The famous magicians Penn and Teller decided to send a smooth talking representative to a left-wing hippie rally asking her to get signatures banning water. She doesn’t lie, and uses nothing but the hysteria rich, left-wing environmental language to get signatures. No more using water for making plastics, drinking, nuclear power, irrigating agriculture, baby products etc etc. I’m all for protecting our environment but this is a fantastic example of how easily people, usually the left, can get caught up in all the environmental “hysteria” that’s thrown out there by people like Al Gore. Sadly these people usually have their own interests in mind and are making a handsome paycheck by hyping the problem we face. (Al Gore has personally made well over a hundred million cashing in on people’s fears about the environment. Click here, to read a great article about it.)
But I digress. Without further ado, here’s the video. This really is hilarious.
Identity theft is easily one of the fastest growing crimes in the U.S. and worldwide. As a matter of fact, over 10 million people’s identity’s are stolen each year. My sister was a victim of minor identity theft and it took her countless hours to rectify the problem. The sad but true fact is that nobody seems to worry about it much until it happens to them. This is true about many things in life and I’m as guilty of it as the next guy but after hearing my sister’s horror stories about her relative minor problems with identity theft I’m seriously considering signing up with LifeLock. Here are some very scary stats about identity theft followed by a few simple ways you can protect yourself.
Discovery of Victimization
9-18% of victims can take 4 years or even longer to discover that they are actually victims of identity theft.
38-50% of victims will find out about the identity theft within 3 months of the theft starting.
Time Involved in Being a Victim
Typically victims will spend anywhere from just 3 hours to over 5,000 hours repairing the damage done by identity theft. This massive difference is another scary aspect of the crime. It all depends on the severity of the theft. A simple stolen credit card will take less time to rectify than someone that has used your social security card to completely become you!
25-35% of identity theft victims will spend a period of 4-6 months dealing with their case before fixing the problem and 10-23% report dealing with their case for 7 months up to a year.
Monetary Costs of Identity Theft
Victims will lose on average somewhere betwen $1,800 and $14,000 in wages dealing with their cases.
Victims will spend an average of $850 to $1,375 in expenses.
An estimated 40% of business costs for individual cases of identity theft exceed $15,000. According to the Aberdeen Group, about $221 billion a year is lost by businesses worldwide due to identity theft.
Practical and Emotional Costs of Identity Theft
47% of victims have trouble getting credit or a loan as a result of identity theft.
19% of victims have higher credit rates and 16% have higher insurance rates because of identity theft.
11% of victims say identity theft has a negative impact on their abilities to get jobs.
70% of victims have trouble getting rid of (or never get rid of) negative information in their records.
40% of victims experience stress in their family lives as a result of displaced anger and frustration over the identity theft.
45% of victims feel denial or disbelief.
85% of victims anger and rage.
45% of victims feel defiled by the identity thief.
42% of victims feel an inability to trust people because of the identity theft.
60% of victims feel unprotected by the police.
Uses of Victim Information
More than one third of victims report that identity thieves committed cheque account fraud.
66% of victims’ personal information is used to open a new credit account in their name.
28% of victims’ personal information is used to purchase cell phone service
12% of victims end up having warrants issued in their name for financial crimes committed by the identity thief.
Imposter Characteristics and Relationships to the Victim
43% of victims believe they know the person who stole their identity
14-25% of victims believe the imposter is someone who is in a business that holds their personally identifying information.
The most common reported perpetrator in cases where a child’s identity is stolen is the child’s parent.
16% of identity theft victims are also victims of domestic harassment/abuse by the same perpetrator. These victims believe that the identity theft is used as another way for the abuser to continue and demonstrate his harassment and control.
Responsiveness to victims
Overall, police departments seem to be the most responsive to victims of identity theft, with 58% taking down a report on the victim’s first request.
1/3 of victims have to send dispute information repeatedly to credit reporting agencies.
Only 1/5 of victims find it easy to reach someone in a credit reporting agency after receiving their credit report.
20% of victims will have the misinformation and errors removed from their credit report after their first request for the credit reporting agency to do so.
Click Here to read about the Important Ways to Protect Yourself From Identity Theft.
Please share this information with family or friends to help educate people on this horrific crime. Click the green “Share This” button below to email the article.
Protecting yourself against identity theft involves nothing more than protecting personal information such as: Your full name, date of birth, birthplace, phone number, address, mothers maiden name, social security number, bank account number, credit card number, and your pin number. Anyone with knowledge of just one of your high sensitivity items can do a lot of damage. Part of the battle of preventing identity theft is recognizing how this personal information is stolen and from where.
Where your Identity can be Stolen From:
YOUR MAIL:
Don’t leave outgoing mail in an unsecured location. Deposit mail in USPS collection boxes.
