Posts Tagged ‘social issues’

Credit Report Monitoring: Why Do You Need It?

Friday, March 26th, 2010

With the advancement of our technology, shopping has never been so easy and so convenience. Ecommerce has brought shopping to a higher level of experience. One can definitely save time and energy as he or she can buy various goods and services in the comfort of their homes. Though it has brought convenience to us, the increased transactions online, at the same time, had brought identity thieves and scammers. Everyday, more and more people are becoming victims of identity theft and Internet fraud. Being a victim, you may lose your good credit score and feedbacks. It can actually ruin your name, your future. That is why you need to have protection from such cases – credit report monitoring.

What is credit report monitoring?

Credit report monitoring is the checking and controlling of your credit history in order to detect and expose doubtful activities or changes in your account that may be due to identity theft crimes. This kind of monitoring enables an individual to keep their credits on track. In addition to that, it helps one realize their credit situation, whether they are heading southwards or upwards.

What does credit report monitoring can do to you?

It keeps you on the track. Even if you are a regular online customer who uses credit cards in their shopping or a business owner who is seeking more credit, it is very important that you carefully watch your credit score. Also, most lending companies and employers are more careful when doing business with potential clients and employees, respectively. The report also speaks the kind of character an individual has and of course their credit situation. It tells whether one pays his payments on time or if he or she has a bad credit history. The credit report even shows if one had suffered from bankruptcy before or already on the edge of bankruptcy.

It keeps you from incorrect credit reports. Credit monitoring also protects your from erroneous reports. Inaccurate information and data can cause a significant effect on your record. You do not want to have a low credit score so taking care of those inaccuracies early can really make a difference. As a result, it helps you attain and maintain an impressive credit score.

It protects you from identity theft. Ecommerce is quite popular these days as it makes shopping a lot easier and less hassle. But at the same time, it enables identity thieves to gain access to more victims. It is the job of a monitoring program to investigate thoroughly any suspicious activities in your credit account which includes change in address, increase in credit limit, changes in account information, credit inquiries, changes in current accounts and public records.

Factors to Consider When Choosing a Credit Report Monitoring Company

First, you need to know where the credit report monitoring provider receives the data and information. It is preferable to choose a provider that obtains the necessary data in one of the 3 major credit card agencies. Also, you need to determine how frequent they monitor your account. Frequent monitoring increases the chance of catching the identity thieves. There are other services offered by various credit report monitoring companies. This includes the frequency of the released reports and updates and others even provide insurance for identity theft in the cases wherein they made a mistake and overlook a culprit.

Credit report monitoring has gone rampant these days and you never know who’s going to be the next victim. To prepare yourself from this unscrupulous crime, you should try identity theft insurance to keep your peace of mind. Or you may want to trylifelock.


Memorable Events From January Ten Years Ago

Monday, March 22nd, 2010

I was looking through a history book and it was going on about memorable events of ten years ago, but I had forgotten most of them. I have picked out some of the events of exactly ten years ago this month – January, in a word. So here are a few things that you may or in all probability will not remember from January 2000.

1 – on his first day as interim president, Vladimir Putin departed to visit Russian troops in Chechnya.

4 – President Clinton recommends Alan Greenspan to a fourth four year term as Chairman of the Federal Reserve.

5 – President Clinton decides that Elian Gonzalez, a six year old Cuban boy who survived the capsizing of a refugee boat, should be returned to his father in Cuba.

6 – much of Miami is shut down by hundreds of Cuban-Americans protesting the Gonzalez decision. – the S.E.C reports that most partners of Price, Waterhouse, Coopers, the world’s largest accounting firm, contravened regulations requiring that they may not hold shares in firms that they audit. Five partners were fired.

7 – Vice Pres. Al Gore back-tracks on his promise to ensure that all new appointees to the Joint Chiefs of Staff were supportive of permitting gays to serve openly in the military.

8 – AOL announces a merger with Time Warner for $165 billion: the world’s biggest ever.

11 – the British government rules that General Pinochet is medically unfit to stand trial for suspected crimes against humanity in Chile during his presidency.

