A dead man farming? That was the unsettling image that came to mind last November, when a Miami television station analyzed records of federal farm subsidies paid to South Florida residents. By cross-referencing payments against death notices, the reporters found that at least 234 people listed as deceased were still getting checks from Washington; some had been dead for as long as eight years. All told, about $9.5 million in farm subsidies went to folks who were pushing up plants, not harvesting them.

And then there are the rich phonies taking handouts. A government audit found that of the 1.8 million so-called farmers who received federal funds between 2003 and 2006, 2,702 of them had adjusted gross incomes of more than $2.5 million. The list included the co-owner of an unnamed sports team who hauled in $200,000 a year, as well as wealthy residents of the United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia, and Hong Kong—people who are generally not eligible for U.S. government handouts. In all, these millionaires have enriched themselves to the tune of $49 million in taxpayer money.

Why in the world is Washington sending subsidy checks to millionaires, foreign residents, and corpses? The answer can be found in one of the most maddening federal programs around: farm subsidies. Every year, the government spends more than $13 billion on subsidies to farmers and agribusinesses—much of it in cash payments that keep coming regardless of economic and crop conditions. A worthy program conceived during the Great Depression to help struggling American farmers has become a slush fund for corporations—and it remains one of Washington’s biggest sacred cows.

“Farm subsidies are America’s largest corporate welfare program,” says the Heritage Foundation’s Brian Riedl. “They survive as a case study in special interest politics.”

The agricultural industry, with 1,200 registered lobbyists in Washington, spends about $133 million a year to make sure the money keeps flowing. Defenders of farm supports like to hold up the classic image of a hardworking American farmer in his overalls. But small farmers aren’t getting much more than the crust of this pie. Seventy-five percent of all farm subsidies go to just 10 percent of recipients, according to the watch-dog Environmental Working Group.

“So rather than this idea that we are helping family farms or helping the little guy weather the storm, we are subsidizing some of the wealthiest farms in the country,” says Steve Ellis of Taxpayers for Common Sense. The top recipients of farm subsidies don’t have names like Jones or Smith but rather Riceland Foods, Inc., Harvest States Cooperative, and the South Dakota Building Authority.

Oh, and don’t forget the people who are paid not to farm. In 1996, Congress approved payments for farmers regardless of whether they planted, as long as they didn’t develop their land. The payments were supposed to be temporary help and then phased out. But—surprise, surprise!—they kept on coming. And now anyone who owns a patch of land that was declared a farm back then is entitled to an annual government check. Between 2000 and 2006, the government sent $1.3 billion to people who don’t farm, according to the Washington Post.

How does a crazy program like this survive? As usual in Washington: lobbyists. When Congress passed its last big farm bill, in 2008, calls for slashing subsidies came from left and right. But when Rep. Ron Kind, a Democrat from Wisconsin, cosponsored an amendment to actually limit the payments, the response “was a siege on Capitol Hill, with the lobbyists pounding doors and twisting arms.”

In the end, the lobbyists won. Congress passed a five-year, $300 billion plan that increased subsidy payments. Couples with adjusted gross incomes of up to $1.5 million from farming are still able to qualify for help under the new rules.

It’s not just lobbyists who keep this racket going; our lawmakers are guilty too. Take Sen. Kent Conrad, a Democrat from North Dakota, who came to Congress in 1986 vowing to resign if the federal deficit wasn’t brought under control. He kept his promise but seven months later ran again. Now, more than 20 years since he first took office, the deficit has grown by a factor of seven, and Conrad is still on the job, winning big farm subsidies for his state. Although nearly half of North Dakota’s 647,000 residents live in urban areas, over the past decade, it has received an annual average of $715 million in agricultural subsidies—$22,000 a year for every farm in the state. As an author of the 2008 farm bill, Conrad included a new $3.8 billion emergency fund to bail out farmers hit by natural disasters like droughts and floods. Since the bill passed, North Dakotans have received $23 million from the fund; only Texas has gotten more.

Other members of Congress have profited from subsidies directly. Arkansas Democratic senator Blanche Lincoln’s family received more than $700,000 over a ten-year period, and Republican Iowa senator Chuck Grassley, a millionaire deficit hawk, reaped $238,000 in federal dollars from 1995 to 2006.

President Obama has proposed new limits on farm subsidies. Congress has basically ignored him. The president should put his foot down. It’s time for representatives from states gorging on federal bucks to show political courage. The sacrifice should be shared, to be sure. Farm states should join with states that benefit from unneeded Pentagon programs to divvy up the pain of cuts. Otherwise, we’ll never get control of our budget. And we’ll still be sending checks to dead farmers and Hong Kong millionaires.

Do More

Investigate. See who gets farm subsidies at the Environmental Working Group’s state-by-state database farm.ewg.org/farm

Speak up. Contact the House and Senate agriculture committee chairs, Representative Collin Peterson (202-225-2165) and Senator Blanche Lincoln (202-224-4843), and tell them to stop the wasteful spending.

Help out real family farmers. For 25 years, Farm Aid (farmaid.org) has provided funds and services directly to family farmers in crisis.

The most obvious is Unlimited Web Hosting.

Obviously it’s not unlimited otherwise websites like Youtube would not have to spend 2 million a month on their web hosting, or maybe Yahoo can get a hosting account for $6 and get rid of their multi million dollar facility. The scam is that they will kick you off if you actually use too much resource and call it something ambiguous like inodes.

The other downfall is without being able to monitor what each websites limit will be, huge spikes from random websites sharing your server will cause outages, slowdowns, and poor server performance.

The only one that grinds my gears is 100% uptime.

Well once again 100% uptime is impossible in fact no website has done it for more then ten years ever. Even icann.com the registration service that started and holds the internet together does not have a 100% uptime. Google, Yahoo, Facebook and Myspace, none have a 100% uptime. Yet it’s amazing how many small start up web hosts can out do these multi million dollar corporations and the creating company of the internet.

A new way of thinking.

People should consider not using companies that are not honest, it’s setting a bar for a much lower way of doing business which basically boils down who can lie the best or trick people the best.

More and more the things we buy define who we are, saving a dollar to contribute to a company full of lies is is saying something about the consumer. For example clothes are things that are Eco friendly. I hope someday people will consider all purchases with such concern about what they stand for.

