A Windfall is Coming

As you can tell from the title of this post, clearly I'm a Game of Thrones fan.

So, I received news that I'm getting a bonus this year.  This bonus was unexpected for a couple of reasons.  First, I was on maternity leave for more than three months.  Second, I did not believe I was eligible for this type of bonus.

So money is coming our way and it is a decent size chunk of cash.  Of course, after Uncle Sam takes his bite and after the deduction for my 401k, the number shrinks.  But, I won't complain one bit.

My tentative plan for the money is as follows (final plan depends a bit on the amount).  First, 50% will go to our baby debt (which presently is $5421 at 0%).  Second, 25% will go towards our upcoming summer vacation (so, into our travel savings fund).  Third, 15% will go towards our 2015 IRA savings account.  And, finally, 10% is for me to do what I want with (spa, clothes, dinner out, or some other kind of treat).

How do you spend bonus money?

Here Fishy, Fishy

So I just received a phishing email  here at work.

 Email came addressed to me from ######@1040.com.  So a series of six numbers, which I'm not including here in case those phishers track the numbers they use to target victims and the @1040.com.  1040.com is a real web site and I assume it has nothing to do with the phishing.  The email had the subject line "2013 Tax Return Information".  Of course, the first thing I think is that my HR department is sending me my 2013 W2 and that's what those horrible phishers want you to think.  But, the .pdf attachment that was enclosed had both my name and my husband's name in the titling of it which seemed suspect

And, to gain access to the .pdf attachment I had to hand over the last 5 digits of my Social Security number.  Whoo-whoo, siren going off, red-flag going up.  Never give out personal information to someone who send you an email or calls you on the phone.

The first thing I did was send it to my helpdesk, because they track spam, scams and phishers.  That way they will investigate and add the email address to the company blacklist.  The second thing I did was google the email address, but I didn't find anything.  The third thing I did was forward it to the IRS via phishing@irs.gov.  The fourth thing I will do, from my home computer, is to order one of my three free credit reports to make sure there has been no suspicious activity.

I don't know if this phishing scam is related to the Target breach, but I did shop there during the respective time (I already canceled the card and have received a new one).

Here are some helpful hints if you receive a suspect phishing email.