13 – executives at the nation’s leading drugs companies say they want to cooperate with Clinton to institute Medicare coverage for prescription drugs this year.

15 – Arkan, the notorious Serbian paramilitary leader was shot dead in a hotel lobby in Belgrade.

18 – Helmut Kohl resigns as honorary Christian Democratic Party chairman over allegations of corruption from within the party.

24 – the Supreme Court rules that laws limiting political donations to $1,000 in Missouri are constitutional.

25 – the Congressional Budget Office reports that the flood of tax revenues ensuing from the exceptionally strong economy will last for ten years.

26 – ‘The New York Times’ informs that U.S investigators have unveiled links between a group of Algerians charged with plotting a terrorist strike in the U.S. and Osama Bin Laden, the exiled Saudi accused of bombing two American embassies.

31 – Republican Gov. George Ryan of Illinois halts all executions in the state citing a disgraceful record of convicting innocent people and putting them on death row. – top officials n the C.I.A. are accused of blocking an internal investigation into indications that the agency’s past director, John M. Deutsch, mishandled secret information.

Owen Jones, the writer of this article, writes on many subjects, but is currently involved with custom wall calendars If you have an interest in calendars, organizers or promotional calendars, please go over to our website now at Promotional Desk Calendars


Methods On Identity Theft Protection

Monday, March 15th, 2010

In this cyber age where the information is floating around everywhere, we are very vulnerable to identity theft. Many criminal minds are working on how to manipulate these pieces of information and commit crime. Hence it becomes very important that we are become cautious and take all necessary measures in safeguarding our identity. We get mailer and emails which are sometime relevant but most of the time they are just promotional material. They are also send to extract personal information and also meant manipulate it to their own benefit. Below are few tips on identity theft protection which can be very helpful and easy to implement.

* When we go for shopping or are travelling we have the habit of carrying all the credit card with us, but this only increases the risk of losing them all. So instead of carrying all just make sure that you only carry the ones which you think will be used.

* When you decide on discarding any document make sure either you burn them or shred them so that the information on them cannot be reconstructed and is lost at once. Just do not crush them and throw in the dustbin as they can be at misused. Before you discard any document make sure it does not have vital piece of information on it.

* When disposing any personal documents ensure you either burn them or shred them. Documents such as bank statements should be shredded before disposing of. There are many documents we think are worthless and just crush them and throw them into the bin but before you do that just take a look whether there is any account no or SSN no mentioned on it as then it can be very vulnerable.

* Even when you feed in your personal information online be careful and only share information with site which are authentic and run anti-identity theft programs for more secure access. Choosing your password carefully and having a different password for online transaction is very import for identity theft protection. There is good number computer software that extracts the password that use to login to your bank account or credit card account.

* Cyber crimes are also on there all time high. Choosing your password carefully and having a different password for online transaction is very import for identity theft protection. There is a good number of computer software that extracts the password that use to login to your bank account or credit card account. It is just a matter of second and the identity thief would not even have to work hard to get the information.

You can find many reliable identity theft protection agencies which in a very professional manner will help you to deal with these criminal minded people. In looking for reliable agency, you need to determine the quality of the following aspects: security, establishment, customer services, cost and recovery. Education is the key to prevent identity theft in the first place.

It is best to secure identity theft protection these days. This is to protect yourself from being victimized by identity thieves who penetrate through your personal information like social security and credit cards. You may want to try credit monitoring services.


US Holidays And Holy Days

Friday, February 5th, 2010

Congress and the president have designated ten days as federal holidays. Being ‘federal’, these holidays technically only pertain to federal employees and inhabitants of the District of Columbia, although they are so widely observed that they can be thought of as national holidays.

Legally, it is up to each individual state to select public holidays. If the holiday falls on a Saturday or Sunday, the Friday before or the Monday following is given in lieu to make a long weekend.

New Year’s Day (January 1) – celebrating the New Year dates back to pre-Christian times, when rites were performed to try to ensure the return of Spring.

Martin Luther King Jnr. Day (third Monday in January) – before he was shot dead in 1968, Martin Luther King Jnr. was the foremost civil rights leader in the 1950’s and 1960’s. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964. Congress set this day aside to commemorate his life and accomplishments in 1983.

