A Michigan couple--who drive around looking for ATMs without proper fee-notification signs and then file class action lawsuits against financial institutions without the signs--filed four more lawsuits over ATM disclosures last week in Michigan. The latest batch are all against credit unions.
The couple, Nancy Kinder and Ray Harrison of Fowlerville, Mich., claim in the lawsuits that nondisclosure of fees charged for transactions at ATMs violates Regulation E, the Electronics Funds Transfer Act, which has required institutions to post a notice in a prominent place on the ATM about fees. Court records indicate they travel the state by car and photograph ATMs without legal signage.
They have sued 36 credit unions and bank in two years, according to Associated Press Newswires (April 22). Similar suits have been filed by others in other states as well.
Kinder is involved in at least 11 cases the past two years, filed on her behalf by an attorney from Chevy Chase, Md., Geoffrey Bestor. The most recent cases--filed on April 18 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan (Detroit)--are against:
•Lenco CU, Adrian, Mich., with $51 million assets;
•Michigan Schools and Government CU, Clinton Township, with more than $1.04 billion assets;
•Jackson (Mich.) Community FCU, $29 million assets; and
•Northwood CU, Royal Oak, $20 million assets.
Other suits she has filed against credit unions include: ELGA CU, based in Burton, Mich., with $260 million assets, filed on April 16, 2010, and Sunrise Family CU, based in Bay City, Mich., with $90 million in assets, filed July 8, 2009. The case against Sunrise Family was closed on Oct. 21, 2010. Court records said the case "is dismissed with prejudice and without costs, sanctions or attorneys' fees awarded in favor or against either party."
Kinder also has filed against these banks:
•United Bancorp Inc., filed Feb. 3, 2011;
•Paramount Bank, filed June 29, 2010;
•Bestbank, filed June 29, 2010 and closed Feb. 1, 2011;
•Dearborn Federal Savings Bank, filed June 29; and
•Community State Bankcorp, filed June 29, 2010, and closed Dec. 23, 2010.
The American Bankers Association told the Associated Press that the lawsuits are frivolous.
In January, CUNA Mutual Group warned its policyholders of a "significant" spike in lawsuits against credit unions related to ATM fee disclosures. Twelve suits were filed between mid-December and the January (News Now Jan. 14). At that time, the insurance company said many credit unions sued erroneously believed that a fee notice sign was not necessary since the fee was disclosed on the terminal screen of the ATM. Some suits were prompted when institutions changed their fees but not their signs.
Reg E requires credit unions to post a sign--in a prominent, conspicuous location on and at every ATM they own or operate--stating that a fee will or may apply. It does not require the actual fee to be placed on the sign. It also requires disclosing the fee on the terminal screen or paper notice before the consumer is committed to paying the fee. The fee should also appear on the transaction receipt.
CUNA Mutual warned credit unions to develop and write procedures for inspecting their ATMs regularly to ensure the signs are intact, and to photograph the ATM at the time of inspection, maintain an inspection log for all ATMs and have management review the log. The log should include the location inspected, date, status of the sign (missing or present), action taken (replaced the sign) and initials of the employee performing the inspection. Also keep a supply of signs or stickers to replace missing ones, and periodically test the ATM with a non-credit-union-issued ATM network card or debit card to confirm the fee appears on the screen.
Monday, April 25, 2011
Friday, April 22, 2011
How's Your Brain?
The brain is a wonderful organ. It starts working the moment you get up in the morning and does not stop until you get to the office.
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Guard against data-breach phishing scams
Double-check that spam filter: The Better Business Bureau (BBB) is alerting consumers to the first phishing e-mail it says stemmed from a massive data breach earlier this month (WalletPop April 8).
E-mail marketing firm Epsilon reported the breach on April 1 after hackers stole e-mail addresses and names from the company's databases, exposing millions of consumers to potential phishing scams.
Phishing occurs when scammers send e-mails that appear to be from legitimate companies in an attempt to acquire your personal information, such as account numbers. The scams can become even more deceptive--and convincing--when crooks obtain and use your name to target messages directly to you. This is known as "spearphishing."
According to the BBB, many more phishing attacks are likely to follow as a result of the data breach. Take these steps to protect your personal information:
•Avoid links. If you receive a suspicious e-mail, don't click on any links contained in the message. You could be directed to a fraudulent website or to dangerous malware.
•Don't share information. Legitimate companies will never ask for your personal information via e-mail. Don't respond to requests for financial account numbers, Social Security numbers, or other information.
•Talk it over. Make sure all family members with an e-mail address know how to spot a phishing e-mail. Kids and older adults often are more susceptible to these types of scams.
•Get secure. Before submitting credit card numbers or other sensitive information online, make sure the website is secure. A secure website starts with https at the beginning of the URL.
•Watch for errors. E-mails that contain frequent spelling mistakes or poor grammar usually signal a scam.
•Don't wire money. Never wire money in response to an e-mail request or to anyone you don't know. You'll be sending funds to a crook--and you'll be out the money when the scam is discovered.
•Shield your computer. Update and run antivirus programs regularly.
E-mail marketing firm Epsilon reported the breach on April 1 after hackers stole e-mail addresses and names from the company's databases, exposing millions of consumers to potential phishing scams.
Phishing occurs when scammers send e-mails that appear to be from legitimate companies in an attempt to acquire your personal information, such as account numbers. The scams can become even more deceptive--and convincing--when crooks obtain and use your name to target messages directly to you. This is known as "spearphishing."
According to the BBB, many more phishing attacks are likely to follow as a result of the data breach. Take these steps to protect your personal information:
•Avoid links. If you receive a suspicious e-mail, don't click on any links contained in the message. You could be directed to a fraudulent website or to dangerous malware.
•Don't share information. Legitimate companies will never ask for your personal information via e-mail. Don't respond to requests for financial account numbers, Social Security numbers, or other information.
•Talk it over. Make sure all family members with an e-mail address know how to spot a phishing e-mail. Kids and older adults often are more susceptible to these types of scams.
•Get secure. Before submitting credit card numbers or other sensitive information online, make sure the website is secure. A secure website starts with https at the beginning of the URL.
•Watch for errors. E-mails that contain frequent spelling mistakes or poor grammar usually signal a scam.
•Don't wire money. Never wire money in response to an e-mail request or to anyone you don't know. You'll be sending funds to a crook--and you'll be out the money when the scam is discovered.
•Shield your computer. Update and run antivirus programs regularly.
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Reduced debit swipe fees may hasten shift to phone payments
The "mobile wallet" is coming, a smartphone application that consumers can use to tap their deposit accounts at checkout, bypassing the current card system. (AP photo)
The era when you could get a little gift back every time you swiped your debit card may be coming to an end - and the brave new world of mobile payments may be ready to replace it.
Last year, Congress ordered the financial industry to get ready for a substantial reduction in interchange fees - the price a merchant pays each time a customer swipes a debit card and the source of revenue that paid for those debit card rewards. In December the Federal Reserve recommended that Congress slash swipe fees by more than 70 percent, to 12 cents per transaction.
Banks were livid at the recommendation, which promised to erase millions of dollars from their bottom line, and they pledged to fight it. Wayzata-based TCF Financial takes that fight to court next week, trying to overturn the new law on constitutional grounds.
But some of the nation’s largest institutions - including Wells Fargo Bank - indicated they are ready to move on, announcing in the last two weeks that they would stop or curtail the rewards programs that they have used to boost debit card usage.
Those banks’ willingness to drop rewards is an acknowledgement that the programs did their job, said Jerry Rossow, a bank marketing consultant in St. Paul.
“People have already adopted debit cards,” Rossow said. “They’re comfortable with them.”
Young consumers have grown up in an electronic, card-based world, he said, and for many older consumers, the rewards program worked. “You tell people that they’ll use the card five times in a month and get a price reduction on something else and they’ll start doing it. It’s an easy habit to form.”