This article was written by Charles Yarbrough,

Charles Yarbrough is the president of DWHS Web Hosting. You can read more about him at his blog here: Charles Yarbrough

Ex-Cash4Gold employee Vielka Nephew filed a motion to vacate the default in the company’s lawsuit against her this week, a lawsuit we’re a party to. By getting rid of the default she would then be able to defend herself in the lawsuit and to seek to undo the default injunction which Cash4Gold had obtained against her. One highlight of Nephew’s legal papers is the declaration attached as Exhibit C, in which she says Cash4Gold’s lawyers told her the company would seek jail time for her and Michele Liberis if the statements Liberis posted on the internet about the company — which Cash4Gold alleged to be false and defamatory ? were not removed. Here’s what Vielka declared:

In our conversation, I explained to the lawyer that I was confused about the lawsuit because it was based on comments I had nothing to do with. He suggested that I should speak with Michele Liberis and urge her to remove the comments about Cash4Gold from the internet. I insisted that I was confused by the lawsuit because it had nothing to do with me. He said the best thing for me to do would be to convince Michele Liberis to remove the comments she had posted. He stated his client was willing to seek jail time for me and Michele Liberis if the internet comments were not taken down.

Likely what Cash4Gold’s lawyer referred to was the potential for a contempt of court order for not complying with the directives of the injunction. While possible, it’s unlikely the court would have gone along with it, but how would Nephew, who was not represented by counsel at the time, know that? Another classy move for Cash4Gold.

MODELING, ACTING SCAMS COST A PRETTY PENNY

How you become a target for a scam

Whether your friends tell you you ought to be a model or in the movies because you’re tall, shapely, handsome, funny, etc., or whether your appearance is less than that of an Adonis or Aphrodite and you’ve never acted in anything more impressive than your high school play, you don’t have to look far for confirmation that modeling or acting might be for you. “Children wanted! Print, TV commercials, runway and modeling. Parents get your children started now!” reads one company’s newspaper ad. “Teens and adults: we always need new faces for print, commercial and television opportunities” and “Start your child this month in a new and exciting career in TV and modeling,” says another’s flyer. Another seeks “Asian hair models.” Still another wants “**movie extras** . . . Casting Feature Films. Need real people 18-80. Short/tall/fat/thin. No experience necessary. Work with the Stars for fun/extra money. Work is guaranteed.”

A ready supply of respondents to ads like these exists, and for good reason: The work seems glamorous, and the pay equally glamorous. Whether the ad promises “$100 per hour” or “$500 per day,” or something similarly attractive, or whether it doesn’t, we know without being told again that models and actors are highly paid. Even if you’re willing to admit to physical shortcomings you may have, parents’ assessment of their children’s good looks and talent makes them even easier targets.

How legitimate talent agencies work

What you may not know is that there are legitimate modeling and casting agencies, and there are scams, and unless you know how to tell the difference, it may cost you to find out which is which.

Legitimate modeling or talent agencies secure employment for experienced models and actors. They are licensed by the State, as is explained below.

Legitimate modeling and acting schools offer instruction, for a fee, in poise, posture, diction, skin care, make-up application, etc., but they do not necessarily act as agents or find work for you after you take their classes. You should understand this before you sign up.

How the scams operate

Some of the sadder-but-wiser would-be models and actors (and actresses) who have answered ads like the ones above report being “selected” by the agency and asked to sign a contract. Indeed, some scam artists approach prospects in shopping malls, telling them they’ve got the “look” they’re looking for, and handing out business cards.

Problems with contracts

But from the experience of those who sign these kinds of contract, it’s clear that the contract may not obligate the agency at all, but it will likely obligate you. That is, it may specify that the company is entitled to a percentage of your earnings while it makes no promises about employment. Nevertheless, the agency may give you a build-up that yours (or your child’s) is just the look they need while they put the contract in front of you and hand you a pen. One mother signed quickly because she was told her daughter had been chosen for a commercial and needed classes. After she’d paid more than $3,000, the company wanted still more for head shots. One person who responded to the “Asian hair models” ad was convinced by company representatives that she could become not just a hair model, but a print and commercial model, earning an average of $2,000 per job. All she had to do was put out $400 for photos and just under $400 more for publicity cards.

These classes, photos, and workshops to teach you how to model or how to conduct yourself during an audition, and the like, are a large part of how the talent scams make money. The agency may, for example, refer you to a photographer or insist that you use its own, which reaps either full profit or at least some commission for the agency. (California law does not allow such referrals if the agency has a financial interest in them. Nevertheless, if you’re dealing with a scam operator, that law won’t stop them from making the referral.)

The role of licensing in determining legitimacy

The greatest part of determining whether the agency is legitimate or not has to do with licensing. It’s important to know that talent agencies (this includes, generally, anyone who secures employment or engagements for actors and models) are required to be licensed by the State and bonded. They are not allowed to charge a registration fee or any other fee, whatever they may call it, for registering or listing you for entertainment employment or for photographs, video tapes, or similar services. Furthermore, a licensed talent agency must, in all its advertisements, include its licensed name and address, its license number, and the words “talent agency.” Look for this information if you’re considering answering an ad.

An agency that is not licensed cannot legally advertise that it will help you get employment as a model. In the case of a scam, though, it’s to their advantage not to be licensed. Many that are not simply refer to themselves as “model management” companies and avoid the licensing requirement by refraining from making promises of securing employment. That is, they may deny that they’re offering to find you employment (although their ad may clearly promise it), but claim instead that they’re only giving information about you to directors and others who would have an interest in new talent.

The contract, by the way, should you go so far as to consider signing one, is required to contain these words, in prominent type, on its face: “This talent agency is licensed by the Labor Commissioner of the State of California.” If you are told, even orally, that the agency is going to seek employment for you, look for this statement.

Advance-fee talent services

Some talent “services”, which may or may not also offer to find you employment, charge an advance fee for related services they offer, such as managing or directing your artisitic career, career counseling or aptitude testing, etc., or costumes, auditions, or lessons or other training, or similar services. While not required to be licensed unless they promise employment, they are required to obtain a bond, and they are operating illegally if they do not.