Don’t leave mail in your mailbox overnight or on weekends.
Have your mail held at the post office while you’re out of town.
Get a mailbox that locks.
YOUR COMPUTER:
Use anti-spyware and anti-virus software.
Be wary of online shopping sites. Only shop at sites that you trust and are secure. See FTC - Online Shopping for more information.
Opt-OUT of “pre-screened” credit card offers. To do so call 1-888-5OPT-OUT.
Don’t ever list both your date of birth AND your social security number on a resume / application. There’s no need, initially, that they have both and it’s doubtful they’ll be as careful with your information as you would.
Guard your checkbook. It has your name, address and bank account number all in one place.
Know who else has your personal information.
What to do if your Identity is Stolen:
Should you ever become a victim, contact your banks and credit card issuers, the three major credit bureaus, file a police report, and file a complaint with the FTC.
If all this seems overwhelming and even if you are able to follow all of the above advice and you’re still worried about having your identity stolen, which no matter how much you protect yourself is still possible, then I would recommend looking into the services of a company such as LifeLock.
Click Here to See the Scary Stats of Identity Theft.
We all know there’s a million different companies that you can insure your car through. After a TON of resarch I found Geico to be the absolute best. Progressive, AAA, State Farm, 21st Century, Geico, AIG, etc etc. There are far too many. Some even claim to give you quotes from other companies. Take this advice with a grain of salt. As tired as you are from looking into the matter, or if you’re just getting started, finding the best / cheapest car insurance will seriously save you a ton of money. I know saving money isn’t the same as making money but …. Well, saving a grand over 12 months is still an extra $1,000 in your pocket no matter how you slice it.
I’ve had my car insured through three different companies and done a lot of shopping around throughout the years. I’ve seen far too many commercials for car insurance, as I’m sure you have too, claiming this and that but pretty much, “We’re the cheapest and best.” Who to believe and how do you know? Well this is going to be a very short post because there’s really not much to say. Take this advice, “As is” and as my own experience but certainly something to consider. After alllll the research and previous companies I’ve been insured through, one of which offered a highly discounted rate because of various “memberships”, I was able to find nothing even close to the rate I was offered by …. Geico. The amount I saved through Geico wasn’t even something small like 15%, it was closer to 40% from the previous company I insured my car through. In addition to the pricing they offer complimentary roadside assistance and are quite helpful when it comes to a claim. Again, take this info “As is” and keep in mind it was my experience but I would certainly recommend Geico as a starting point to hold any other car insurance quotes up to.
The following story has been circling the web and it’s absolutely crazy. There’s been a lot of speculation as to it’s authenticity or not and we now have the facts. Because it’s not mine and I wasn’t able to find a specific source for the story below I’ll simply leave it in quotes. If you’ve never seen the picture, try your best to read the story before you look. UPDDATE: Read below to find out if this is real or not!
“Family on holiday in Australia for a week and a half when husband, wife and their 15 year old son decided to go scuba diving. The husband is in the navy and has had some scuba experience. His son wanted a pic of his mum and dad in all their gear so got the underwater camera on the go. When it came to taking the pic the dad realized that the son look like he was panicking as he took it and the “OK” hand sign to see if he was alright.The son took the pic and swam to the surface and back to the boat as quick as he could so the mum and dad followed to see if he was OK.they got back to him he was scrambling onto the boat and absolutely shitting himself. When the parents asked why he said “there was a shark behind you” the dad thought he was joking but the skipper of the boat said it was true and that they wouldn’t believe him if he told them what it was. As soon as they got back to the hotel they put the pic onto the laptop this is what they saw.”
Well it’s finally summer and that means bbq’s, picnic’s, eating out, hiking and getting outdoors. Here are a few tips to help make your outdoor summer activities more earth friendly.
Recycle
Nowadays many parks and picnic areas have recycle bins in them already so take a look around when you first arrive. If it doesn’t appear they do be sure you have a bag for garbage and a bag for recyclables. Keep the two separate and when you get back you can add the bag containing your bottles, paper, and cans to your recycle bin.
Eat Local
Couple of good reasons. One being that your food will be fresher not having to travel long distances to get into your stomach. Also, less gas is used transporting you from home to the store or restaurant. Right along the same line of thought, it takes less gas to move local produce from the farm to the local supermarket.
Stay on the Trail
While out hiking make sure you stay on the trail! It may not seem like a big deal and as much as you or your kids may want to go anywhere you want, it does have an impact when done in large numbers.
Use Less Toxic Bug Repellent
There are plenty of bug repellents out there that are “less toxic” than others. Ask someone at your store of choice for help finding one.