Payment data tell the same story. Debit card usage grew rapidly during the last decade: Transactions reached 37.9 billion in 2009 - half of them from a checking account. Paper checks made up just 30 percent.
For the rest of the story, visit: http://finance-commerce.com/2011/04/reduced-debit-swipe-fees-may-hasten-shift-to-phone-payments/
The era when you could get a little gift back every time you swiped your debit card may be coming to an end - and the brave new world of mobile payments may be ready to replace it.
Last year, Congress ordered the financial industry to get ready for a substantial reduction in interchange fees - the price a merchant pays each time a customer swipes a debit card and the source of revenue that paid for those debit card rewards. In December the Federal Reserve recommended that Congress slash swipe fees by more than 70 percent, to 12 cents per transaction.
Banks were livid at the recommendation, which promised to erase millions of dollars from their bottom line, and they pledged to fight it. Wayzata-based TCF Financial takes that fight to court next week, trying to overturn the new law on constitutional grounds.
But some of the nation’s largest institutions - including Wells Fargo Bank - indicated they are ready to move on, announcing in the last two weeks that they would stop or curtail the rewards programs that they have used to boost debit card usage.
Those banks’ willingness to drop rewards is an acknowledgement that the programs did their job, said Jerry Rossow, a bank marketing consultant in St. Paul.
“People have already adopted debit cards,” Rossow said. “They’re comfortable with them.”
Young consumers have grown up in an electronic, card-based world, he said, and for many older consumers, the rewards program worked. “You tell people that they’ll use the card five times in a month and get a price reduction on something else and they’ll start doing it. It’s an easy habit to form.”Payment data tell the same story. Debit card usage grew rapidly during the last decade: Transactions reached 37.9 billion in 2009 - half of them from a checking account. Paper checks made up just 30 percent.
Rossow, who advises community banks, said small banks probably will continue debit rewards for a while. Under the federal rule changes, banks with under $10 billion in assets will be allowed to charge a higher swipe fee on debit card payments. Meanwhile, industry representatives for community banks and credit unions have said that they think the marketplace will end up forcing their members to match the lower fees the large banks charge.
Monday, April 4, 2011
E-Mail Stastics Galore
Email is the preferred method of commercial communication by 74% of all online adults. - Merkle "View From the Digital Inbox 2011" (2011)
63 % of mobile email users check the account a minimum of once per day. - Merkle "View From the Digital Inbox 2011" (2011)
In 2010, 43% of online population believe that email is 'fun', compared to 55% in 2008. - Merkle "View From the Digital Inbox 2011" (2011)
In 2010 30% of total email time was devoted to commerical emails, compared to 17% in 2005. - Merkle "View From the Digital Inbox 2011" (2011)
Only one percent of 500 surveyed retailers are sending a welcome series to engage new email subscribers. - Listrak "Creating an eCommerce Welcome Series to Increase Subscriber Engagement and Email ROI" (2010)
94% of daily email users subscribed to marketing messages - ExactTarget "Subscribers, Fans, and Followers: The Social Profile" (2010)
67% of US internet users say the motivation behind giving their email address to a company is to receive discounts and promotions. -ExactTarget "Email X-Factor Study" (2010)
55% of US internet users say the motivation behind giving their email address to a company is to get a "freebie" in exchange for my email address. -ExactTarget "Email X-Factor Study" (2010)
Only 14% of US internet users say the motivation behind giving their email address to a company is to interact with the brand. -ExactTarget "Email X-Factor Study" (2010)
57% of internet users worldwide said they are more apt to buy a product in a store after getting a marketing email. - e-Dialog, "Global Perspectives: a Study of Consumer Attitudes to Digital Marketing" (2010)
In the United States, only 4% of internet users said marketing emails made them decide not to buy a product. - e-Dialog, "Global Perspectives: a Study of Consumer Attitudes to Digital Marketing" (2010)
In China, 75% of internet users said they had made a purchase in-store or over the phone because of a marketing email. - e-Dialog, "Global Perspectives: a Study of Consumer Attitudes to Digital Marketing" (2010)
58 percent of consumers start their online day by reading their emails. Meanwhile, 20 percent begin on search engines and 11 percent check their Facebook pages. -ExactTarget "Email X-Factor Study" (2010)
Women are more likely than men to sign up for emails in order to obtain deals and promotions (67% compared to 57%). -ExactTarget "Email X-Factor Study" (2010)
88% of women indicate that promotions have motivated them to subscribe to email marketing messages, compared to 70% of men - with 65% of women having subscribed to email marketing messages in return for a "free" product, compared to 44% of men. -ExactTarget "Email X-Factor Study" (2010)
79 percent of US consumers surveyed stated that the marketing messages that they opt into are sent to their primary personal account. e-Dialog "Manifesto for E-mail Marketers: Consumer Demand Relevance" (2010)
Overall just 12 percent of US consumers report to have a dedicated e-mail account for marketing messages as compared to 20 percent of UK consumers. e-Dialog "Manifesto for E-mail Marketers: Consumer Demand Relevance" (2010)
59% of US and UK Internet Users said the reason for not regularly opening/reading email marketing messages is that they come too frequently. e-Dialog "Manifesto for E-mail Marketers: Consumer Demand Relevance" (2010)
55 percent of consumers stated they do not open and read messages regularly because they don't match their areas of interest e-Dialog "Manifesto for E-mail Marketers: Consumer Demand Relevance" (2010)
13.4% of mobile subscribers, use the Web via a mobile device at least monthly in 2010. - eMarketer (2010)
75% of daily social media users said email is the best way for companies to communicate with them, compared to 65% of all email users. - MarketingSherpa (2010)
49% of Twitter users said they made an online purchase because of an email, compared to 33% of all email users. - MarketingSherpa (2010)
If email was a country, its 1.4 billion users would make it the largest in the world. Bigger than China, bigger than the populations of the USA and European Union combined. - Email Marketing Reports (2009)
181: the number of marketing emails it would take to produce enough revenue to buy one share in Microsoft. - Email Marketing Reports (2009)
59% of email users spend more than 20 minutes a week with permission email and 27% spend an hour or more weekly. - Merkle Interactive Services (2009)
Permission-based email accounts for 26% of time spent with email. - Merkle Interactive Services (2009)
74% of Internet users age 64 and older send and receive email, making it the most popular online activity for this age group. - Pew Internet and American Life Project (Feb 2009)
More than 90% of Internet users between 18 and 72 said they send and receive email, making it the top online activity just ahead of search engines, according to the non-profit research group. - Pew Internet and American Life Project (Feb 2009) The number of marketing emails sent by U.S. retailers and wholesalers this year will hit 158 billion and grow 63% to 258 billion in 2013. - Forrester's US Email Marketing Volume Forecast (2008)
Nearly one-quarter of Internet users surveyed said they were most likely to check their email upon waking. - AOL/Beta Research Corporation (June 2008)
More than one-third said they checked throughout the day. - AOL/Beta Research Corporation (June 2008)
More than seven out of 10 employed respondents also said they checked their personal email at work - and nearly one-third said they did so more than three times a day. - AOL/Beta Research Corporation (June 2008)
63 % of mobile email users check the account a minimum of once per day. - Merkle "View From the Digital Inbox 2011" (2011)
In 2010 30% of total email time was devoted to commerical emails, compared to 17% in 2005. - Merkle "View From the Digital Inbox 2011" (2011)
Only one percent of 500 surveyed retailers are sending a welcome series to engage new email subscribers. - Listrak "Creating an eCommerce Welcome Series to Increase Subscriber Engagement and Email ROI" (2010)
94% of daily email users subscribed to marketing messages - ExactTarget "Subscribers, Fans, and Followers: The Social Profile" (2010)
67% of US internet users say the motivation behind giving their email address to a company is to receive discounts and promotions. -ExactTarget "Email X-Factor Study" (2010)
55% of US internet users say the motivation behind giving their email address to a company is to get a "freebie" in exchange for my email address. -ExactTarget "Email X-Factor Study" (2010)