Some legal protections

Recent legislation gives you some added protection if you are dealing with an advance-fee talent service. You have the right to cancel your contract, for any reason, within 10 days after the date on the contract. There is a prescribed procedure for cancellation that you must follow if you want to cancel. It is simple, and it is also required to be clearly stated in your contract.

You are also entitled to a refund of any fees you have paid if you do not receive services you were promised or that you were led to believe would be performed. Your refund must be made to you within 48 hours of your request for it, or the company will have to pay you double. Again, this information is required to be included in your contract.

How to avoid losing money to a scam

It will help you to realize that there are, of course, successful, highly-paid models and actors, and there are successful, highly-paid “real people” types. Nevertheless, the average person’s chance of becoming one is slim.

The hard facts are that legitimate agents work on a commission and get paid when you do. However, legitimate agents do not, as a rule, advertise at all. They’re far more likely to have acting and modeling hopefuls beating down their doors.

If you’re seriously interested in answering an ad, here are some tips to help you avoid losing money to a modeling or talent scam:

* Don’t succumb to pressure to sign a contract immediately. Even though you have 10 days to change your mind and cancel your contract, you are better off to read it thoroughly and make sure you understand it before you sign.
* Get verbal promises in writing. Much of the misrepresentations made in casting and modeling agency scams come from oral representations that aren’t in the contract. In fact, your contract is required by law to be put in writing and to describe the services to be performed and when they will be performed, and how much you will be charged and when your fees are due.
* Get a reliability report on the company from the Better Business Bureau.
* If the agency is licensed, or if it states or implies that it can help you obtain work, verify its license with the California Department of Industrial Relations by calling (415) 703-4846.
* Ask for names and addresses of models or actors who work through the agency and clients who use the agency. Then contact both to verify what you’ve been told.
* Don’t be careless with any of these steps just because the agency may offer a money-back guarantee.

Finally, don’t forget to ask yourself (and answer yourself honestly) a most important question: Was I chosen by this agency because they believe I can make money for them, or because I can pay money to them?

Your legal remedies

If an advance-fee talent service willfully violates any of the provisions relating to such services (if, for example, they ask you to waive your rights relating to their services), or if they breach their contract, and either the violation, or their breach results in injury to you, you may sue them. If appropriate, the court may issue a restraining order. You may also ask for money damages, and you may be awarded up to three times the amount of your damages, plus attorney’s fees and costs.

Remember, though, that it may be difficult to collect a judgment. The Better Business Bureau recommends using caution and taking the steps necessary to prevent loss to a talent or modeling scam.

I got a email today with a attachment saying Barbrough.doc sent to my personal email. Considering it’s my last name is Barbrough and it was sent to my personal email and the it was from the email ericmackx24@googlemail.com which had no record I bit for a second. Yes the email is a from a free email service and the whole thing was obviously a scam but I wanted to see more. Here was the letter:

Dear Barbrough,

I will like to seek your help in a business proposal , which although is sensitive by nature and not what I should discuss with someone I don’t know and have not met using a medium such as this but I do not have a choice .

I am Mr. Eric Mack, personal attorney to late Dr. Edward Barbrough, who died of a cardiac arrest a few years ago leaving behind a large sum of money with a commercial bank in the Island of Seychelles which is a tax free zone, a place where plenty of rich people tend to hide away funds not ready to be used or invested. I will not mention the amount of money which runs into several millions in United States Dollars and name of bank presently until we have agreed to deal. I trust you will understand the need for such precautions.

So far, valuable efforts has been made to get to his people but to no avail, as he had no known relatives more because he left his next of kin column in his account opening forms blank and he has no known relative. Due to this development the bank has come forward to ask us as his personal attorneys to bring forward a close relative to claim the funds otherwise as the Seychelles national laws would have it, any dormant account for five years will be declared unclaimed and then paid into the government purse.

To avert this negative development my colleagues and I have decided to look for a reputable person to act as the next of kin to late Dr. Yarbrough. So that the funds could be processed and released into his account, which is where you come in. my law firm will also act as your personal attorneys since we will be portraying you as being directly related to our late client being from the same country.

All legal documents to aid your claim for this fund and to prove your relationship with the deceased will be provided by us. Your help will be appreciated with 30% of the total sum which I would disclose in my next email Please accept my apologies, keep my confidence and disregard this letter if you do not appreciate this proposition I have offered you.

I wait anxiously for your response.

Yours Faithfully,

Eric Mack

I scanned the email attachment with spybot and avg and it had no viruses so I opened it. Obviously these 419 scams are on any smart internet users radar but they seem to be getting a little more clever.

Developers trying to benefit from the success of others on the App Store is nothing new. The most common method thus far has been to use the names of some of the more popular apps in the description of a different app, so when an individual searches for the more popular app, the seedy developer’s application comes up as well. To date, Apple hasn’t done anything about this tactic.

Chances are that if you have browsed the iTunes Store or watched prime time television, you have at least seen the popular eBook reader Classics at least in passing. Apple has featured it in one of its iPhone application advertisements and the UI has drawn some critical acclaim from end users. As a result, the application has been doing well; well enough that it has essentially been copied, right down to its images.

Brought to our attention by a reader, we bring you Classics: Jane Austen by Diego Dominguez Ferrera of Ubiklabs. The application is a collection of ebooks by Jane Austen bundled together in a $2.99 package. Look familiar? It should, as the visual styling is very similar to Classics as seen in these two

The visual styles are too similar to be coincidence. Let’s take a look at the wood rendering side by side without any of the books or shelves, torn from the .ipa of each application.

See the difference? We don’t either. That’s because they are exactly the same; the files only differ in their size because the ripoff has been compressed a bit more than the original. Mr. Ferrera might deny it’s the same image and perhaps even claim they were both pulled from the same royalty free service (we were unable to contact Ferrera, so we are merely speculating about his answers to these questions). However, the file name for this and other files are mirrored from Classics, which seems to point to a direct rip. Update: The developers of Classics have let us know that all of the art, including the bookshelf, UI, book spines, and more were created specifically for Classics by David Lanham.

This doesn’t end with graphics either; the all out copying extends to the page flip sounds and even the app’s feature list.

