THANKS TO DANIEL FOR SENDING THIS IN....

Nine Easy Things You Can Do to Protect Your Identity  

By Jeff_McRitchie

  Identity theft is frequently in the news these days and with good reason. It's become one of the most common crimes and anyone can become a victim of it. This is unfortunate because identity theft can be devastating. It can destroy your credit, drain your finances, and affect your reputation. However, you can fight back. Here are nine easy things you can do to protect your identity:

• One of the best ways to protect your identity is by using a paper shredder. You should shred any document that contains personal information: canceled checks, bank statements, old credit reports, and so on. Cross-cut shredders offer much more security than strip-cut models and there are some devices that can shred items like credit cards and CD's. Shredders are available in a variety of sizes so it's easy to find one that's perfect for your needs and budget.
  
  
• Whenever you're at an ATM or making a purchase with your debit card, make sure that no one can see which numbers you're pressing as you enter your PIN. Likewise, give people space when they're paying for something or banking. It's all about common courtesy.
  
  
• Take care when creating passwords for websites. It's a good idea to use different passwords for different sites and to change your passwords on a regular basis. If you have trouble remembering your passwords, use a program like Password Safe that will keep them under wraps but still allow you to cut and paste them into web forms.
  
  
• Make sure you pick up your mail daily and to mail your items at the post office. It's very easy for someone to break into your personal mailbox and if there's mail in it, he or she will have access to a wealth of personal information.
  
  
• Take the time to read your bank and credit card statements every month so you can detect any fraud that may have occurred. You should also check your credit report on a regular basis and alert the credit bureaus if you notice any suspicious activity. You can get your credit report for free once a year, so be sure to take advantage of the opportunity.
  
  

  Safeguard your banking information

• When you're making a purchase or paying a bill online, you should make sure that you're using a secured site. The easiest way to tell if a website is secure or not is to look at the beginning of the URL. If the beginning reads “https://” you're good to go. Also, try not to make online purchases with a cell phone. Chances are, the connection won't be secure.
• You should try to limit the amount of credit cards you carry. Not only will this make it less likely for someone to steal your identity, you'll have better control over your finances and be less likely to find yourself in a lot of debt. You should also report lost cards when necessary and destroy expired or unwanted ones.
  
  
• Keep your Social Security card and other important paperwork in a safe place such as a locked filing cabinet or a safety deposit box. Also, be careful about giving out your Social Security number. You should do so only when necessary.
  
  
• When it comes time to move to a new residence, make sure you update your address with the post office, friends and relatives, creditors, etc. The last thing you need is to have a complete stranger receiving your mail.
  

Protecting your identity is easy to do as long as you make it a priority and stay vigilant. By following these tips, you'll be doing your part to make sure your identity stays safe. And if you do end up becoming a victim, let the proper authorities (local police, Federal Trade Commission, etc.) know right away so you can nip the problem in the bud. Good luck!

SOURCE

Thanks to Lakehouse @ Going Global - Good time to repost this...Please keep in mind this does not just apply to financial planners...bankers, trusts, etc.


Friday, July 22, 2011

Your Dream of a Lifetime ...

Your dream of a lifetime .. if handled correctly, could be your children's dream and their children's dream .. right on down the line ...

Everyday another site offering investment opportunities of a lifetime are popping up. It seems that anyone these days can pass themselves off as a certified financial advisor. And .. although they may claim to have credentials, it is up to you, the investor, to ask the hard questions. Don't assume because they tell you they have a series 1,2,or 3 license, that they are qualified to invest your hard earned money. Never, ever, feel like you are the ignorant one when they start throwing around terms that you never heard before. The scammer wants you to believe that they know more than you and they want you to believe that Your money will be safe in Their hands.

Don't be too sure about that. Take a look at the following pdf file. http://www.nfa.futures.org/NFA-investor-information/publication-library/scams-and-swindles.pdf

Also, if you do sit down, or correspond over the internet, with one of these fly-by-night "investment advisors", make sure you have a pen and paper handy and ask the questions that you need answered. Believe me, you do not give yourselves enough credit when it comes to trusting your own judgment. You Should! You are in the drivers seat. Remember that. This is not a popularity contest .. this is your money and hopefully your children's money and their children's money. Take your time. Do your homework and seek the advice of a professional that is close to you. It should be someone in close proximity (town, city) where you can talk face to face. The internet may be convenient but it's a dangerous place and it's hard to track someone down if things go terribly wrong. Also, Do not rely on what others have to say as far as references. Remember, references could be part of the "financial advisor's" Team .. Bernie Madoff had a "Team" .. watch/read - Link ~ More Wealth .. Means More Responsibility .. Be Smart .. Be Cautious .. Don't Let History Repeat Itself ...