Only 14% of US internet users say the motivation behind giving their email address to a company is to interact with the brand. -ExactTarget "Email X-Factor Study" (2010)
57% of internet users worldwide said they are more apt to buy a product in a store after getting a marketing email. - e-Dialog, "Global Perspectives: a Study of Consumer Attitudes to Digital Marketing" (2010)
In the United States, only 4% of internet users said marketing emails made them decide not to buy a product. - e-Dialog, "Global Perspectives: a Study of Consumer Attitudes to Digital Marketing" (2010)
In China, 75% of internet users said they had made a purchase in-store or over the phone because of a marketing email. - e-Dialog, "Global Perspectives: a Study of Consumer Attitudes to Digital Marketing" (2010)
58 percent of consumers start their online day by reading their emails. Meanwhile, 20 percent begin on search engines and 11 percent check their Facebook pages. -ExactTarget "Email X-Factor Study" (2010)
Women are more likely than men to sign up for emails in order to obtain deals and promotions (67% compared to 57%). -ExactTarget "Email X-Factor Study" (2010)
88% of women indicate that promotions have motivated them to subscribe to email marketing messages, compared to 70% of men - with 65% of women having subscribed to email marketing messages in return for a "free" product, compared to 44% of men. -ExactTarget "Email X-Factor Study" (2010)
79 percent of US consumers surveyed stated that the marketing messages that they opt into are sent to their primary personal account. e-Dialog "Manifesto for E-mail Marketers: Consumer Demand Relevance" (2010)
Overall just 12 percent of US consumers report to have a dedicated e-mail account for marketing messages as compared to 20 percent of UK consumers. e-Dialog "Manifesto for E-mail Marketers: Consumer Demand Relevance" (2010)
59% of US and UK Internet Users said the reason for not regularly opening/reading email marketing messages is that they come too frequently. e-Dialog "Manifesto for E-mail Marketers: Consumer Demand Relevance" (2010)
55 percent of consumers stated they do not open and read messages regularly because they don't match their areas of interest e-Dialog "Manifesto for E-mail Marketers: Consumer Demand Relevance" (2010)
13.4% of mobile subscribers, use the Web via a mobile device at least monthly in 2010. - eMarketer (2010)
75% of daily social media users said email is the best way for companies to communicate with them, compared to 65% of all email users. - MarketingSherpa (2010)
49% of Twitter users said they made an online purchase because of an email, compared to 33% of all email users. - MarketingSherpa (2010)
If email was a country, its 1.4 billion users would make it the largest in the world. Bigger than China, bigger than the populations of the USA and European Union combined. - Email Marketing Reports (2009)
181: the number of marketing emails it would take to produce enough revenue to buy one share in Microsoft. - Email Marketing Reports (2009)
59% of email users spend more than 20 minutes a week with permission email and 27% spend an hour or more weekly. - Merkle Interactive Services (2009)
Permission-based email accounts for 26% of time spent with email. - Merkle Interactive Services (2009)
74% of Internet users age 64 and older send and receive email, making it the most popular online activity for this age group. - Pew Internet and American Life Project (Feb 2009)
More than 90% of Internet users between 18 and 72 said they send and receive email, making it the top online activity just ahead of search engines, according to the non-profit research group. - Pew Internet and American Life Project (Feb 2009) The number of marketing emails sent by U.S. retailers and wholesalers this year will hit 158 billion and grow 63% to 258 billion in 2013. - Forrester's US Email Marketing Volume Forecast (2008)
Nearly one-quarter of Internet users surveyed said they were most likely to check their email upon waking. - AOL/Beta Research Corporation (June 2008)
More than one-third said they checked throughout the day. - AOL/Beta Research Corporation (June 2008)
More than seven out of 10 employed respondents also said they checked their personal email at work - and nearly one-third said they did so more than three times a day. - AOL/Beta Research Corporation (June 2008)
Friday, April 1, 2011
$5 ATM Fees Coming
J.P. Morgan Chase and other banks are trying to recoup approximately $30 billion a year in lost overdraft fee income by testing $5 ATM fees, Consumer Action spokesman Joe Ridout told CNBC.
These banks have "historically been reliant on overdraft fees," he said, so they're "coming up with new ways to make up the difference." He said higher ATM fees and other rising costs penalize small depositors.
Nessa Feddis, spokeswoman with the American College of Consumer Financial Services, agreed there are "enormous pressures on banks because of lost revenue."
But she insisted that "most people don't pay ATM fees. Only non-customers who otherwise pay nothing to contribute to the cost of providing the ATMs pay the fee. That is fair because otherwise they are not contributing to the cost of providing the service."
She blamed "price controls that the government is imposing" for drastically limiting debit card interchange fees.
"Those debit card interchange fees — and you’re talking about a penny on the dollar — basically not only provide value to the merchant but they also support the cost of providing debit cards and checking accounts. Until now, we’ve been lucky with (banks offering) a lot of free accounts. I think we will see that go away."
Ridout said the banks are exchanging in political brinksmanship by using the threat of higher ATM fees to "encourage" pressure on the Federal Reserve to "tamp down what this interchange cap is going to be." The Fed issued draft interchange fee rules in December.
Ridout said no one is forcing the banks to charge higher ATM fees, and consumers have other choices if they don't want to pay them.
Credit unions don't charge fees, he said, because they "don’t aim to turn a profit, they have not relied on overdraft fees that gouge consumers and they don’t pay their executives eight-figure salaries or multi-million-dollar bonuses and they don’t have to come up with rinky-dink fees to support these irresponsible levels of compensation."
These banks have "historically been reliant on overdraft fees," he said, so they're "coming up with new ways to make up the difference." He said higher ATM fees and other rising costs penalize small depositors.
Nessa Feddis, spokeswoman with the American College of Consumer Financial Services, agreed there are "enormous pressures on banks because of lost revenue."
But she insisted that "most people don't pay ATM fees. Only non-customers who otherwise pay nothing to contribute to the cost of providing the ATMs pay the fee. That is fair because otherwise they are not contributing to the cost of providing the service."
She blamed "price controls that the government is imposing" for drastically limiting debit card interchange fees.
"Those debit card interchange fees — and you’re talking about a penny on the dollar — basically not only provide value to the merchant but they also support the cost of providing debit cards and checking accounts. Until now, we’ve been lucky with (banks offering) a lot of free accounts. I think we will see that go away."
Ridout said the banks are exchanging in political brinksmanship by using the threat of higher ATM fees to "encourage" pressure on the Federal Reserve to "tamp down what this interchange cap is going to be." The Fed issued draft interchange fee rules in December.
Ridout said no one is forcing the banks to charge higher ATM fees, and consumers have other choices if they don't want to pay them.
Credit unions don't charge fees, he said, because they "don’t aim to turn a profit, they have not relied on overdraft fees that gouge consumers and they don’t pay their executives eight-figure salaries or multi-million-dollar bonuses and they don’t have to come up with rinky-dink fees to support these irresponsible levels of compensation."
Saturday, March 26, 2011
This DISCLAIMER Will Blow Your Mind
The following is the Disclaimer posted at this site: http://www.felonspy.com/. Believe it or not.
Disclaimer
We here at FelonSpy.com will never invade anyone’s privacy at all, but we do strive with daily passion and vigor working by the hour to insure that regular, non-criminal citizens (such as you and me, people who can vote an hold public office) have the best information possible to insure we have the knowledge we need to make qualified decisions about our own safety, our neighborhood, how closely we should be on the lookout against the criminal element around us, and our overall well being. We value our children as idyllic idols of the future in the same way we know you do, and it’s with these concerns in mind that we have put together this site. Thanks to us, you’ll always know what criminals live around you and how to protect yourself from this societal scum.