Social Networking Scams

“I’m traveling in London and I’ve lost my wallet. Can you wire some money?”
Social networking sites have opened a whole new door for social engineering scams, according to Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant with U.K.-based security firm Sophos. One of the latest involves the criminal posing as a Facebook “friend.” They send a message or IM on Facebook claiming to be stuck in a foreign city and they say they need money.

“The claim is often that they were robbed while traveling and the person asks the Facebook friend to wire money so everything can be fixed,” said Cluley.

One can never be certain the person they are talking to on Facebook is actually the real person, he noted. Criminals are stealing passwords, hacking accounts and posing as friends for financial gain.

“If a person has chosen a bad password, or had it stolen through malware, it is easy for a con to wear that cloak of trustability,” said Cluley. “Once you have access to a person’s account, you can see who their spouse is, where they went on holiday the last time. It is easy to pretend to be someone you are not.”

“Someone has a secret crush on you! Download this application to find who it is!”
Facebook has thousands of applications users can download. Superpoke is one example of a popular application many users download to enhance their Facebook experience. But many are not trustworthy, according to Cluley.

“It is impossible for Facebook to vet all of the applications people write,” he said.

Sophos, which tracks cybercrime trends, is seeing Facebook applications that install adware, which cause pop-up ads to appear on a user’s screen. The other danger, according to Cluley, is that installing many of these applications means you give a third-party access to your personal information on your profile.

“Even if they are legitimate, can you trust them to look after your data properly?” said Cluley. “A lot of these applications are really jokey. You don’t really need those. People should consider carefully which ones they choose to accept.”

“Did you see this video of you? Check out this link!”
Sophos is also seeing an increase in Spam on Twitter, the popular social network where users “Tweet” quick one line messages to others in their network (Read: 3 Ways a Twitter Hack Can Hurt You).

A spam campaign on Twitter in recent weeks involved a Tweet that said “Did you see this video of you?”

“If you think the link is from a friend, you are much more likely to click on it,” said Cluley.

Unfortunately, users who clicked on the link ended up at a bogus site that only looked like the Twitter web site. Once there, unsuspecting Twitterers entered passwords, which then ended up in the hands of hackers.
Office Offenses

“This is Chris from tech services. I’ve been notified of an infection on your computer.”
Before there were computers, email, web browsers and social network sites for communication, there was the phone. And although it may seem archaic now, it is still a handy way to pull off a social engineering scam, according to Chris Nickerson, founder of Lares, a Colorado-based security consultancy.

Nickerson said scammers often take advantage of a timely event to strike. The Downaup worm that is currently infecting many PCs is a good example (Read Downadup Worm Now Infects 1 in every 16 PCs). Nickerson’s firm conducts what he calls ‘Red Team Testing’ for clients using techniques that involve social engineering to see where a company is vulnerable.

“I will call someone and say “I’ve been informed that you’ve been infected with this worm.’ And then I walk them through a bunch of screens. They will see things like registry lines and start to get nervous with the technicality of it. Eventually, I say ‘Look, why don’t I fix this for you? Give me your password and I will deal with it and call you back when I am done.’”

The strategy plays on a person’s fear and lack of comfort with tech, said Nickerson.

“If you can put someone in a position where they think they are in trouble, and then be the one to fix it, you automatically gain their trust.”

“Hi, I’m from the rep from Cisco and I’m here to see Nancy.”
Nickerson recently pulled off a successful social engineering exercise for a client by wearing a $4 Cisco shirt that he got at a thrift store (Read: Anatomy of a Hack).

Criminals will often take weeks and months getting to know a place before even coming in the door. Posing as a client or service technician is one of many possibilities. Knowing the right thing to say, who to ask for, and having confidence are often all it takes for an unauthorized person to gain access to a facility, according to Nickerson.

Well, cookies can’t hurt either. Nickerson said he always brings cookies when he is trying to gain the trust of an office staff. In fact, a 2007 diamond heist at the ABN Amro Bank in Antwerp, Belgium involved an elderly man who offered the female staff chocolates and eventually gained their trust with regular visits while he pretended to be a successful businessman.

“It was just plain old chocolate,” said Nickerson. “Sweets loosen everybody up.”

Ultimately the bank lost 120,000 carats of diamonds because the man was able to gain enough trust to be given off-hours access to the bank’s vault.

“Can you hold the door for me? I don’t have my key/access card on me.”
In the same exercise where Nickerson used his shirt to get into a building, he had a team member wait outside near the smoking area where employees often went for breaks. Assuming his team member was simply a fellow-office-smoking mate, employees let him in the back door with out question.

This kind of thing goes on all the time, according to Nickerson. The tactic is also known as tailgating. Many people just don’t ask others to prove they have permission to be there. But even in places where badges or other proof is required to roam the halls, fakery is easy, he said.

“I usually use some high-end photography to print up badges to really look like I am supposed to be in that environment. But they often don’t even get checked. I’ve even worn a badge that said right on it ‘Kick me out’ and I still was not questioned.”
Phishing Lures

“You have not paid for the item you recently won on eBay. Please click here to pay.”
“We see emails impersonating complaints from eBay for non-payment of winning bids,” said Shira Rubinoff, founder of Green Armor Solutions, a security software firm in Hackensack, New Jersey. “Many people use eBay, and users often bid days before a purchase is complete. So, it’s not unreasonable for a person to think that he or she has forgotten about a bid they made a week prior.”

Rubinoff, who was once a phishing victim herself and was inspired to found Green Armor after the incident, said this kind of ploy plays to a person’s concerns about negative impact on their eBay score.

“Since people spend years building eBay feedback score or “reputation,” people react quickly to this type of email. But, of course, it leads to a phishing site.”

Rubinoff recommends not clicking on any emails of this kind. Instead, if you are concerned about something like your eBay score, go to eBay directly by typing the url into the browser bar on your own.

“You’ve been let go. Click here to register for severance pay. ”
With the economy in the state it is in now, people are afraid for their jobs and criminals are taking advantage of that fear, said Rubinoff. A common tactic includes sending an email to employees that looks like it is from the employer. The message appears to relay news that requires a quick response.