good luck ... Kel ...
Scams AND Swindles
An Educational Guide to Avoiding Investment Fraud
http://www.nfa.futures.org/NFA-investor-information/publication-library/scams-and-swindles.pdf


SOURCE

Driver License & Identity Protection 

Thanks to Dinar Recaps Post
Post By Smee2 Dinar Vets 02/27/2012  

Someone put up a post about being asked for his driver's license while trying to purchase more dinar and he was upset and wanted to cancel his purchase. There is a legitimate reason for the request and it is actually for YOUR protection. Read on ...

All this commerce by computer is making some strange demands on us, the consumer. I read your post and thought, this must be the next "glitch" that are going to have people pulling their hair out. This used to be an area of expertise for me years ago and though things change, they don't change all that much. So, try this on for size.

Some not-so-nice people, let's call them crooks, will get hold of some of your personal information. Oh heck let's call them identity thieves, it fits. It is fairly easy to get your credit card number, they can get it without you even opening your wallet with some of the newest scanning equipment.
...
They are still getting card numbers with the old double receipt ploy and several other sneaky tricks. But those numbers do not always come with an address. Take a look at your credit cards. Do any of them have your address on them? Didn't think so.

So, these crooks, oh no, I mean these identity thieves get your credit card number. They go on line and they buy ... oh, let's say three million dinar, just as a for instance.

 First of all, if the card is declined at the end of the transaction, they will re-enter the information for the purchase of two million. See, if the card isn't authorized for the amount they are trying to charge, it will be declined.

By lowering the amount once or twice, the thieves are likely to hit on the right amount that will be accepted. If they blow it altogether and none of it is accepted and maybe their lowest amount of the three would be say $1000, then they will try again in a couple of days.

If they try more than three times and it is declined that often, an immediate red flag goes up and you may get a call from the credit card company asking if you are in possession of your card and have you been trying to use it in the past hour, or whatever.

If you have not they warn you that your card may have been compromised. That someone has the number. And then you have the chance to have them stop all transactions on that number and give you a new number and card. Didn't know any of that?

 Well, it could save you a bundle. If the crooks find out that your charging per day limit is $1000 they will charge just under that amount every day until the account limit is reached and the card declined.

Okay, lets get back to the address part of this. The identity thief will start out with your number. And they go through whatever process they have to in order to find out how much they can take at a time from your account. Then they will use it.

If they are ordering on line there is a place to put the delivery address. They can pick a vacant lot. They can specify one or two day delivery in a lot of cases. They can then take a van, wait at the address they gave, take delivery of the goods, and drive off.

In case a vacant lot seems to obvious, they will use an apartment building, and get in to the lobby area and wait there for the day. Each time someone comes to the door to come in, usually a resident, they will come and open the door for them. Why?

Because they want to meet the delivery person even before he tries to push a button for your apartment number, which may not even be on the listing, because the crook may have given a non-existent apartment.

 But he will make sure that he is there to open that door. And when it is the delivery man, he'll ask where the delivery man is going because he (the crook) is waiting for a delivery. "Oh, that's me," he says. And he scribbles a signature and takes the package.

See, if the company you are buying from does not have your real address, and use a phoney supplied by the crook, then the delivery company is delivering to the phoney address and the crook is there waiting, and when you call to complain because you were charged for something you didn't get, didn't even order, didn't even want ... you are the one stuck paying anyway.

And if the crook can give a phoney address, maybe a real building but a phoney apartment number, one that doesn't exist ... the trail ends there.

So, to combat this, companies are now beginning to ask for proof of your address for shipping purposes. Hence the request for a fax of your drivers license.

The day may come when direct mailers and on line sellers may be able to tie into department of motor vehicles, or whatever it might be called where you live, and just by asking you your drivers license number they can look up your address to make sure the address they have been given for delivery is legitimate.

And that, dear DV friends, is why you may be asked for a copy of your driver's licence. So don't go off and get angry with the company ... it is just more progress.