We hope to continue rolling out coverage city by city, state by state and nation by nation, but there are many places where we run in to obstacles. Some of these obstacles are “legal challenges” from the likes of attorneys, courthouses, law enforcement, those A-Holes at the ACLU and “the law” in general.
Apparently we care more about your well being than your own politicians and their stupid laws do, but that probably doesn’t come as too much of a surprise to you. Give money to anarchy societies anonymously, it’s the only way to protect yourself.
So here are some of the many ways we have to disclaim ourselves and this site:
Our data is not guaranteed, nor “official”, nor legally binding. Still, I think you know it’s pretty good, because it is. You can see how much work we dedicated to making it right, so we’re pretty solid, but not “guaranteed”.
Some municipalities and counties provide incomplete, outdated or inaccurate data from which we cull our information, so there may be places where addresses are incomplete or less-than-perfectly accurate, or the crime listed may be out of date, incorrect or otherwise since sealed, appealed or voided. We do our best, but we don’t always have access to the latest and best information, but winning in an appeal doesn’t mean the guy didn’t do it, does it?.
You should never use this site as cause to be a vigilante, even if you have been a victim and have a good 30-oz bat or unregistered firearm handy. Everyone loves a hero, there is no denying that, but if you rely on government records to put your hit-list together, it’s going to come back around to bite you in the butt every time, no thanks to “the man”. Use the database collection from this site instead as a general guideline and nothing more, and that’s our “disclaimer” (wink, wink).
When you see properties listed in the water, those are either incorrect addresses provided by your local government, or locations where the crime actually took place. We can’t correct all of them, but we do our best.
When you see an address listed in the middle of declared park lands, that is likely the last known location where this person committed a crime, or the last place the person was known to have been located.
None of the data we provide can be used in court, on television, radio or print media, or for any purposes other than your own curiosity and general information, unless otherwise stipulated in writing by one of our principal directors or data miners.
We do our best to provide safety and security for you, and we’ll keep doing it until the government sues us out of existence, which will sure as hell happen soon. Since we can’t actually promise our continued services we can only promise to flood you with arbitrary, unverified information so you can make some other decisions for yourself based accordingly. We’re only trying to help, and we work night and day to do just that.
Disclaimer
We here at FelonSpy.com will never invade anyone’s privacy at all, but we do strive with daily passion and vigor working by the hour to insure that regular, non-criminal citizens (such as you and me, people who can vote an hold public office) have the best information possible to insure we have the knowledge we need to make qualified decisions about our own safety, our neighborhood, how closely we should be on the lookout against the criminal element around us, and our overall well being. We value our children as idyllic idols of the future in the same way we know you do, and it’s with these concerns in mind that we have put together this site. Thanks to us, you’ll always know what criminals live around you and how to protect yourself from this societal scum.
We hope to continue rolling out coverage city by city, state by state and nation by nation, but there are many places where we run in to obstacles. Some of these obstacles are “legal challenges” from the likes of attorneys, courthouses, law enforcement, those A-Holes at the ACLU and “the law” in general.
Apparently we care more about your well being than your own politicians and their stupid laws do, but that probably doesn’t come as too much of a surprise to you. Give money to anarchy societies anonymously, it’s the only way to protect yourself.
So here are some of the many ways we have to disclaim ourselves and this site:
Our data is not guaranteed, nor “official”, nor legally binding. Still, I think you know it’s pretty good, because it is. You can see how much work we dedicated to making it right, so we’re pretty solid, but not “guaranteed”.
Some municipalities and counties provide incomplete, outdated or inaccurate data from which we cull our information, so there may be places where addresses are incomplete or less-than-perfectly accurate, or the crime listed may be out of date, incorrect or otherwise since sealed, appealed or voided. We do our best, but we don’t always have access to the latest and best information, but winning in an appeal doesn’t mean the guy didn’t do it, does it?.
You should never use this site as cause to be a vigilante, even if you have been a victim and have a good 30-oz bat or unregistered firearm handy. Everyone loves a hero, there is no denying that, but if you rely on government records to put your hit-list together, it’s going to come back around to bite you in the butt every time, no thanks to “the man”. Use the database collection from this site instead as a general guideline and nothing more, and that’s our “disclaimer” (wink, wink).
When you see properties listed in the water, those are either incorrect addresses provided by your local government, or locations where the crime actually took place. We can’t correct all of them, but we do our best.
When you see an address listed in the middle of declared park lands, that is likely the last known location where this person committed a crime, or the last place the person was known to have been located.
None of the data we provide can be used in court, on television, radio or print media, or for any purposes other than your own curiosity and general information, unless otherwise stipulated in writing by one of our principal directors or data miners.
We do our best to provide safety and security for you, and we’ll keep doing it until the government sues us out of existence, which will sure as hell happen soon. Since we can’t actually promise our continued services we can only promise to flood you with arbitrary, unverified information so you can make some other decisions for yourself based accordingly. We’re only trying to help, and we work night and day to do just that.
It’s Tracking Your Every Move and You May Not Even Know
A favorite pastime of Internet users is to share their location: services like Google Latitude can inform friends when you are nearby; another, Foursquare, has turned reporting these updates into a game.
But as a German Green party politician, Malte Spitz, recently learned, we are already continually being tracked whether we volunteer to be or not. Cellphone companies do not typically divulge how much information they collect, so Mr. Spitz went to court to find out exactly what his cellphone company, Deutsche Telekom, knew about his whereabouts.
The results were astounding. In a six-month period — from Aug 31, 2009, to Feb. 28, 2010, Deutsche Telekom had recorded and saved his longitude and latitude coordinates more than 35,000 times. It traced him from a train on the way to Erlangen at the start through to that last night, when he was home in Berlin.
Mr. Spitz has provided a rare glimpse — an unprecedented one, privacy experts say — of what is being collected as we walk around with our phones. Unlike many online services and Web sites that must send “cookies” to a user’s computer to try to link its traffic to a specific person, cellphone companies simply have to sit back and hit “record.”
“We are all walking around with little tags, and our tag has a phone number associated with it, who we called and what we do with the phone,” said Sarah E. Williams, an expert on graphic information at Columbia University’s architecture school. “We don’t even know we are giving up that data.”
Tracking a customer’s whereabouts is part and parcel of what phone companies do for a living. Every seven seconds or so, the phone company of someone with a working cellphone is determining the nearest tower, so as to most efficiently route calls. And for billing reasons, they track where the call is coming from and how long it has lasted.
“At any given instant, a cell company has to know where you are; it is constantly registering with the tower with the strongest signal,” said Matthew Blaze, a professor of computer and information science at the University of Pennsylvania who has testified before Congress on the issue.
Mr. Spitz’s information, Mr. Blaze pointed out, was not based on those frequent updates, but on how often Mr. Spitz checked his e-mail.
Mr. Spitz, a privacy advocate, decided to be extremely open with his personal information. Late last month, he released all the location information in a publicly accessible Google Document, and worked with a prominent German newspaper, Die Zeit, to map those coordinates over time.
“This is really the most compelling visualization in a public forum I have ever seen,” said Mr. Blaze, adding that it “shows how strong a picture even a fairly low-resolution location can give.”
In an interview from Berlin, Mr. Spitz explained his reasons: “It was an important point to show this is not some kind of a game. I thought about it, if it is a good idea to publish all the data — I also could say, O.K., I will only publish it for five, 10 days maybe. But then I said no, I really want to publish the whole six months.”
In the United States, telecommunication companies do not have to report precisely what material they collect, said Kevin Bankston, a lawyer at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, who specializes in privacy. He added that based on court cases he could say that “they store more of it and it is becoming more precise.”