“It can be an email that appears to be from HR that says: ‘You have been let go due to a layoff. If you wish to register for severance please register here,’ and includes a malicious link.”

No one wants to be the person that causes problems in this economy, so any email that appears to be from an employer will likely elicit a response, noted Rubinoff. Lares’ Nickerson has also seen cons that use fake employer emails.

“It might say, ‘In an effort to cut costs, we are sending W-2 forms electronically this year,’” said Nickerson.

What are the steps I should take if I’m a victim of identity theft?

If you are a victim of identity theft, take the following four steps as soon as possible, and keep a record with the details of your conversations and copies of all correspondence.

1. Place a fraud alert on your credit reports, and review your credit reports.

Fraud alerts can help prevent an identity thief from opening any more accounts in your name. Contact the toll-free fraud number of any of the three consumer reporting companies below to place a fraud alert on your credit report. You only need to contact one of the three companies to place an alert. The company you call is required to contact the other two, which will place an alert on their versions of your report, too. If you do not receive a confirmation from a company, you should contact that company directly to place a fraud alert.

TransUnion: 1-800-680-7289; www.transunion.com; Fraud Victim Assistance Division, P.O. Box 6790, Fullerton, CA 92834-6790

Equifax: 1-800-525-6285; www.equifax.com; P.O. Box 740241, Atlanta, GA 30374-0241

Experian: 1-888-EXPERIAN (397-3742); www.experian.com; P.O. Box 9532, Allen, TX 75013

Once you place the fraud alert in your file, you’re entitled to order one free copy of your credit report from each of the three consumer reporting companies, and, if you ask, only the last four digits of your Social Security number will appear on your credit reports. Once you get your credit reports, review them carefully. Look for inquiries from companies you haven’t contacted, accounts you didn’t open, and debts on your accounts that you can’t explain. Check that information, like your Social Security number, address(es), name or initials, and employers are correct. If you find fraudulent or inaccurate information, get it removed. See Correcting Fraudulent Information in Credit Reports to learn how. When you correct your credit report, use an Identity Theft Report with a cover letter explaining your request, to get the fastest and most complete results.

Continue to check your credit reports periodically, especially for the first year after you discover the identity theft, to make sure no new fraudulent activity has occurred.

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2. Close the accounts that you know, or believe, have been tampered with or opened fraudulently.

Call and speak with someone in the security or fraud department of each company. Follow up in writing, and include copies (NOT originals) of supporting documents. It’s important to notify credit card companies and banks in writing. Send your letters by certified mail, return receipt requested, so you can document what the company received and when. Keep a file of your correspondence and enclosures.

When you open new accounts, use new Personal Identification Numbers (PINs) and passwords. Avoid using easily available information like your mother’s maiden name, your birth date, the last four digits of your Social Security number or your phone number, or a series of consecutive numbers.

If the identity thief has made charges or debits on your accounts, or has fraudulently opened accounts, ask the company for the forms to dispute those transactions:

* For charges and debits on existing accounts, ask the representative to send you the company’s fraud dispute forms. If the company doesn’t have special forms, use the sample letter to dispute the fraudulent charges or debits. In either case, write to the company at the address given for “billing inquiries,” NOT the address for sending your payments.
* For new unauthorized accounts, you can either file a dispute directly with the company or file a report with the police and provide a copy, called an “Identity Theft Report,” to the company.
o If you want to file a dispute directly with the company, and do not want to file a report with the police, ask if the company accepts the FTC’s ID Theft Affidavit (PDF, 56 KB). If it does not, ask the representative to send you the company’s fraud dispute forms.
o However, filing a report with the police and then providing the company with an Identity Theft Report will give you greater protection.  For example, if the company has already reported these unauthorized accounts or debts on your credit report, an Identity Theft Report will require them to stop reporting that fraudulent information. Use the cover letter to explain to the company the rights you have by using the Identity Theft Report.  More information about getting and using an Identity Theft Report can be found here.

Once you have resolved your identity theft dispute with the company, ask for a letter stating that the company has closed the disputed accounts and has discharged the fraudulent debts. This letter is your best proof if errors relating to this account reappear on your credit report or you are contacted again about the fraudulent debt.

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3. File a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission.

You can file a complaint with the FTC using the online complaint form; or call the FTC’s Identity Theft Hotline, toll-free: 1-877-ID-THEFT (438-4338); TTY: 1-866-653-4261; or write Identity Theft Clearinghouse, Federal Trade Commission, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20580.  Be sure to call the Hotline to update your complaint if you have any additional information or problems.

By sharing your identity theft complaint with the FTC, you will provide important information that can help law enforcement officials across the nation track down identity thieves and stop them. The FTC can refer victims’ complaints to other government agencies and companies for further action, as well as investigate companies for violations of laws the agency enforces.

Additionally, you can provide a printed copy of your online Complaint form to the police to incorporate into their police report.  The printed FTC ID Theft Complaint, in conjunction with the police report, can constitute an Identity Theft Report and entitle you to certain protections.  This Identity Theft Report can be used to (1) permanently block fraudulent information from appearing on your credit report; (2) ensure that debts do not reappear on your credit report; (3) prevent a company from continuing to collect debts that result from identity theft; and (4) place an extended fraud alert on your credit report.

4. File a report with your local police or the police in the community where the identity theft took place.

Call your local police department and tell them that you want to file a report about your identity theft.   Ask them if you can file the report in person.   If you cannot, ask if you can file a report over the Internet or telephone.  See below for information about Automated Reports.
If the police are reluctant to take your report, ask to file a “Miscellaneous Incident” report, or try another jurisdiction, like your state police. You also can check with your state Attorney General’s office to find out if state law requires the police to take reports for identity theft. Check the Blue Pages of your telephone directory for the phone number or check www.naag.org for a list of state Attorneys General.

When you go to your local police department to file your report, bring a printed copy of your FTC ID Theft Complaint form, your cover letter, and your supporting documentation. The cover letter explains why a police report and an ID Theft Complaint are so important to victims.