Washington’s Birthday (third Monday in February) – originally it was commemorated on Washington’s real birthday, the 22nd of February, but it was moved in 1971 to make a long weekend. It is occasionally called Presidents’ Day, because it is close to Lincoln’s birthday on the 12th February.

Memorial Day (last Monday in May) – also called Decoration Day, it honours soldiers fallen in battle.It originates from the Civil War and is traditionally marked by parades and services.

Independence Day (4th July) – this, the most significant US holiday, marks the 1776 signing of the Declaration of Independence from Great Britain. It was first commemorated in 1777 and is marked by fireworks, parades and speeches.

Labor Day (first Monday in September) – this, the suggestion of Peter J. McGuire, the president of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners, was taken up in 1894 to celebrate American workers.

Columbus Day (second Monday in October) – Christopher Columbus and his crew landed in the Bahamas on Oct 12th 1492. It was first celebrated in 1792, although it was not officially adopted until 1909. It is a source of special pride to Italian-Americans, who claim the Genoan explorer as their own.

Veterans Day (Nov 11th) – or Armistice Day commemorates the end of the First World War on Nov 11th 1918. It was made a legal holiday in 1938, but its name was changed in 1954 to honour all American veteran soldiers.

Thanksgiving Day (fourth Thursday in November) – it was first celebrated in Plymouth County, Massachusetts in 1621, the year in which the Pilgrims landed in the New World to give thanks for the new harvest and the new land they had colonized. President Lincoln made it a holiday in 1863.

Christmas Day (December 25th) – Christians commemorate the birth of Jesus Christ.

Owen Jones, the writer of this piece, writes on many topics, but is currently involved with Franklin Covey planner refillss If you have an interest in calendars, organizers or promotional calendars, please go over to our website now at Promotional Desk Calendars

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Protecting Yourself Against Identity Theft

Friday, February 5th, 2010

Identity theft is becoming more and more common nowadays as hackers find new ways to obtain your information. It is the crime wherein one person assumes the identity of another for his or her own personal gain. By acquiring your private personal information, they can spend your money, commit crimes using your identity and use services which are meant for you. It can go on for a while and may be discovered too late when the damage is too big.

One should ask how these culprits get your identity. By simply knowing their usual methods of stealing your information, you can build your first line of identity theft prevention. The protection should start with you and should not all be left to the paid services.

These perpetrators can get your personal information just by going through your trash bin. If you are careless, your billing statements that you throw in the trash can be used to get some of your information. You can either just keep your bills together in a single envelope or if you really do not want them anymore, you can shred or burn the paper before throwing it away. With this, no information is available for them to use.

You should also be careful when doing transactions in public. Others can glance over your shoulder and see what you may write on a piece of paper or input into a computer. Always be aware of the others around you and be sure that you have privacy when providing your personal information.

Many cases of identity thefts are done by gaining remote access to your computer. They can send you scams to your email telling you all sorts of things just to gain information. They can also attach Trojan horses and viruses into files that you download so that they can take control of your computer and acquire your files remotely. Besides updating your computer security with firewall, antivirus, antimalware and other security systems, you should also be aware of what looks like scam. If something asks for your private information online, do not give it unless you are 100% sure that you are giving it to the right people.

Others can also be victimized by inputting their login details into a fake web page. You might not notice any difference since it will really log you in and redirect you to the correct page. However, if it is a fake you will notice that the website address is different. Always make sure to login only on the correct website. Once you have entered your login details, the hackers can then access your account freely.

Providing too much private information on networking sites is not recommended as everyone might be able to view it. But if you really want to, you can at least add protection by setting your privacy to allow only the others that you really know to view your page.

Being a victim of identity theft is not just inconvenient but troublesome as well. By protecting yourself on things you have control of, you can prevent becoming a victim to this crime.

Credit protection has gone rampant these days and you never know who\’s going to be the next victim. To prepare yourself from this unscrupulous crime, you should try identity theft insurance to keep your peace of mind. Or you may want to try lifelock.