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Freeze your credit.

I was the victim of identity theft. Someone got access to my name, address, SSN, and DOB and used it to open up a credit card account in my name. (Thank you, Capital One, for not caring that the Mother's Maiden name was wrong! And for stonewalling both me and the police every step of the way in the name of YOUR liability.)

The credit agencies will recommend fraud alerts but these have two major flaws: 1) They are optional. Credit Card Company A *should* check for a fraud alert before issuing a credit card in your name, but doesn't *have* to. (You can bet that the ID thieves know which companies check and which don't.) 2) They expire after 90 days. Your information isn't going to magically disappear from the ID thieves after three months. It's out there for good now. So why should the check against ID theft expire?

If you freeze your credit then nobody (you or anyone else) can open a new line of credit on the account. If you actually do want to open a new line of credit (or get a loan or have a background check performed), you thaw your credit report for a set period of time. The downsides are that you have to pay for each thaw and you can't sign up for credit on the spot. (We actually consider the latter to be a perk. "Would you like to save 10% by getting our store card?" "No thanks. Credit frozen thanks to ID theft.")

Of course, the credit agencies HATE credit freezes because they make money by offering your credit file to anyone and everyone to send you offers for credit cards and the like. A frozen credit card file takes away that income opportunity.

Come to think of it, that's another bonus to freezing your credit file.

This site has some good information on Credit Freezes including links/phone numbers to freeze your credit file: http://www.clarkhoward.com/news/clark-howard/personal-finance-credit/credit-freeze-and-thaw-guide/nFbL/

Healthcare is always strapped for cash...

Huh, must be a British thing.

That's what I was thinking. Around here, healthcare spends as much as possible to keep their "non-profit" status.

Not to mention the insane price gouging that is standard in American healthcare.

For those who don't know and are too lazy to RTFA, in American healthcare a hospital may charge uninsured patients upwards of 500x more than they would charge an insured patient for the exact same procedure.

I have one alternative. Hunting stores. I recall hearing a spot done on the radio by a popular consumer advocate some time ago mentioning that some of the exact same hearing aids are also available at hunting stores, as low as $49.

This blurb is is older than the when I heard it but gives you the general idea:

http://www.clarkhoward.com/news/clark-howard/uncategorized/finding-the-hearing-aid-thats-right-for-you/nCtt/

The spot I heard mentioned the store line named Gander, which apparently the audiologist industry is try to get banned from them doing so. Sorry no source.

The number of people I've met who are concerned with cell phone "radiation" are extremely limited ... and I don't recall any of their names. Purposefully.

By the time you realize you should be concerned, it may be too late. Thankfully, power levels have gone down in the last decade, but cell phone radiation is still suspected in the premature death of Lee Atwater.

From what I've seen in the news, the standard for leaked personal data (enough data to open a line of credit under someone else's name) is 2 free years of credit monitoring.

The BEST way to protect your credit is to freeze it.

No, monitoring tells you after the fact when your identity has been stolen. And many of those credit report "subscription" services edit your report report. Proof? At the top of a REAL credit report there's an 800 number to talk to an actual person at a credit bureau. There is no other way to talk to a service rep without that number that you can ONLY get with a current credit report. The subscription services don't have that and many other details. They're a rip-off.

To head off the "that's not identity theft" people.... ridiculously, many many things use your credit report: insurance, EMPLOYMENT (regardless if you deal with money!), background checks (ALL the background firms use credit reports as their base!), bank accounts, any and all loans of course, cell phones contracts, car leases and many many more!

Big Brother exists! The NSA and CIA and FBI use the credit bureaus and other firms like ChoicePoint to circumvent the Constitutional restriction on spying on Americans.

Have a nice day citizen!

Is it just me or do companies not realize that these practices usually make the customer angry?

The sad reality is that they do all the math in advance and it works for them to use this formula:
take_advantage_of_customer() until ( angry_customer_count >= oblivious_customers_count )

Bold company complacency creates user distrust, boredom and other such "customer classes" who become very vocal online. Some major complaint convinces a class or two to riducule or vouch against the company, and suddenly you have the next AOL, who has gone from 20 million users to 5 after y2k.

Unfortunately, that's an exception and most companies can do what they like, especially for free services. See Facebook.

And the really sucky part of your troubles is that any checks that get bounced because of this, you're responsible for the fees - all of them.

And banks love to tally up all your withdraws before all deposits just so they can hit you up for charges. They're junk!

The best way to protect yourself from debit cards is not to use them.

When Visa and Mastercard say that you have the same protections with a debit card as you do with a credit, they're full of it.

There's only one way I know to protect yourself if you really need to use one of those things ("Piece of trash Visa or Mastercard" as Howard says). I opened a checking account a few years ago and my own bank said that I should open anther account just for debit transaction (totally free of course) just to protect myself an my money. They even admitted that they're crap - WaMu before the Chase takeover.

I remember several times I have listened to the radio talk show host Clark Howard and heard him say that most ID theft that goes on is a case of someone's paper checkbook being stolen. The implication was that it's a bad idea to carry one around unless you really need to and that a good place to store it at home would be in a safe or other secure location so burglars could not easily obtain it. That would be consistent with what this article is claiming, that mostly it's a low-tech crime involving a compromise of physical security, not digital.

You're probably being crammed
It sucks because the phone companies legally make money off of other people's fraud this way, so they have negative incentive to check the identity of the crammers.

The OP could pull a gimmick.

"Here's the free ebook, but you can buy this in print form for $X and I'll sign it for you."

