March 2024 News
Join Us at the Denver St. Patrick’s Day Parade
Now that spring is in the air, we hope you’ll join us for the annual Denver St. Patrick’s Day Parade. We are celebrating our 18th year as the Presenting Sponsor of the parade, which will get underway on Saturday, March 16 at 9:30 am. The parade route starts at 19th and Wynkoop and ends at 27th and Blake.
For Best Viewing Experience:
- Arrive early to stake out your favorite spot.
- To catch the parade’s full performances (including dancing, full music sets, etc.), the best spot is generally considered to be south of 20th Avenue on Blake Street, which is also the most crowded with attendees arriving as early as 6 am to stake out a spot.
- If you prefer to avoid bigger crowds, a great place for prime viewing is at the end of the parade on Blake Street from 23rd to 27th Avenues.
- Due to unpredictable March weather, it is recommended to dress in layers and bring plenty of water.
To learn more about the parade, visit DenverStPatricksDayParade.com or follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
A Great Time to Create Outdoor Living Spaces
With beautiful Colorado spring weather all around us and days getting longer, now is a great time to spruce up your home’s outdoor spaces. Whether you want to create your own personal outdoor oasis or a unique space for entertaining, updating your outdoor living area can be incredibly fulfilling—and also a smart investment.
For a full redesign of an outdoor space, homeowners might expect to spend up to 10% of their home’s value. Just want to do a little refresh? Even smaller investments can make a big difference. Whatever your goals, the equity in your home may be able to help pay for improvements.
Many Colorado homeowners have gained a significant amount of equity over the past several years. Using a home equity line of credit (HELOC) may provide you with the ability to access the funds needed to update your outdoor space. You simply borrow against the increased value in your home to fund the improvements, which can be a smart move as those updates can also add to the overall value of your home.
Limited-Time ChoiceLine Offer
Even better news is that for a limited time, Bellco is offering a fixed rate as low as 6.99% APR on a new or existing Home Equity ChoiceLine advance of $10,000 or more*—a much better option than paying with high-interest credit cards. And lines of credit make it easy to access the funds as you need them for your projects.
To learn more, visit Bellco.org/ChoiceLine or stop by any Bellco branch.
*LIMITED TIME OFFER. The 6.99% APR for the Fixed Rate offer is available to anyone who qualifies and advances at least $10,000.00 from the available line of credit at the time the Fixed Rate Subaccount is opened. Conditions and restrictions apply, including those related to CLTV and credit score. This offer can end at any time. If you don’t qualify for the promotional rate, the APR for fixed-rate advances will be set using the fixed rate Bellco is offering at the time you fix the rate based on your credit score, combined loan to value, and lien position at the time the loan is closed. This fixed rate will be in effect for the whole term of the applicable fixed-rate subaccount, which cannot exceed the remaining term of the loan. Variable APR for well-qualified borrowers as of March 1, 2024 is 8.24% and is subject to change without notice. Maximum APR for variable rate advance is 21%. Variable rate may change after account opening. Property must be insured, owner occupied (primary or secondary), and located in Colorado. Membership required. All loans subject to approval.
Navigating Complex Password Protections
The first step in thwarting identity theft is, of course, a good password—ideally, a unique one for every site. Unfortunately, for many people, that means tens and even hundreds of passwords to create and somehow remember.
So what’s a good solution? Some people have turned to password managers to help. However, the initial setup for a password manager can be daunting, especially if you have to input a large number of sites and correlating passwords.
Perhaps you’ve already been lured by your own browser’s offer to remember your passwords, which could seem like a convenient solution. After all, your browser might even title it “password management.” But is this a safe solution? There are pros and cons.
- With both the browser keeper and a password manager, you’ll be safe from lookalike sites. If the site domain doesn’t exactly match what you saved the password for, neither will fill the password in, which can help reduce identity theft from that type of phishing.
- Your browser can be susceptible to password-stealing malware, which knows exactly where browsers store passwords and the encryption key. Because password managers are separate from browsers, they can avoid that risk.
- Coming up with and remembering complex passwords is challenging. Both browsers and password managers can devise and store passwords with the proper complexity to help keep you safe.
- Using passwords across multiple devices can be convenient with a browser keeper if you let the browser sync info between devices. However, the danger is in a thief having access to one of those devices. On the other hand, once you install the password manager on your device, it will be available to use on your browser or apps.
- Password managers cache passwords locally, so you still have access to them, even if your connection breaks. That’s not the case with browser keepers.
Given all that, password managers are likely the most secure way to create and keep track of your numerous passwords. A note of warning, however: some password managers might keep you logged in for hours or days, which could leave your information exposed if someone gets hold of your device.
So what about using the browser password keeper? While it’s convenient, using your browser to store your information does have some security trade-offs. If you’re sure the sites you store your info on are safe and as long as you’re the only user of the device and you are careful in your browser activities, you could be okay keeping your passwords on your browser. However, be aware that it’s not the safest option; furthermore, you should be sure not to let your browser keep your credit card information or any other personally identifiable info like medical information, to help reduce identity theft if your browser is hacked.
If you have a financial loss due to suspected fraud or are aware of fraudulent transactions on your Bellco account, please call our Fraud Dept. at 303-689-7548.
Pay Your Bellco Loan with Account Transfers
Most members are familiar with the ability to transfer money between accounts. But did you know, with Bellco’s Online Banking and mobile app, you can also make a loan or credit card payment using an account transfer?
When you make a Bellco loan or credit card payment by transferring from your Bellco checking or savings account, there’s no need to worry about whether it was sent to the right place or if it might be delayed in the mail. Just a quick, easy, seamless way to submit your payment.
For even more convenience, you can also set up future-dated or recurring transfers and schedule your Bellco loan payments ahead of time. For a step-by-step guide on how to make loan payments using the account transfer feature, click the Learn More button below.