Ask the officer to attach or incorporate the ID Theft Complaint into their police report. Tell them that you need a copy of the Identity Theft Report (the police report with your ID Theft Complaint attached or incorporated)to dispute the fraudulent accounts and debts created by the identity thief. (In some jurisdictions the officer will not be able to give you a copy of the official police report, but should be able to sign your Complaint and write the police report number in the “Law Enforcement Report” section.)

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What is a fraud alert?
There are two types of fraud alerts: an initial alert, and an extended alert.

* An initial fraud alert stays on your credit report for at least 90 days. You may ask that an initial fraud alert be placed on your credit report if you suspect you have been, or are about to be, a victim of identity theft. An initial alert is appropriate if your wallet has been stolen or if you’ve been taken in by a “phishing” scam. With an initial fraud alert, potential creditors must use what the law refers to as “reasonable policies and procedures” to verify your identity before issuing credit in your name.  However, the steps potential creditors take to verify your identity may not always alert them that the applicant is not you.  When you place an initial fraud alert on your credit report, you’re entitled to order one free credit report from each of the three nationwide consumer reporting companies, and, if you ask, only the last four digits of your Social Security number will appear on your credit reports.
* An extended fraud alert stays on your credit report for seven years. You can have an extended alert placed on your credit report if you’ve been a victim of identity theft and you provide the consumer reporting company with an Identity Theft Report. An automated Identity Theft Report, such as the printed ID Theft Complaint available from this Web site, should be sufficient to obtain an extended fraud alert. With an extended fraud alert, potential creditors must actually contact you, or meet with you in person, before they issue you credit.  When you place an extended alert on your credit report, you’re entitled to two free credit reports within twelve months from each of the three nationwide consumer reporting companies. In addition, the consumer reporting companies will remove your name from marketing lists for pre-screened credit offers for five years unless you ask them to put your name back on the list before then.

To place either of these alerts on your credit report, or to have them removed, you will be required to provide appropriate proof of your identity: that may include your Social Security number, name, address and other personal information requested by the consumer reporting company.

As mentioned, depending on the type of fraud alert you place, potential creditors must either contact you or take reasonable steps to verify your identity.  This may cause some delays if you’re trying to obtain credit. To compensate for possible delays, you may wish to include a cell phone number, where you can be reached easily, in your alert. Remember to keep all contact information in your alert current.

What does a fraud alert not do?

While a fraud alert can help keep an identity thief from opening new accounts in your name, it’s not a solution to all types of identity theft.  It will not protect you from an identity thief using your existing credit cards or other accounts.  It also will not protect you from an identity thief opening new accounts in your name that do not require a credit check – such as a telephone, wireless, or bank account.  And, if there’s identity theft already going on when you place the fraud alert, the fraud alert alone won’t stop it.  A fraud alert, however, can be extremely useful in stopping identity theft that involves opening a new line of credit.

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What is a credit freeze?

Many states have laws that let consumers “freeze” their credit – in other words, letting a consumer restrict access to his or her credit report. If you place a credit freeze, potential creditors and other third parties will not be able to get access to your credit report unless you temporarily lift the freeze.  This means that it’s unlikely that an identity thief would be able to open a new account in your name.  Placing a credit freeze does not affect your credit score – nor does it keep you from getting your free annual credit report, or from buying your credit report or score.

Credit freeze laws vary from state to state.  In some states, anyone can freeze their credit file, while in other states, only identity theft victims can.  The cost of placing, temporarily lifting, and removing a credit freeze also varies.  Many states make credit freezes free for identity theft victims, while other consumers pay a fee – typically $10.  It’s also important to know that these costs are for each of the credit reporting agencies.  If you want to freeze your credit, it would mean placing the freeze with each of three credit reporting agencies, and paying the fee to each one.

You can find more information about credit freeze laws specific to your state by clicking here, including information on how to place one.

Who can access my credit report if I place a credit freeze?

If you place a credit freeze, you will continue to have access to your free annual credit report.  You’ll also be able to buy your credit report and credit score even after placing a credit freeze.  Companies that you do business with will still have access to your credit report – for example, your mortgage, credit card, or cell phone company – as would collection agencies that are working for one of those companies.  Companies will also still be able to offer you prescreened credit.  Those are the credit offers you receive in the mail that you have not applied for.  Additionally, in some states, potential employers, insurance companies, landlords, and other non-creditors can still get access to your credit report with a credit freeze in place.

Can I temporarily lift my credit freeze if I need to let someone check my credit report?

If you want to apply for a loan or credit card, or otherwise need to give someone access to your credit report and that person is not covered by an exception to the credit freeze law, you would need to temporarily lift the credit freeze.  You would do that by using a PIN that each credit reporting agency would send once you placed the credit freeze.  In most states, you’d have to pay a fee to lift the credit freeze.  Most states currently give the credit reporting agencies three days to lift the credit freeze.  This might keep you from getting “instant” credit, which may be something to weigh when considering a credit freeze.

What does a credit freeze not do?

While a credit freeze can help keep an identity thief from opening most new accounts in your name, it’s not a solution to all types of identity theft.  It will not protect you, for example, from an identity thief who uses your existing credit cards or other accounts.   There are also new accounts, such as telephone, wireless, and bank accounts, which an ID thief could open without a credit check.  In addition, some creditors might open an account without first getting your credit report.  And, if there’s identity theft already going on when you place the credit freeze, the freeze itself won’t be able to stop it.  While a credit freeze may not protect you in these kinds of cases, it can protect you from the vast majority of identity theft that involves opening a new line of credit.

What’s the difference between a credit freeze and a fraud alert?

A fraud alert is another tool for people who’ve had their ID stolen – or who suspect it may have been stolen.  With a fraud alert in place, businesses may still check your credit report.  Depending on whether you place an initial 90-day fraud alert or an extended fraud alert, potential creditors must either contact you or use what the law refers to as “reasonable policies and procedures” to verify your identity before issuing credit in your name.  However, the steps potential creditors take to verify your identity may not always alert them that the applicant is not you.

A credit freeze, on the other hand, will prevent potential creditors and other third parties from accessing your credit report at all, unless you lift the freeze or already have a relationship with the company.  Some consumers use credit freezes because they feel they give more protection.  As with credit freezes, fraud alerts are mainly effective against new credit accounts being opened in your name, but will likely not stop thieves from using your existing accounts, or opening new accounts such as new telephone or wireless accounts, where credit is often not checked.  Also, only people who’ve had their ID stolen – or who suspect it may have been stolen, may place fraud alerts.  In some states, anyone can place a credit freeze.