Source

Followup Post to our earlier post on Credit Card & Personal ID Security Info

02/15/2012
 
(Thank you Dorothy for emailing this to Dinar Recaps)

(While the attorney's free security protection advice is all sound, please post an additional enhancement to his list. I am a bank compliance officer, which means my job is to keep up with all banking laws and regulations.)

There is a better protection for your credit report - FREEZE your credit report. You have to contact each bureau separately to do this. Use the toll free numbers the atty listed. You will be provided with a code that you must give to a bank for a loan or store for new charge card. DO NOT carry this code in your wallet!! Lenders cannot access your credit report at all without this code. The only other way to get around this freeze is for you to call and request the freeze be temporarily lifted for a certain period of time (week or two) or for a certain type of transaction. Example -- tell the bureaus you are going car shopping for the next week or 10 days. Car dealers or auto finance companies will be allowed access to your account.

If you experience a stolen wallet, cards or checks - the bureau will typically place a fraud alert on your report. Just means the lender should ask you a few more questions to confirm your ID. If your file a police report you can request an EXTENDED FRAUD VICTIM alert on your credit reports. For this you only have to call one bureau and that one has to let the others know as well. The Fraud Victim category requires you to provide an alternate contact means for the lender to call you to confirm your ID in a setting that is not face to face. If you only have a cell phone, this can be a problem. Also regardless of how much I yell at staff, they make loans all the time to folks with these alerts on their credit reports because too many "credit protection" or "credit repair" schemes just do this on your reports for a nice fee you paid to them for something you can do for free, and these crooks don't provide an alternate contact method - thus watering down the effectiveness of the purpose of a Fraud Alert or the Extended Fraud Victim alert for everyone. SO BE SURE TO FREEZE YOUR CREDIT REPORT for ultimate protection.

-- From a fellow Dinarian who is a bank compliance officer. No, sorry, I have no inside sources at all about foreign currency values or screens. Wish I did, but even my fellow compliance officers at the mega banks don't have access to this type of info. either.

http://www.dinarrecaps.com/1/post/2012/02/followup-post-to-our-earlier-post-on-credit-card-personal-id-security-info.html

Credit Card & Personal ID Security Info


 Emailed To Dinar Recaps Team 02/14/2012
 
ATTORNEY'S ADVICE - NO CHARGE

Not A Joke!!   Even If you dislike attorneys..You will love them for these tips.
Read this and make a copy for your files in case you need to refer to it someday. Maybe we should all take some of his advice! A corporate attorney sent the following out to the employees in his company:

1. Do not sign  the back of your credit cards. Instead, put 'PHOTO ID REQUIRED.'

2. When you are writing checks to pay on your credit card accounts,  DO  NOT put the complete account number on the 'For' line. Instead, just put the  last four numbers.

The credit card company knows the rest of the number, and anyone who might be handling your check as it passes through all the check processing channels won't have access to it.
...
Read More Link On Right
3. Put your work phone # on your checks instead of your home phone. If you have a PO Box use that instead of your home address. If you do not have a PO Box, use your work address.

Never have your SS# printed on your checks. (DUH!) You can add it if it is necessary. But if you have It printed, anyone can get it.

4. Place the contents of your wallet on a photocopy machine. Do both sides of each license, credit card, etc. You will know what you had in your wallet and all of the account numbers and phone numbers to call and cancel.. Keep the photocopy in a safe place.

It is also recommended to have Credit Cards and Driver Licenses protected from personal scanners with RFID protection -

I also carry a photocopy of my passport when I travel either here or abroad. We've all heard horror stories about fraud that's committed on us in stealing a Name, address, Social Security number, credit cards..

Unfortunately, I, an attorney, have first hand knowledge because my wallet was stolen last month.

Within a week, the thieves ordered an expensive monthly cell phone package, applied for a VISA credit card, had a credit line approved to buy a Gateway computer, received a PIN number from DMV to change my driving record information online, and more.

But here's some critical information to limit the damage in case this happens to you or someone you know:

5. We have been told we should cancel our credit cards immediately. But the key is having the toll free numbers and your card numbers handy so you know whom to call. Keep those where you can find them.

6. File a  police report immediately in the jurisdiction where your credit cards, etc., were stolen. This proves to credit providers you were diligent, and this is a first step toward an investigation (if there ever is one).

But here's what is perhaps most important of all: (I never even thought to do this.)

7. Call  the  3 national credit reporting organizations  immediately to place a fraud alert on your name and also call the Social Security fraud line number.

