage electronic transactions online, which leaves hackers a chance to steal the identities of two people potentially at the same time by breaching the same vendor's system. As a fraud prevention specialist company, I have inspected 500+ businesses and sometimes the employees took personal data to misuse by using a simple flash drive discretely. The employer may not ever find out and if they do, they may not be held legally accountable to report the theft, if they are not part of the financial sector (i.e., mortgage, real estate, stock trader, etc.). Therefore, this leaves wedding vendors not responsible in most cases; however, the engaged couple may enter married life with fraudulent debt that they may not be aware of until it hurts their buying power.

During a visit to a local Miami financial institution, I picked up a pamphlet that stated on average every 3.2 seconds someone looses their identity. Therefore, it is more vital than ever to be vigilant regarding your pre-marriage finances by choosing vendors using secure methods to help safeguard your pre-marriage budget. It is key to know who you are dealing with and where your information is being stored. Professionally speaking, businesses with limited security measures are often targeted by thieves, so receiving cheap vendor services may be a dangerous indication of financial risk along with unreliable service to unsuspecting brides and grooms looking to save in the short term.

There are ways to help prevent becoming a victim of fraud when it comes to a wedding event. Check your credit score regularly for starters. Sign up for alerts, avoid exposing your credit card data to vendors and never give out private information that could identify you distinctly (i.e., birthday, Social security number, mother's maiden name). Gone are the days when checking your free credit score via the major credit bureaus is enough to prevent fraud alone.

Guarding your finances from potential theft well before the big day is well worth the effort for every engaged couple. Consider trying to buy a home, a car, and other big ticket items without good credit. It is not easy, and quickly those newlyweds face high interest rates or the disappointment of total rejection all together. Start your new married life off right with less stress by keeping your precious data sacred during the pre-marriage period as you pick secure vendors and check your credit report every month for updates. To learn more about JMK Notary & Services and our recommendations for fraud prevention measures, you can visit the Web site or contact me via email directly.