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What is an Identity Theft Report?

An Identity Theft Report is a police report with more than the usual amount of detail. The Identity Theft Report includes enough detail about the crime for the credit reporting companies and the businesses involved to verify that you are a victim—and to know which accounts and inaccurate information came from identity theft. Normal police reports often don’t have many details about the accounts that were opened or misused by identity thieves.

The printed copy of your ID Theft Complaint Form can provide additional details for the police report. The police are not legally required to use the FTC’s ID Theft Complaint Form as part of their report. Your police department may have another way to incorporate the details of your crime. In these cases, the police report by itself may serve as an Identity Theft Report.
When you file your Identity Theft Report, the credit reporting companies will permanently block fraudulent information from appearing on your credit report. Filing an Identity Theft Report with the credit reporting companies or with the companies where the thief used your information should ensure that these debts do not reappear on your credit report. An Identity Theft Report can prevent a company from continuing to try to collect debts that result from identity theft, or sell those debts to others for collection. It also allows you to place an extended fraud alert on your credit report. The credit reporting companies may decline your Identity Theft Report if it does not contain enough detail for them to verify that you are a victim of identity theft. In that case, the credit reporting companies have certain timeframes for responding to your Identity Theft Report with requests for additional information.

Creating and using an Identity Theft Report may require two steps:

Step One begins with filing your report with a local, state, or federal law enforcement agency. These agencies may include your local police department, your State Attorney General, the FBI, the U.S. Secret Service, the FTC, or the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. Some state laws require local police departments to take reports, but there is no law requiring federal agencies to take a report.

In your report, you should give as much information as you can about the crime, including anything you know about the dates of the identity theft, the fraudulent accounts opened and the alleged identity thief. It may help you give the necessary level of detail if you file an online complaint with the FTC, and then ask your local police department to incorporate a copy of the printed ID Theft Complaint into its police report.

Step Two begins when you send the businesses involved and the credit reporting companies a copy of your Identity Theft Report, which you should do by certified mail, return receipt requested. The companies may ask you to give them more information or documentation to help them verify your identity theft. They have to make their request within 15 days of receiving your Identity Theft Report. The credit reporting company or business then has 15 more days to work with you to make sure your Identity Theft Report contains everything they need. They are also entitled to five days to review any information you give them. For example, if you give them information 11 days after they request it, they have until day 16 to make a final decision.

How do I get an Identity Theft Report?
The officer taking your police report can attach or incorporate your ID Theft Complaint into their police report to add more detail. Ask the officer to give you a copy of the official police report that incorporates or attaches your ID Theft Complaint. In some places the officer will not be able to give you a copy of the official police report, but should be able to sign a copy of your ID Theft Complaint and write the police report number in the “Law Enforcement Report” section. Be sure to keep a copy of the police report number
The police are not legally required to use the FTC’s ID Theft Complaint Form as part of their report. Your police department may have another way to include all the details of your identity theft information in their police report. In these cases, the police report by itself may serve as an Identity Theft Report.

Because the detailed Identity Theft Report is required for you to get many important protections, you may wish to use the Law Enforcement Cover Letter to explain to the police department how important it is for you to get a police report – as well as the legal protections that a detailed Identity Theft Report gives you.

How do I submit my Identity Theft Report to the credit reporting companies, or to businesses where the thief used my information?
When you send a copy of your Identity Theft Report to the fraud departments of the three major credit reporting companies, include a copy of the credit reporting company cover letter, along with copies of your supporting documentation. Send your information by certified mail with return receipt requested. The mailing addresses for sending Identity Theft Reports to the three major credit reporting companies are on the cover letter.
When writing to the fraud departments of each of the companies where the identity thief has committed fraud using your personal information, include copies of the Identity Theft Report, your supporting documentation, and the appropriate cover letter: for fraud on your existing accounts, or for fraud on new accounts. Always send this information by certified mail, with a return receipt requested.

The credit reporting companies have certain timeframes for responding to your Identity Theft Report with requests for additional information.

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What do I do if the police only take reports about identity theft over the Internet or telephone?

The FTC ID Theft Complaint has a special section for police reports that are not filed face-to-face, to help you use it to supplement an automated police report. If you file a police report online or over the phone, complete the “Automated Report Information” block of the ID Theft Complaint. Attach a copy of any filing confirmation received from the police.
If you have a choice, however, you should file your police report in person and not use an automated report.  It is more difficult for the consumer reporting company and information provider to verify the information in an automated report, and they will likely require additional information and/or documentation.

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What do I do if the local police won’t take a report?

There are efforts at the federal, state and local level to ensure that local law enforcement agencies understand identity theft, its impact on victims, and the importance of taking a police report. However, we still hear that some departments are not taking reports. The following tips may help you to get a report if you’re having difficulties:

* Provide the officer with a copy of the Law Enforcement Cover Letter that explains why the police report and the Identity Theft Report are so important to both victims and industry.
* Furnish as much documentation as you can to prove your case. Debt collection letters, credit reports, a copy of your printed ID Theft Complaint, and other evidence of fraudulent activity can help demonstrate the legitimacy of your case.  Provide the police a copy of “Remedying the Effects of Identity Theft,” which shows that police reports are necessary to secure your rights.
* Be persistent if local authorities tell you that they can’t take a report. Stress the importance of a police report; many creditors require one to resolve your dispute. Remind them that consumer reporting companies will automatically block the fraudulent accounts and bad debts from appearing on your credit report, but only if you can give them a copy of the police report. In addition, a police report may be needed to obtain the fraudulent application and other records the company has.
* If you’re told that identity theft is not a crime under your state law, ask to file a Miscellaneous Incident Report instead.
* If you can’t get the local police to take a report, try your county police. If that doesn’t work, try your state police.

Some states require the police to take reports for identity theft. Check with the office of your State Attorney General, which can be found at www.naag.org, to find out if your state has this law.

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How do I prove that I’m an identity theft victim?