I had never heard of doing that until advised by a bank that called to tell me an application for credit was made over the Internet in my name.

The alert means any company that checks your credit knows your information was stolen, and they have to contact you by phone to authorize new credit..

By the time I was advised to do this, almost two weeks after the theft, all the damage had been done. There are records of all the credit checks initiated by the thieves' purchases, none of which I knew about before placing the alert.

Since then, no additional damage has been done, and the thieves threw my wallet away this weekend (someone turned it in). It seems to have stopped them dead in their tracks.

Now, here are the numbers you always need to contact about your wallet, if it has been stolen:

1.) Equifax:  1-800-525-6285  1-800-525-6285  

2.) Experian (formerly TRW):  1-888-397-3742  1-888-397-3742

3.) Trans Union :  1-800-680 7289  1-800-680 7289

4.) Social Security Administration (fraud line):
1-800-269-0271  1-800-269-0271

http://www.dinarrecaps.com/1/post/2012/02/credit-card-personal-id-security-info-emailed-to-dinar-recaps-team.html

_
Traveling Light in a Time of Digital Thievery
By NICOLE PERLROTH

Published: February 10, 2012

SAN FRANCISCO — When Kenneth G. Lieberthal, a China expert at the Brookings Institution, travels to that country, he follows a routine that seems straight from a spy film.
.

Kenneth G. Lieberthal of the Brookings Institution takes precautions while traveling. He leaves his cellphone and laptop at home and instead brings “loaner” devices, which he erases before he leaves the United States and wipes clean the minute he returns. In China, he disables Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, never lets his phone out of his sight and, in meetings, not only turns off his phone but also removes the battery, for fear his microphone could be turned on remotely. He connects to the Internet only through an encrypted, password-protected channel, and copies and pastes his password from a USB thumb drive. He never types in a password directly, because, he said, “the Chinese are very good at installing key-logging software on your laptop.” What might have once sounded like the behavior of a paranoid is now standard operating procedure for officials at American government agencies, research groups and companies that do business in China and Russia — like Google, the State Department and the Internet security giant McAfee. Digital espionage in these countries, security experts say, is a real and growing threat — whether in pursuit of confidential government information or corporate trade secrets.

“If a company has significant intellectual property that the Chinese and Russians are interested in, and you go over there with mobile devices, your devices will get penetrated,” said Joel F. Brenner, formerly the top counterintelligence official in the office of the director of national intelligence.

Theft of trade secrets was long the work of insiders — corporate moles or disgruntled employees. But it has become easier to steal information remotely because of the Internet, the proliferation of smartphones and the inclination of employees to plug their personal devices into workplace networks and cart proprietary information around. Hackers’ preferred modus operandi, security experts say, is to break into employees’ portable devices and leapfrog into employers’ networks — stealing secrets while leaving nary a trace.

Targets of hack attacks are reluctant to discuss them and statistics are scarce. Most breaches go unreported, security experts say, because corporate victims fear what disclosure might mean for their stock price, or because those affected never knew they were hacked in the first place. But the scope of the problem is illustrated by an incident at the United States Chamber of Commerce in 2010.

The chamber did not learn that it — and its member organizations — were the victims of a cybertheft that had lasted for months until the Federal Bureau of Investigation told the group that servers in China were stealing information from four of its Asia policy experts, who frequent China. By the time the chamber secured its network, hackers had pilfered at least six weeks worth of e-mails with its member organizations, which include most of the nation’s largest corporations. Later still, the chamber discovered that its office printer and even a thermostat in one of its corporate apartments were still communicating with an Internet address in China.

The chamber did not disclose how hackers had infiltrated its systems, but its first step after the attack was to bar employees from taking devices with them “to certain countries,” notably China, a spokesman said.

The implication, said Jacob Olcott, a cybersecurity expert at Good Harbor Consulting, was that devices brought into China were hacked. “Everybody knows that if you are doing business in China, in the 21st century, you don’t bring anything with you. That’s ‘Business 101’ — at least it should be.”

Neither the Chinese nor Russian embassies in Washington responded to several requests for comment. But after Google accused Chinese hackers of breaking into its systems in 2010, Chinese officials gave this statement: “China is committed to protecting the legitimate rights and interests of foreign companies in our country.”

Still, United States security experts and government officials say they are increasingly concerned about breaches from within these countries into corporate networks — whether through mobile devices or other means.