But as a German Green party politician, Malte Spitz, recently learned, we are already continually being tracked whether we volunteer to be or not. Cellphone companies do not typically divulge how much information they collect, so Mr. Spitz went to court to find out exactly what his cellphone company, Deutsche Telekom, knew about his whereabouts.
The results were astounding. In a six-month period — from Aug 31, 2009, to Feb. 28, 2010, Deutsche Telekom had recorded and saved his longitude and latitude coordinates more than 35,000 times. It traced him from a train on the way to Erlangen at the start through to that last night, when he was home in Berlin.
Mr. Spitz has provided a rare glimpse — an unprecedented one, privacy experts say — of what is being collected as we walk around with our phones. Unlike many online services and Web sites that must send “cookies” to a user’s computer to try to link its traffic to a specific person, cellphone companies simply have to sit back and hit “record.”
“We are all walking around with little tags, and our tag has a phone number associated with it, who we called and what we do with the phone,” said Sarah E. Williams, an expert on graphic information at Columbia University’s architecture school. “We don’t even know we are giving up that data.”
Tracking a customer’s whereabouts is part and parcel of what phone companies do for a living. Every seven seconds or so, the phone company of someone with a working cellphone is determining the nearest tower, so as to most efficiently route calls. And for billing reasons, they track where the call is coming from and how long it has lasted.
“At any given instant, a cell company has to know where you are; it is constantly registering with the tower with the strongest signal,” said Matthew Blaze, a professor of computer and information science at the University of Pennsylvania who has testified before Congress on the issue.
Mr. Spitz’s information, Mr. Blaze pointed out, was not based on those frequent updates, but on how often Mr. Spitz checked his e-mail.
Mr. Spitz, a privacy advocate, decided to be extremely open with his personal information. Late last month, he released all the location information in a publicly accessible Google Document, and worked with a prominent German newspaper, Die Zeit, to map those coordinates over time.
“This is really the most compelling visualization in a public forum I have ever seen,” said Mr. Blaze, adding that it “shows how strong a picture even a fairly low-resolution location can give.”
In an interview from Berlin, Mr. Spitz explained his reasons: “It was an important point to show this is not some kind of a game. I thought about it, if it is a good idea to publish all the data — I also could say, O.K., I will only publish it for five, 10 days maybe. But then I said no, I really want to publish the whole six months.”
In the United States, telecommunication companies do not have to report precisely what material they collect, said Kevin Bankston, a lawyer at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, who specializes in privacy. He added that based on court cases he could say that “they store more of it and it is becoming more precise.”
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Do you use ATMs regardless of fees?
When I need to get some cash, I invariably head to the ATM at my bank in my hometown to replenish the always dwindling supply.
I can count on three fingers the number of times I've had to use an ATM not affiliated with my bank, and pay the fees that come with that convenience.
But I know some people who will use whatever ATM is handy, fees notwithstanding. They might change their behavior if they see higher fees coming their way.
CNN reports that some of the nation's biggest banks are testing out higher fees -- as much as $5 for non-customers. Add on the $2 or $3 that your own bank charges for going out of network, and a withdrawal of $20 could cost you closer to $30.
I know the location of at least a dozen of my bank's ATMs within a 10 or 15-mile radius of my home. Those 'little' $2 or $3 fees can add up quickly, and I'd rather head to my bank's ATMs and avoid them.
But not everyone is that lucky. Do you think before you get cash from an ATM? Or do you just figure that an extra $10 or $15 a month in 'convenience' charges are acceptable? And would a $5 charge stop you from getting cash from an out-of-network ATM, while a $2 or $3 charge doesn't?
I can count on three fingers the number of times I've had to use an ATM not affiliated with my bank, and pay the fees that come with that convenience.
But I know some people who will use whatever ATM is handy, fees notwithstanding. They might change their behavior if they see higher fees coming their way.
CNN reports that some of the nation's biggest banks are testing out higher fees -- as much as $5 for non-customers. Add on the $2 or $3 that your own bank charges for going out of network, and a withdrawal of $20 could cost you closer to $30.
I know the location of at least a dozen of my bank's ATMs within a 10 or 15-mile radius of my home. Those 'little' $2 or $3 fees can add up quickly, and I'd rather head to my bank's ATMs and avoid them.
But not everyone is that lucky. Do you think before you get cash from an ATM? Or do you just figure that an extra $10 or $15 a month in 'convenience' charges are acceptable? And would a $5 charge stop you from getting cash from an out-of-network ATM, while a $2 or $3 charge doesn't?
Saturday, March 12, 2011
FTC Releases List of Top Consumer Complaints in 2010
FTC Releases List of Top Consumer Complaints in 2010; Identity Theft Tops the List Again
The Federal Trade Commission today released the list of top consumer complaints received by the agency in 2010. The list showed that for the 11th year in a row, identity theft was the number one consumer complaint category. Of 1,339,265 complaints received in 2010, 250,854 – or 19 percent – were related to identity theft. Debt collection complaints were in second place, with 144,159 complaints.
The report breaks out complaint data on a state-by-state basis and also contains data about the 50 metropolitan areas reporting the highest per capita incidence of fraud and other complaints. In addition, the 50 metropolitan areas reporting the highest incidence of identity theft are noted.
For the first time, “imposter scams” – where imposters posed as friends, family, respected companies or government agencies to get consumers to send them money – made the top 10. The FTC also has issued a new consumer alert, “Spotting an Imposter”, to help consumers avoid imposter scams.
Rank Category Number of Complaints Percentage
1 Identity Theft 250,854 19%
2 Debt Collection 144,159 11%
3 Internet Services 65,565 5%
4 Prizes, Sweepstakes and Lotteries 64,085 5%
5 Shop-at-Home and Catalog Sales 60,205 4%
6 Imposter Scams 60,158 4%
7 Internet Auctions 56,107 4%
8 Foreign Money/Counterfeit Check Scams 43,866 3%
9 Telephone and Mobile Services 37,388 3%
10 Credit Cards 33,258 2%
More information is at: http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2011/03/topcomplaints.shtm
The Federal Trade Commission today released the list of top consumer complaints received by the agency in 2010. The list showed that for the 11th year in a row, identity theft was the number one consumer complaint category. Of 1,339,265 complaints received in 2010, 250,854 – or 19 percent – were related to identity theft. Debt collection complaints were in second place, with 144,159 complaints.
The report breaks out complaint data on a state-by-state basis and also contains data about the 50 metropolitan areas reporting the highest per capita incidence of fraud and other complaints. In addition, the 50 metropolitan areas reporting the highest incidence of identity theft are noted.
For the first time, “imposter scams” – where imposters posed as friends, family, respected companies or government agencies to get consumers to send them money – made the top 10. The FTC also has issued a new consumer alert, “Spotting an Imposter”, to help consumers avoid imposter scams.
Rank Category Number of Complaints Percentage
1 Identity Theft 250,854 19%
2 Debt Collection 144,159 11%
3 Internet Services 65,565 5%
4 Prizes, Sweepstakes and Lotteries 64,085 5%
5 Shop-at-Home and Catalog Sales 60,205 4%
6 Imposter Scams 60,158 4%
7 Internet Auctions 56,107 4%
8 Foreign Money/Counterfeit Check Scams 43,866 3%
9 Telephone and Mobile Services 37,388 3%
10 Credit Cards 33,258 2%
More information is at: http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2011/03/topcomplaints.shtm
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Hackers steal $527,000 from LES FCU account at bank
BATON ROUGE, La. (3/8/11)--Computer hackers from the Ukraine made unauthorized transfers totaling nearly $527,000 from LES FCU, Baton Rouge, La., in September 2009 through the credit union's commercial account with Capital One, according to a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court Thursday.