Applications or other transaction records related to the theft of your identity may help you prove that you are a victim. For example, you may be able to show that the signature on an application is not yours. These documents also may contain information about the identity thief that is valuable to law enforcement.  By law, companies must give you a copy of the application or other business transaction records relating to your identity theft if you submit your request in writing, accompanied by a police report.  Read more about getting information from businesses, and use this model letter to request this information.

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Should I apply for a new Social Security number?

Under certain circumstances, the Social Security Administration may issue you a new Social Security number – at your request – if, after trying to resolve the problems brought on by identity theft, you continue to experience problems. Consider this option carefully. A new Social Security number may not resolve your identity theft problems, and may actually create new problems. For example, a new Social Security number does not necessarily ensure a new credit record because credit bureaus may combine the credit records from your old Social Security number with those from your new Social Security number. Even when the old credit information is not associated with your new Social Security number, the absence of any credit history under your new Social Security number may make it more difficult for you to get credit. And finally, there’s no guarantee that a new Social Security number wouldn’t also be misused by an identity thief.

City boy: ‘We were aggressive with our sales pitch and didn’t give risk warnings if we could avoid it’. Photograph: Grant Smith/Rex Features

Pacific Continental Securities was possibly the UK’s most notorious firm of stockbrokers. Its team of young salesmen used high-pressure tactics to lure clients into buying shares that for most investors were almost a guaranteed route to financial ruin.

After a wave of complaints, the Financial Services Authority finally banned the firm from taking on new business last year. Pacific Continental went bust shortly afterwards.

But as hapless investors lost their savings, the brokers raked it in.

Today a former broker at Pacific Continental reveals how he was encouraged to make false and misleading claims to sell shares – and warns that many of his former bosses and colleagues have now moved to other City firms. Innocent individuals, he claims, are still being plagued by the same high-pressure sales tactics used to sell ultra-risky stocks.

Let’s call our whistle-blower John Hunter, although that’s not his real name. He has asked us to change it because he has now made a fresh start in life outside of stockbroking. He hopes his story will warn investors to stand well clear of what he describes as “just-about-legal boiler rooms”.
John’s story

“I am not proud of my career at Pacific Continental. I caused innocent and trusting people to lose money.

But, and I know some will be sceptical about this, I feel conned myself.

When I left a temporary job in 2005, I wanted to work in the City. I knew I was not an automatic prospect.

I had left school at 17, skipped university and my only work experience was in a shop. But I was determined to succeed.

I sent off 60 letters to City firms and recruitment agencies. All ignored me, except Pacific Continental and one other. I opted for PacCon because the other company was so over-the-top, promising that I’d soon be driving a Ferrari. That was ridiculous.

Before I started at PacCon, I had to pass FSA papers in regulation and securities. They were easy to answer. At PacCon’s Cannon Street offices, I was surrounded by young people – almost all male. Many were effectively barrow boys. We all thought we had made it as City stockbrokers.

There was no formal training. The way it worked was that four or five juniors would report to a desk head. I later learned my desk head had previously worked for a Barcelona boiler room. I was paid £18,000 a year plus commission. But desk heads earned a lot more. My job was to phone “leads”. We got some from a “marketing company”. If anyone asked, we would refer to some form they had filled in or some sort of market research they had helped with.

Under FSA rules, we were told to ask “know your customer” questions. These were designed, in theory, to weed out those for whom the small company stocks we sold were unsuitable.

We often asked questions in such a way the customers would give the answer we needed. We would encourage people to exaggerate their earnings and portfolio.

Few wanted to be thought of as “scared” of small company shares.

My desk head gave me a script which, he said, was “what you need to say under FSA regulations”.

We were aggressive with our sales pitch and didn’t give risk warnings if we could avoid it. I was encouraged to browbeat customers into a sale – in fact, it worked that anything was fine if it resulted in the punter buying. I was new to this and thought PacCon methods were normal. With commission, I earned £2,000 a month.

One stock I sold shares in was New Millennium Resources. It was listed on AIM and involved in mining in Angola. We were told to tell clients about the press releases this company put out, detailing its new diamond finds. It was a good story to sell – and I got rid of about £40,000 in this one – including £5,000 to an elderly lady.

Whenever any of us made a big sale, we’d shout, clap and cheer – even laugh if the customer had caved in for a big amount without a fight. Then we’d be praised in the office and taken out by the desk head – champagne and, for some, strip joints. And we’d move up a place on the sales board which recorded our success.

The real money was made by desk heads. They could earn up to £750,000 a year by “re-dealing” – selling more to the clients you had softened up. This might be another stock which was promised to replace the losses clients made in the original shares we pitched. They were the real power – the ostensible heads the FSA talked to used to just sit in their offices playing solitaire.

Calls were apparently recorded but there was no oversight and no one ever listened to them. If you were really outrageous, you’d get a verbal warning but it was seen as a joke.

In spring 2006, New Millennium was delisted from AIM and the shares I sold for up to 10p became effectively worthless – they were never sellable at a profit. I then started asking questions which did not make me popular – they told me to shut up and sell.

So how did we get the price up so high? It was through “stock supporters” – someone with an interest in the shares who would put out press releases and buy a few thousand shares. By spending perhaps £300, they would double the share price – if one person bought and no one sold, the value soared. Clients were never encouraged to sell; after all, we wanted to flog shares we’d bought from the promoters at a big discount to our asking price.

When the penny dropped after six months, I realised what we told clients was, charitably, very optimistic. More honestly, it was totally imaginary. I felt like total crap. I knew I had stolen from clients just like a mugger, but I was grabbing more than a mobile. I felt like a coward – I had never met my victims. I’m not specially moral but I was really shocked this was all legal.

Other than FSA approval and a City base, the firm was just like a boiler room. It was outrageous, but what is even more outrageous is how some ex-colleagues have set up lookalike firms. They know they are in the wrong – one even has a bodyguard in case angry punters pay to have him eliminated. All I can now say is sorry.”

· Pacific Continental Securities (UK) went bust in June 2007. Insolvency practitioners Smith & Williamson sold the assets to Brooklands. PacCon was wound up in March 2008.

Investors who show mis-selling can now lodge claims with the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (go to fscs.org.uk). Claims could total £250m.