Last week, James R. Clapper, the director of national intelligence, warned in testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee about theft of trade secrets by “entities” within China and Russia. And Mike McConnell, a former director of national intelligence, and now a private consultant, said in an interview, “In looking at computer systems of consequence — in government, Congress, at the Department of Defense, aerospace, companies with valuable trade secrets — we’ve not examined one yet that has not been infected by an advanced persistent threat.”

(Page 2 of 2)

Both China and Russia prohibit travelers from entering the country with encrypted devices unless they have government permission. When officials from those countries visit the United States, they take extra precautions to prevent the hacking of their portable devices, according to security experts.

Now, United States companies, government agencies and organizations are doing the same by imposing do-not-carry rules. Representative Mike Rogers, the Michigan Republican who is chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, said its members could bring only “clean” devices to China and were forbidden from connecting to the government’s network while abroad. As for himself, he said he traveled “electronically naked.” At the State Department, employees get specific instruction on how to secure their devices in Russia and China, and are briefed annually on general principles of security. At the Brookings Institution, Mr. Lieberthal advises companies that do business in China. He said that there was no formal policy mandating that employees leave their devices at home, “but they certainly educate employees who travel to China and Russia to do so.”

McAfee, the security company, said that if any employee’s device was inspected at the Chinese border, it could never be plugged into McAfee’s network again. Ever. “We just wouldn’t take the risk,” said Simon Hunt, a vice president.

At AirPatrol, a company based in Columbia, Md., that specializes in wireless security systems, employees take only loaner devices to China and Russia, never enable Bluetooth and always switch off the microphone and camera. “We operate under the assumption that we will inevitably be compromised,” said Tom Kellermann, the company’s chief technology officer and a member of President Obama’s commission on cybersecurity.

Google said it would not comment on its internal travel policies, but employees who spoke on condition of anonymity said the company prohibited them from bringing sensitive data to China, required they bring only loaner laptops or have their devices inspected upon their return.

Federal lawmakers are considering bills aimed at thwarting cybertheft of trade secrets, although it is unclear whether this legislation would directly address problems that arise from business trips overseas.

In the meantime, companies are leaking critical information, often without realizing it.

“The Chinese are very good at covering their tracks,” said Scott Aken, a former F.B.I. agent who specialized in counterintelligence and computer intrusion. “In most cases, companies don’t realize they’ve been burned until years later when a foreign competitor puts out their very same product — only they’re making it 30 percent cheaper.”

“We’ve already lost our manufacturing base,” he said. “Now we’re losing our R.& D. base. If we lose that, what do we fall back on?”

SOURCE

 

_PD: Changing Phone Number Options
post found at Peoples Dinar in June 2011

I was looking on line for phone options and I found a very cool one (Private TIME PT1000) this might be an options for people that don't want to change their phone number this is a list of what it does: (not promoting anything just giving you a little info that might help)
 
How many unwanted calls do you get every day from telemarketers, wrong numbers, blocked calls and unidentified callers? Too many. Now there’s a way to stop these unwanted callers from disturbing you: Private TIME from Command Communications.
 
Private TIME is a high-quality telephone/speakerphone and digital answering machine with an important difference: A unique Private TIME button, that when activated, allows only callers with code to ring through. Telemarketers are commanded to hang up, while others are able to leave messages on its built-in answering machine, even without your Ring-Through Code.
 
PRIVACY MODE - PrivateTIME feature is ON:
 
Outgoing message #2 commands telemarketers to hang up without ever ringing your phones (example only, user must record):
 
If you know the Ring-Through Code, please enter the number now, otherwise, leave a message at the tone – TELEMARKETERS, PERMANENTLY REMOVE THIS NUMBER FROM YOUR LIST AND IMMEDIATELY HANG UP! ”
Simply give your code to people you want to get calls from - all other calls are automatically sent to its built-in answering machine
No phones in your home will ring unless callers enter your code
Ring-Through Code is programmable (1- 4 digits)
Bright red Private TIME button lights
TWO TIMER SETTINGS
MANUAL – Private TIME feature will stay on until you turn it off
HOUR TIMER – Sets duration for one hour – lets you enjoy your PrivateTIME while eating dinner, watching a movie, reading a book or during your baby’s nap
NORMAL MODE – Private TIME feature is OFF:
Outgoing message #1 is your normal message: (example only, user must record): “We are not available, please leave a message."
Operates as a regular phone and answering machine
All phones in your home ring normally
Unanswered calls go to answering machine after two, four or seven rings (programmable
DIGITAL ANSWERING MACHINE
Digital answering machine holds up to 16 minutes of messages
No tapes or moving parts to break
Voice time/day stamp for each incoming message
Two-way recording allows you to record both sides of a conversation
Answers after two, four or seven rings
Remote operation from any touch-tone phone
Memory backup saves messages in case of power failure when battery (not included) is installed
SPEAKERPHONE
Hands-free operation
Volume control
AND MORE
OFF-HOOK ALERT – Audible alarm and visual indicator alert you to any extension phone left off hook throughout your home – ideal for homes with children or elderly
SPEED DIAL – Three one-touch speed dial buttons for your most frequently called numbers
MEMORY DIAL – 12 memory dial numbers
REMOTE ROOM MONITOR – Calling from any touch-tone phone while away from your home, you can monitor the room where your Private TIME is located