The hackers transferred the money by slipping an e-mail attachment with malware past a credit union accountant, according to the complaint filed against Capital One by the credit union's insurer, Fidelity & Deposit Co. of Maryland. The insurer reimbursed LES FCU for $321,873.
More than $200,000 of the siphoned funds were recovered before they could be claimed by the criminals at wire transfer locations worldwide, the court documents said.
Capital One is alleged to have permitted the unauthorized transactions after an LES FCU accountant received an e-mail purporting to be from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) around Sept 14, 2009, according to the complaint.
The e-mail was from "a den of thieves," who directed the accountant to "an official-looking" website, said the complaint filed Thursday. At that website, a "key logger program" was secretly downloaded to the accountant's computer. The program allowed the thieves to obtain the credit union's Capital One user IDs and passwords.
On Sept. 16, the accountant accessed the credit union's Capital One account and noticed that nine unauthorized transfers had been made Sept. 15. Capital One mailed notifications to the credit union regarding the nine wire transfers processed, but did not attempt to contact the credit union directly. At 9:15 a.m. Sept. 16, LES FCU contacted Capital and reported the unauthorized transfers
The hackers transferred the money by slipping an e-mail attachment with malware past a credit union accountant, according to the complaint filed against Capital One by the credit union's insurer, Fidelity & Deposit Co. of Maryland. The insurer reimbursed LES FCU for $321,873.
More than $200,000 of the siphoned funds were recovered before they could be claimed by the criminals at wire transfer locations worldwide, the court documents said.
Capital One is alleged to have permitted the unauthorized transactions after an LES FCU accountant received an e-mail purporting to be from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) around Sept 14, 2009, according to the complaint.
The e-mail was from "a den of thieves," who directed the accountant to "an official-looking" website, said the complaint filed Thursday. At that website, a "key logger program" was secretly downloaded to the accountant's computer. The program allowed the thieves to obtain the credit union's Capital One user IDs and passwords.
On Sept. 16, the accountant accessed the credit union's Capital One account and noticed that nine unauthorized transfers had been made Sept. 15. Capital One mailed notifications to the credit union regarding the nine wire transfers processed, but did not attempt to contact the credit union directly. At 9:15 a.m. Sept. 16, LES FCU contacted Capital and reported the unauthorized transfers
Monday, March 7, 2011
Your Television is Watching You
Data-gathering firms and technology companies are aggressively matching people's TV-viewing behavior with other personal data—in some cases, prescription-drug records obtained from insurers—and using it to help advertisers buy ads targeted to shows watched by certain kinds of people.
At the same time, cable and satellite companies are testing and deploying new systems designed to show households highly targeted ads.
The goal: emulate the sophisticated tracking widely used on people's personal computers with new technology that reaches the living room.
One of the most advanced companies, Cablevision Systems Corp., has rolled out a system that can show entirely different commercials, in real time, to different households tuned to the same program. It can deliver targeted ads to all the company's three million subscribers concentrated in New York, Connecticut and New Jersey.
In an early test of Cablevision's technology, the U.S. Army used it to target four different recruitment ads to different categories of viewers.
One group, dubbed "family influencers" by Cablevision, saw an ad featuring a daughter discussing with her parents her decision to enlist. Another group, "youth ethnic I," saw an ad featuring African-American men testing and repairing machinery. A third, "youth ethnic II," saw soldiers of various ethnicities doing team activities. An Army spokesman declined to comment.
Read more on how TV is watching us at: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704288304576171251689944350.html
At the same time, cable and satellite companies are testing and deploying new systems designed to show households highly targeted ads.
The goal: emulate the sophisticated tracking widely used on people's personal computers with new technology that reaches the living room.
One of the most advanced companies, Cablevision Systems Corp., has rolled out a system that can show entirely different commercials, in real time, to different households tuned to the same program. It can deliver targeted ads to all the company's three million subscribers concentrated in New York, Connecticut and New Jersey.
In an early test of Cablevision's technology, the U.S. Army used it to target four different recruitment ads to different categories of viewers.
One group, dubbed "family influencers" by Cablevision, saw an ad featuring a daughter discussing with her parents her decision to enlist. Another group, "youth ethnic I," saw an ad featuring African-American men testing and repairing machinery. A third, "youth ethnic II," saw soldiers of various ethnicities doing team activities. An Army spokesman declined to comment.
Read more on how TV is watching us at: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704288304576171251689944350.html
Saturday, March 5, 2011
To help all of you true lexiphiles
To help all of you true lexiphiles (lovers of language and the art of crisp idea expression), here are some wonderful new phrases . . . or maybe a repeat of some old ones.
Here they are:
To write with a broken pencil is pointless.
When fish are in schools they sometimes take debate.
A thief who stole a calendar got twelve months.
When the smog lifts in Los Angeles, U.C.L.A.
The professor discovered that her theory of earthquakes was on shaky ground.
The batteries were given out free of charge.
A dentist and a manicurist married. They fought tooth and nail.
A will is a dead giveaway.
If you don’t pay your exorcist you can get repossessed.
With her marriage, she got a new name and a dress.
Show me a piano falling down a mineshaft and I’ll show you A-flat miner.
You are stuck with your debt if you can’t budge it.
Local Area Network in Australia: The LAN down under.
A boiled egg is hard to beat.
When you’ve seen one shopping center you’ve seen a mall.
Police were called to a day care where a three-year-old was resisting a rest.
Did you hear about the fellow whose whole left side was cut off? He’s all right now.
If you take a laptop computer for a run you could jog your memory.
A bicycle can’t stand alone; it is two tired.
In a democracy it’s your vote that counts; in feudalism, it’s your Count that votes.
When a clock is hungry it goes back four seconds.
The guy who fell onto an upholstery machine was fully recovered.
He had a photographic memory which was never developed.
Those who get too big for their britches will be exposed in the end.
When she saw her first strands of gray hair, she thought she’d dye.
Acupuncture: a jab well done.
Here they are:
To write with a broken pencil is pointless.
When fish are in schools they sometimes take debate.
A thief who stole a calendar got twelve months.
When the smog lifts in Los Angeles, U.C.L.A.
The professor discovered that her theory of earthquakes was on shaky ground.
The batteries were given out free of charge.
A dentist and a manicurist married. They fought tooth and nail.
A will is a dead giveaway.
If you don’t pay your exorcist you can get repossessed.
With her marriage, she got a new name and a dress.
Show me a piano falling down a mineshaft and I’ll show you A-flat miner.
You are stuck with your debt if you can’t budge it.
Local Area Network in Australia: The LAN down under.
A boiled egg is hard to beat.
When you’ve seen one shopping center you’ve seen a mall.
Police were called to a day care where a three-year-old was resisting a rest.
Did you hear about the fellow whose whole left side was cut off? He’s all right now.
If you take a laptop computer for a run you could jog your memory.
A bicycle can’t stand alone; it is two tired.
In a democracy it’s your vote that counts; in feudalism, it’s your Count that votes.
When a clock is hungry it goes back four seconds.
The guy who fell onto an upholstery machine was fully recovered.
He had a photographic memory which was never developed.
Those who get too big for their britches will be exposed in the end.
When she saw her first strands of gray hair, she thought she’d dye.
Acupuncture: a jab well done.
Friday, March 4, 2011
Convert PDF to Word; Free and No Downloading
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While it's not possible to replicate the exact formatting and appearance of the original file used in creating a PDF, we believe the free PDF-to-Word converter produces more accurate results than any other tool out there, including the most expensive desktop products.
The free online service is based on the industry-leading PDF-to-Word technology. Check out the service at their website at: http://www.pdftoword.com/
25 Ways to Waste Your Money
Has your budget sprung a leak?
Nearly everyone has spending holes. And as with other kinds of leaks, you may have hardly noticed them. But those small drips can quickly add up to big bucks. The trick is to find the holes and plug them so you can keep more money in your pocket. That extra cash could be the ticket to finally being able to save, invest, or break your cycle of living from paycheck to paycheck.
