It’s the season of giving, but some only want to take. A financial advisor says Iowans can — and should — do more to protect themselves from identity theft, but often don’t bother. Mike Cetera, with the banking industry website Bankrate.com, says a new report shows 77-percent of Americans are afraid of identity theft, but many aren’t taking the actions needed to reduce the risks. Cetera says inexpensive “fixes” can help to prevent the crime.

“When you get a document in the mail, a bank statement, a credit card statement, anything with your Social Security number on it, when you’re done using that document, don’t just throw it in the trash, you need to shred it,” Cetera says. “This prevents anyone from picking it out of the trash. The good news is, our survey found that 72% of Americans are already doing this.”

A recent data breach involved the head of the C-I-A, whose personal email account was hacked, revealing a list of email addresses and Social Security numbers. As that case demonstrates, Cetera says it’s impossible to cover all of your bases. “There’s no way you can 100% protect yourself,” he says. “When you’re talking about things that are totally outside of your control like data breeches at corporations or governments, there’s literally nothing you can do to stop that.”

If you’re planning to use your smart phone, laptop or tablet at a coffee shop or some other public place, he says to never use an unsecured wi-fi network. Cetera says it’s a good idea to check your credit report at least twice a year.  “That’s going to show if someone has accessed your credit and is trying to open a credit line,” he says. “It used to be pretty difficult for the average consumer to get a hold of their credit score or their credit report, but it’s so easy now to get these things for free.”

Iowans can also help to protect themselves from I-D thieves by using different passwords for all of online accounts — and changing them frequently.

(Radio Iowa)

Volunteers with the Red Cross have been busy in recent weeks helping dozens of families across the state knocked out of their homes due to fires. The agency relies heavily on donations to provide those families with temporary housing and money for clothes and food. Kara Kelly is a spokesperson for the Greater Iowa American Red Cross.

“The reason the Red Cross is able to respond to disasters as frequently as we do, and mostly it’s home fires, is because of donations from the American people,” Kelly said. “In order to keep going, we’ll need donations to Red Cross Disaster Relief and the best way to do so is to go to RedCross.org or to call 1-800-RED-CROSS.” ‘Tis the season for year-end giving and Kelly is hoping Iowans will consider a tax-deductible donation to the Red Cross.

“Certainly, we are very busy around the holiday season and the winter months, so making sure we have the resources we need in order to respond is incredibly important,” Kelly said. Red Cross volunteers from Iowa are also sent to help victims of disasters around the country and world. In August, for example, Pat Burch of Norwalk — a retired nurse — traveled to Saipan in the aftermath of a typhoon. In September, four Red Cross volunteers from Iowa were in California to help those affected by a series of wildfires.

(Radio Iowa)

The state health department is reviewing information from the first year of a cooperative project with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that surveys new mothers in Iowa. The state co-ordinator of the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Survey or PRAMS, Sarah Mauch says it shows some mixed results when it comes to breastfeeding. “Quite honestly, Iowa is doing well at our breastfeeding initiation. What we struggle with — and what I think most states struggle with — is that continuation of breastfeeding. Only about half of our babies are still being breastfed at 12 weeks,” Mauch says.

She says the survey gives them some specific information on who is and who isn’t breastfeeding. “Our young and low-income moms are our least likely to continue breastfeeding,” Mauch says. “And so that’s an area that our department is very specifically looking at to see how we can increase support for moms to continue breastfeeding.” Part of the issue is the six to 12 week mark is when many mothers go back to work.

“How do we continue to support them in having access to a secure, clean space to pump or breastfeed. And what types of issues are they experiencing that causes them to stop breastfeeding,” Mauch says. Mauch says there are other issues that impact whether or not a mother breastfeeds her baby.

“Some of those are just not knowing much about breastfeeding because it is something that I think is still not extremely common in our culture to see,” Mauch says. Mauch says they will continue working to educate mothers about the health benefits of breastfeeding for babies.

(Radio Iowa)