Other devices and more on t
 
http://www.ehow.com/list_7458585_devices-stop-telemarketing-calls.html

Security Info For GPS & Mobile Phone Users
01/28/2012  

Subject: Important to read - makes sense to beware

 
GPS A couple of weeks ago a friend told me that friends she knew had 
their car broken into while they were at a football game. Their car was 
parked on the green which was adjacent to the football stadium and 
specially allotted to football fans. Things stolen from the car included 
a garage door remote control, some money and a GPS which had been 
prominently mounted on the dashboard. 
 
When the victims got home, they found that their house had been 
ransacked and just about everything worth anything had been stolen. 
 
The thieves had used the GPS to guide them to the house. They then 
used the garage remote control to open the garage door and gain 
entry to the house.

The thieves knew the owners were at the football 
game, they knew what time the game was scheduled to finish and so 
they knew how much time they had to clean out the house. It would 
appear that they had brought a truck to empty the house of its contents.
,,
Read More Link on Right
__ Something to consider if you have a GPS - don't put your home
address in it. Put a nearby address (like a store or gas station) so you
can still find your way home if you need to, but no one else would know
where you live if your GPS were stolen. 


MOBILE PHONES I never thought of this.......
This lady has now changed her habit of how she lists her names on 
her mobile phone after her handbag was stolen. Her handbag, which 
contained her cell phone, credit card, wallet... Etc...was stolen. 
 
20 minutes later when she called her hubby, from a pay phone telling 
him what had happened, hubby says 'I received your text asking 
about our Pin number and I've replied a little while ago.' 
 
When they rushed down to the bank, the bank staff told them all the 
money was already withdrawn. The thief had actually used the stolen 
cell phone to text 'hubby' in the contact list and got hold of the pin 
number. Within 20 minutes he had withdrawn all the money from their 
bank account. 


Moral of the lesson: Do not disclose the relationship between you and the people inyour contact list. 

Avoid using names like Home, Honey, Hubby, Sweetheart, Dad, 
Mom, etc....
And very importantly, when sensitive info is being asked through texts, 
CONFIRM by calling back. 

Also, when you're being text by friends or family to meet them 
somewhere, be sure to call back to confirm that the message came 
from them. If you don't reach them, be very careful about going places 
to meet 'family and friends' who text you. 


*PLEASE PASS THIS ON * I never thought about the above! 
As of now, I no longer have 'home' listed on my cell phone

Source

4 Things you might not have known about your Cell Phone
 
For all the folks with cell phones. (This should be printed and kept in your car, purse, and wallet. Good information to have with you.)
  
There are a few things that can be done in times of grave emergencies.
Your mobile phone can actually be a life saver or an emergency tool for survival.
 
Check out the things that you can do with it:


FIRST   (Emergency)
The Emergency Number worldwide for Mobile is 112. If you find yourself out of the coverage area of your mobile network and there is an Emergency, dial 112 and the mobile will search any existing network to establish the emergency number for you, and interestingly, this number 112 can be dialed even if the keypad is locked. Try it out.


SECOND   (Hidden Battery Power)
Imagine your cell battery is very low. To activate, press the keys *3370#. Your cell phone will restart with this reserve and the instrument will show a 50% increase in battery. This reserve will get charged when you charge your cell phone next time.