Here are 25 common ways people waste money. See if any of these sound familiar, then look for ways to plug your own leaks:
1. Carrying a balance. Debt is a shackle that holds you back. For instance, if you have a $1,000 balance on a credit card that charges an 18% rate, you blow $180 every year on interest. Get in the habit of paying off your balance in full each month.
2. Overspending on gas and oil for your car. There's no need to spring for premium fuel if the manufacturer says regular is just fine. You should also check to make sure your tires are optimally inflated to get the best gas mileage. And are you still paying for an oil change every 3,000 miles? Many models nowadays can last 5,000 to 7,000 miles between changes, and some even have built-in sensors to tell you when it's time to change the oil. Check your manual to find the best time for your car's routine maintenance.
3. Keeping unhealthy habits. Smoking costs a lot more than just what you pay for a pack of cigarettes. It significantly increases the cost of life and health insurance. And you'll pay more for homeowners and auto insurance. Add in various other expenses, and the true cost of smoking adds up dramatically over a lifetime -- $86,000 for a 24-year-old woman over a lifetime and $183,000 for a 24-year-old man over a lifetime, according to "The Price of Smoking" (The MIT Press).
Another habit to quit: indoor tanning. There is now a 10% tax on indoor tanning services. As with cigarettes, the true cost of tanning -- which the World Health Organization lists among the worst-known carcinogens -- is higher than just the price you pay each time you go to the salon.
4. Using a cell phone that doesn't fit. How many people do you know who have spent hundreds of dollars on fancy phones, and then pay hundreds of dollars every month for the privilege of using them? Your phone is not a status symbol. It is a way to communicate. Many people pay too much for cell phone contracts and don't use all their minutes. Go to BillShrink.com or Validas.com to evaluate your usage and see if you can find a plan that fits you better. Or consider a prepaid cell phone. Compare rates at MyRatePlan.com.
5. Buying brand-name instead of generic. From groceries to clothing to prescription drugs, you could save money by choosing the off-brand over the fancy label. And in many cases, you won't sacrifice much in quality. Clever advertising and fancy packaging don't make brand-name products better than lesser-known brands
See 20 more money savings tips: http://finance.yahoo.com/banking-budgeting/article/112202/25-ways-to-waste-your-money?mod=bb-budgeting
Nearly everyone has spending holes. And as with other kinds of leaks, you may have hardly noticed them. But those small drips can quickly add up to big bucks. The trick is to find the holes and plug them so you can keep more money in your pocket. That extra cash could be the ticket to finally being able to save, invest, or break your cycle of living from paycheck to paycheck.
Here are 25 common ways people waste money. See if any of these sound familiar, then look for ways to plug your own leaks:
1. Carrying a balance. Debt is a shackle that holds you back. For instance, if you have a $1,000 balance on a credit card that charges an 18% rate, you blow $180 every year on interest. Get in the habit of paying off your balance in full each month.
2. Overspending on gas and oil for your car. There's no need to spring for premium fuel if the manufacturer says regular is just fine. You should also check to make sure your tires are optimally inflated to get the best gas mileage. And are you still paying for an oil change every 3,000 miles? Many models nowadays can last 5,000 to 7,000 miles between changes, and some even have built-in sensors to tell you when it's time to change the oil. Check your manual to find the best time for your car's routine maintenance.
3. Keeping unhealthy habits. Smoking costs a lot more than just what you pay for a pack of cigarettes. It significantly increases the cost of life and health insurance. And you'll pay more for homeowners and auto insurance. Add in various other expenses, and the true cost of smoking adds up dramatically over a lifetime -- $86,000 for a 24-year-old woman over a lifetime and $183,000 for a 24-year-old man over a lifetime, according to "The Price of Smoking" (The MIT Press).
Another habit to quit: indoor tanning. There is now a 10% tax on indoor tanning services. As with cigarettes, the true cost of tanning -- which the World Health Organization lists among the worst-known carcinogens -- is higher than just the price you pay each time you go to the salon.
4. Using a cell phone that doesn't fit. How many people do you know who have spent hundreds of dollars on fancy phones, and then pay hundreds of dollars every month for the privilege of using them? Your phone is not a status symbol. It is a way to communicate. Many people pay too much for cell phone contracts and don't use all their minutes. Go to BillShrink.com or Validas.com to evaluate your usage and see if you can find a plan that fits you better. Or consider a prepaid cell phone. Compare rates at MyRatePlan.com.
5. Buying brand-name instead of generic. From groceries to clothing to prescription drugs, you could save money by choosing the off-brand over the fancy label. And in many cases, you won't sacrifice much in quality. Clever advertising and fancy packaging don't make brand-name products better than lesser-known brands
See 20 more money savings tips: http://finance.yahoo.com/banking-budgeting/article/112202/25-ways-to-waste-your-money?mod=bb-budgeting
Online crime at second highest in decade
CUNA - FAIRMONT, W.Va. (3/4/11)--Just how pervasive has Internet crime become? In 2010, the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) received 303,809 complaints--the second-highest total in IC3's 10-year history and an average of 25,317 complaints per month.
IC3, a repository for victim complaints, is a partnership between the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the National White Collar Crime Center (NW3C). It has received more than two million Internet crime complaints since it was established in 2000.
The three most common complaints:
Others included: computer crimes, 9.1%; miscellaneous fraud, 8.6%; advance fee fraud, 7.6%; spam, 6.9%; auction fraud, 5.9%; credit card fraud, 5.3%; and overpayment fraud, 5.3%.
Of those with dollar losses reported, 21.1% related to non-delivery of payment or merchandise; 16.6% were identity theft, 10.1% were auction fraud, and 9.3% were credit card fraud.
IC3, a repository for victim complaints, is a partnership between the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the National White Collar Crime Center (NW3C). It has received more than two million Internet crime complaints since it was established in 2000.
The three most common complaints:
- Nondelivery of payment or merchandise (14.4% of complaints);
- Scams using the FBI's name (13.2%); and
- Identity theft (9.8%).
Others included: computer crimes, 9.1%; miscellaneous fraud, 8.6%; advance fee fraud, 7.6%; spam, 6.9%; auction fraud, 5.9%; credit card fraud, 5.3%; and overpayment fraud, 5.3%.
Of those with dollar losses reported, 21.1% related to non-delivery of payment or merchandise; 16.6% were identity theft, 10.1% were auction fraud, and 9.3% were credit card fraud.
Text scams, other fraud reported by CUs
CUNA - MADISON, Wis. (3/4/11)--Credit unions in several states are reporting recent text, e-mail, and telephone scams urging consumers to divulge their account numbers. Also, two credit unions reported counterfeit checks, CUNA Mutual recently alerted credit unions about unauthorized wire transfers through the Bredolab Trojan malware, and one credit union reissued debit and credit cards after a theft at a gas station.
Among the reports:
Two credit unions--in Kansas and Pennsylvania--reported counterfeit checks circulating with their names.
Lenexa, Kan.-based CommunityAmerica CU's name is used on counterfeit cashier's checks, said an alert from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. CommunityAmerica does not issue cashier's checks; it issues official checks. The bogus checks include a routing number, 011007092, assigned to Boston (Mass.) Safe Deposit & Trust Co. The credit union's official checks are through Moneygram Payment Systems Inc. and use an account held in the Boston Safe Deposit & Trust Co. The fake items display a security feature statement embedded within darkened top and bottom borders, and the word "CASHIER'S CHECK" in the top center. Authentic checks have a blue cubed background,dark blue top border, and a security feature statement centered above the bottom order. Seven arrows precede the numeric dollar amount.
Also, Allegheny-Ludlum Brackenridge FCU in Brackenridge, Pa., said fraudulent checks with its name, address and ABA number are in circulation and use an account number from a closed account (Life is a Highway March 3). The check--from GALA GLOBAL in Andover, Mass.--is for $980 and is enclosed in a letter about GALA's Member Pulse Survey 2011 for a Walmart evaluation exercise. It asks the recipient to deposit or cash the check "preferably at your bank and NOT at any Walmart location (so the employees at Walmart won't be tipped off)."
Among the reports:
- In Pennsylvania, someone posing as Beaver Valley FCU, Beaver Falls, is texting people and asking for personal debit and credit card information (Associated Press Newswires March 3). Police began receiving calls about the scam Tuesday and called the numbers given in the text message. One goes to North Carolina and another to Massachusetts. Two people fell for the scam and gave account information but no fraudulent transactions have occurred yet. On Thursday New Brighton police reported six such calls. Scammers are contacting people with cell phone numbers in the 724 area code (TimesOnline.com March 3).
- ARC FCU in Altoona, Pa., told the Pennsylvania Credit Union Association recently that members received automated phone messages advising them of a problem with their debit/credit cards and instructing them to call in and enter their card number. Caller ID screens show the calls came from 1402, a number that is not associated with the credit union (Life is a Highway Jan. 31).
- In North Carolina, a text message purporting to be from Tarboro-based Telco CU informs recipients their account has been suspended and asks them to call a telephone number to verify account information. Several people who do not have Telco accounts contacted the Asheville Police Department after receiving the text (Asheville Citizen-Times March 3).
- Similar e-mail scams claiming something is wrong with an account are targeting Mobiloil CU members and nonmembers in Beaumont, Texas, said the Beaumont Police Department (Beaumont Enterprise Feb. 9).
- West Community CU, O Fallon, Mo., cancelled and reissued about 250 cards whose numbers were compromised when a credit card machine was stolen from a Mobil station in St. Louis. (KSDK.com Feb. 21).
- Security Service FCU, San Antonio, said that in January hundreds of people received automated calls from a 1-888 number about deactivated accounts and asking for account numbers (WOAI.com Jan. 31). The messages claim recipients' cards have been blocked and they must enter their account number and personal identification number to reactivate them. An example: "(888-891-2538) Hello. Call us now at 817-350-4570. Security Service FCU." Neither number belongs to the credit union.
Two credit unions--in Kansas and Pennsylvania--reported counterfeit checks circulating with their names.
Lenexa, Kan.-based CommunityAmerica CU's name is used on counterfeit cashier's checks, said an alert from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. CommunityAmerica does not issue cashier's checks; it issues official checks. The bogus checks include a routing number, 011007092, assigned to Boston (Mass.) Safe Deposit & Trust Co. The credit union's official checks are through Moneygram Payment Systems Inc. and use an account held in the Boston Safe Deposit & Trust Co. The fake items display a security feature statement embedded within darkened top and bottom borders, and the word "CASHIER'S CHECK" in the top center. Authentic checks have a blue cubed background,dark blue top border, and a security feature statement centered above the bottom order. Seven arrows precede the numeric dollar amount.
Also, Allegheny-Ludlum Brackenridge FCU in Brackenridge, Pa., said fraudulent checks with its name, address and ABA number are in circulation and use an account number from a closed account (Life is a Highway March 3). The check--from GALA GLOBAL in Andover, Mass.--is for $980 and is enclosed in a letter about GALA's Member Pulse Survey 2011 for a Walmart evaluation exercise. It asks the recipient to deposit or cash the check "preferably at your bank and NOT at any Walmart location (so the employees at Walmart won't be tipped off)."
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Do-it-yourself: Stop junk mail
Your name, address, and buying habits are a commodity that is regularly sold & traded on the open market. These days organizations you deal with virtually all sell your name unless you specifically ask them to stop. Here are some general techniques:
- Whenever you donate money, order a product or service, or fill out a warranty card, write in large letters, "Please do not sell my name or address". Most organizations will properly mark your name in the computer.
- Product warranty cards are are often used to collection information on your habits and income, for the sole purpose of targeting direct mail. They are not required in most situations - avoid sending them.
- On the telephone, ask "Please mark my account so that my name is not traded or sold to other companies".
- Your credit card company probably sells your name the most often -- keep reading for techniques to stop it.
- "Contests" where you fill in a little entry blank are almost always fishing expeditions for names. If you fill one out at a football game, for example, expect to get a catalog of football merchandise within a few months. Avoid these if you don't want the mail.
- Select a false middle name or initial for each charity or business you deal with. Keep track of which letter goes with which organization. You can also select a false road designator, "avenue, place, circle, street, highway, parkway, etc.". This step can be very revealing. Some guides recommend changing the spelling of your name, but this can lead to duplicate mailings.
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Free Babysitting Provided in Wells Fargo Vault
Recently, a fourteen-month-old baby spent four long and frightening hours surrounded by safe deposit boxes after she was locked inside a Wells Fargo Bank vault in Conyers, Georgia.
Picture This. . . .
A little girl and her mother arrive at Wells Fargo Bank to visit with her grandmother, a bank employee. While mom and grandmother visited, the toddler wandered unnoticed into the safe deposit vault. As bad luck and poor security procedures would have it, the vault door time clock was set, the door was shut and the toddler was now locked inside. The baby immediately started to cry when the lights went out and was detected by a security camera monitoring the inside of the vault.
Police and fire department personnel arrived quickly. They pumped oxygen into the vault while awaiting for a police escorted vault door locksmith. After four tense hours of drilling through solid steel, the toddler was returned unharmed to her frantic parents and grandmother.
History Repeats Itself
A few years earlier, at another Wells Fargo (San Francisco) branch on Christmas Eve, the same “free overnight accommodations” were provided to another unsuspecting consumer. Daniel Goldberg, an 81-year-old attorney spent two nights (more than 40 hours) locked inside the bank’s vault. Fortunately for Wells Fargo, the attorney took it in stride and decided not to sue. Had he chosen to do so, Wells Fargo Bank might now be known as Goldberg National Bank.
Other Nationwide Lock-Ins
Unfortunately, these are not isolated incidents. They are only two of many such vault lock-in horror stories. There have been others nationwide, including a sweet 86-year-old lady from Tacoma, WA, a Georgia bank president, an eighteen-month-old baby boy and several other elderly box renters. One lock-in victim was even a dog belonging to the Chairman of the Board. The dog was in the facility on a Saturday afternoon when he decided to play hide-n-seek with his master. You can easily guess where he decided to hide. Each of these cases could have resulted in serious liability, injury or even death, all of which would mean significant losses for these institutions.
Picture This. . . .
Police and fire department personnel arrived quickly. They pumped oxygen into the vault while awaiting for a police escorted vault door locksmith. After four tense hours of drilling through solid steel, the toddler was returned unharmed to her frantic parents and grandmother.
History Repeats Itself
A few years earlier, at another Wells Fargo (San Francisco) branch on Christmas Eve, the same “free overnight accommodations” were provided to another unsuspecting consumer. Daniel Goldberg, an 81-year-old attorney spent two nights (more than 40 hours) locked inside the bank’s vault. Fortunately for Wells Fargo, the attorney took it in stride and decided not to sue. Had he chosen to do so, Wells Fargo Bank might now be known as Goldberg National Bank.
Other Nationwide Lock-Ins
Unfortunately, these are not isolated incidents. They are only two of many such vault lock-in horror stories. There have been others nationwide, including a sweet 86-year-old lady from Tacoma, WA, a Georgia bank president, an eighteen-month-old baby boy and several other elderly box renters. One lock-in victim was even a dog belonging to the Chairman of the Board. The dog was in the facility on a Saturday afternoon when he decided to play hide-n-seek with his master. You can easily guess where he decided to hide. Each of these cases could have resulted in serious liability, injury or even death, all of which would mean significant losses for these institutions.
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