THIRD   (How to disable a STOLEN mobile phone? )
To check your Mobile phone's serial number, key in the following Digits on your phone:      
  *#06# .
A 15-digit code will appear on the screen. This number is unique to your handset. Write it down and keep it somewhere safe.
If your phone is stolen, you can phone your service provider and give them this code. They will then be able to block your handset so even if the thief changes the SIM card, your phone will be totally useless. You probably won't get your phone back, but at least you know that whoever stole it can't use/sell it either. If everybody does this, there would be no point in people stealing mobile phones.
   
And Finally....
FORTH  (Free Directory Service for Cells)
Cell phone companies are charging us $1.00 to $1.75 or more for 411 information calls when they don't have to. Most of us do not carry a telephone directory in our vehicle, which makes this situation even more of a problem. When you need to use the 411 information option, simply dial:
(800) FREE411  or  (800) 373-3411      
without incurring any charge at all.  Program this into your cell phone now.
This is sponsored by McDonalds.


This is the kind of information people don't mind receiving, so pass it on to your family and friends.  

_Thanks Dave...

Dislike: How Facebook Can Hurt Your Credit

Posted 6 days ago by Libby Kane

Forget “you are what you eat.” When it comes to your trustworthiness as as borrower, you are who you know … online.

Social networks are now being used by some lenders to evaluate whether you’re likely to pay them back.

The New York Observer reports that, while this methodology is still a few years away from common use by major banks, smaller institutions such as microlender Lenddo already use an algorithm based on input from a person’s various social networks to determine her creditworthiness. And more are likely to adopt the practice in the future.

Here’s the kicker: The information used by the algorithm isn’t just what you’ve made public—the banks are requiring your login information. Everything you can see, they can see. And they could even potentially send messages to your contacts.

From the perspective of the banks, “birds of a feather flock together.” They want to reach more customers likely to use their products through you. For a consumer who wants a loan, banks having more information isn’t necessarily better—especially when it’s open to interpretation.

What an Algorithm Can See

When you register with a bank that uses a system like this, you would be required to verify your login info for your social networks, like Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn. Information from the accounts would then be fed into the algorithm, and, using what it could glean from your social media profile and networks, the bank would pass judgment on your borrowing merit. The algorithms, still in development, are closely guarded secrets at present, but they’re essentially a way of crunching even more complex factors to assess how big of a credit risk you might be. As Lenddo’s CEO recently put it, “There’s no reason there shouldn’t be thousands of engineers working to assess creditworthiness.”

So, What’s the Problem?

The fear isn’t so much that the information gleaned from your networks will affect your actual score, but that gaining access to extraneous information that’s currently illegal for a lender to request (like race, marital status and receipt of public assistance) will contribute to systematic discrimination known as “redlining,” where certain segments of the population could be refused loans or charged higher rates based on racial, sexual or other prejudice.

Even seemingly innocuous social info can be damaging to customers. In one case, a Canadian woman’s disability payments for depression were revoked after her employer’s insurance company saw pictures of a beach vacation she’d posted on Facebook. While insurance fraud is common, in this instance, the 29-year-old woman’s doctor had advised her to exercise and socialize with friends. Then, without any notice, the checks stopped coming.

Why Your Networks Matter to Financial Institutions
1. To Leverage Your Connections

This means that banks will both judge you on your friends and use you to make new ones of their own. Their logic? If your friends are upstanding citizens who pay off their loans, you will be, too. And, reciprocally, if you’re responsible, they’re ripe for targeted marketing. Banks can’t message your friends directly, but they can gather names and contact information from the profiles of people in your social circle.

2. To Make Sure You Pay

As anyone who has read “Confessions of a Shopaholic” knows, avoidance is a key tactic when dodging bill collectors. But when the people you owe are authorized to contact your Facebook connections about unsettled accounts, it’s a different story. Although this wouldn’t be any institution’s first course of action, it’s within Lenddo’s rights to post on your own public Facebook wall that you’re behind on payments. And you have to agree to that when you sign up—it’s part of the terms and conditions.

What Can We Do?

Keep an eye on the developments. At the moment, the algorithms are still about three to five years away from public adoption, so there’s no need to panic. But keep in mind that no matter how adept your manipulation of Facebook privacy settings, they’re ineffective to someone who can login as you. If the social network algorithm enters mainstream use, the only real way to eliminate judgment is to refuse to sign those papers to grant lenders access to your networks.

As Dan Tynan of PC World puts it: “Will you be legally required to give your bank access to your Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn profiles when you need credit? Probably not. But they won’t be legally required to approve your loan, either.”

http://www.learnvest.com/2012/01/dislike-facebook-can-hurt-your-credit-score/