Seriously, that's what Clark Howard does. He even recommends on the air to buy his book used. Clark Howard Books

Naturally, YMMV

...that no one ever uses their extended warranty is just fantasy on your part.

That's assuming you actually can use it. Many times, when you actually try to make a claim, the insurance company that backs the warranty, will not back it up - they'll find something in the fine print of the contract that they'll use as an excuse to tell you to take a hike; which then it becomes a battle. Many times, they don't even have a legitimate reason not to honor the warranty, but they do anyway because they're crooks.

A Consumer advocate's take:

Why extended warranties are a rip

Why extended warranties are no good

...that no one ever uses their extended warranty is just fantasy on your part.

That's assuming you actually can use it. Many times, when you actually try to make a claim, the insurance company that backs the warranty, will not back it up - they'll find something in the fine print of the contract that they'll use as an excuse to tell you to take a hike; which then it becomes a battle. Many times, they don't even have a legitimate reason not to honor the warranty, but they do anyway because they're crooks.

A Consumer advocate's take:

Why extended warranties are a rip

Why extended warranties are no good

Looking at Reseller Ratings Dell has a really shitty customer service team.

I would suggest:

• Write a snail mail letter explaining your situation and what you want - state only the facts NO EMOTION. Emails and phone calls do not work with shitty customer service and this will be creating a paper trail for future legal action.
• File a complaint with the BBB.org
• File a complaint with the Office of Consumer Affairs in the state you are a resident for.
• File a complaint on resellerratings.com
• Call or email here
• You may have to talk to your JAG office.

Good luck

No, I do not know of any state where you can get a free credit freeze. Here's a guide. For the exception of GA where it's now $3, you will be charged $10 for each credit bureau to freeze your credit and charged to unfreeze it.

And you have to do it for each credit bureau.

Know this site and this is the ONLY tuly free credit report direct or start here. The other "free" credit report websites are just trying to sell you stuff that you don't need.

To be truly safe from someone opening credit in your name is to freeze your credit - monitoring services are NOT as good. Here's a great guide on how to do it.

On another note and something positive about credit, check your credit card. They may offer to double or more the manufacturer's warranty. Meaning, if you're actually considering an extended warranty, your credit card may give you the same coverage to you for free.

But other than that, the whole credit industry seems to be geared towards sucking us in. I mean, unless you're going to drive and stay with friends and relatives, is it possible to travel without one?

Is it possible to get a job without a credit rating now? They background checks with Choicepoint who gets their data mostly from the credit bureaus.

What about flying? If you don't have a credit rating, are you automatically flagged as suspect?

And as far as SSN is concerned, we're stuck with that beast. I kind of hope it does go bankrupt then maybe we can burn the things!

I'm speaking from experience. I was lucky enough to find out about it early when the unrequested credit card was "accidentally" sent to me instead of to the ID thieves. So I got an "easier" time than I could have had. I still have to look over my credit report constantly, though, as my information is out there now.

If you're in USA, you can now apply for a credit freeze. It will be annoying, but if you're not planning on opening new accounts for a while it would help you sleep better.

Not available in all states, but available in most.

http://clarkhoward.com/topics/credit_freeze_states.html

He criticizes Comcast all the time and is in favor of Net Neutrality. There IS a movement to put those people in line.

Me: they are a shit company.

Its there if you actually try to find it, instead of just whining about it. The biggest difference between e-mail spam and junk mail is that you can usually opt out of junk mail, but trying to opt out of spam is likely to just get you marked as a "live fish" and put on the "spam faster" list.

For pre-approved credit cards: https://www.optoutprescreen.com/
Other opt-out info: http://clarkhoward.com/advice/toss_telemarketers.html

if you make a claim against your homeowner's insurance for a small amount of money, the insurer may treat your horribly. Sure, they'll pay the claim. But they may fire you after.

I don't know if you have student loans or not, but, Jesus Christ!, ALL of the information to steal my identity is on their correspondance. WTF!

I don't know why schools insist on using SSNs as the student ID. If you want to steal a student's id, hang out in front of the burser's office during enrollemnt.

You'll hear, as these poors kids have to YELL, so that the clerk on the other side of the thick glass can hear, their: SSN, name, DOB, and address!! Idiotic!!!

Dude, make a stink!

Sue if you can. DON'T LISTEN TO THE SCHOOL - GET AN ATTOURNEY!

Because, if your identity is stolen, YOU will have to spend the rest of your life proving, in effect, that you're innocent and it'll cost you a shit load of $$$$$$$$$$$$! I know, you did nothing, but that's the way it works!!!

Here's an identity theft guide:

here

I hate this litigious as much as anyone, but sometimes, the only way these people will change is to cause them pain!

In spite of their mathematically challenged service reps, Verizon has always been a pretty good company for me. In Atlanta, the coverage is excellent and their prices and plans are fantastic.

I originally switched primarily because Verizon was one of a very, very few companies that refused to participate in and spoke out against the cell phone directory telemarketer's dream scheme a while back. It was pretty heavily covered by our consumer rights media guru here, Clark Howard (second entry). It also helps that most of my family is on Verizon and I can now call them for free.

And, for what it's worth, they did finally concede that $.002 is different from .002. :-)

Unless things change pretty dramatically, I'll probably stick with them for a long time to come.

If there's a payment problem on eBay, eBay will say "No, it's Payal's problem."

You go and contact Paypal, they say "No, it's eBay's problem."

See here

IANAL, but my daily radio listening includes a certain consumer champion.

As others have said, the burden of providing documentation is (or, at least, should be) on the telco.

That said, you don't want to leave this unanswered, even if you have the technical right to do so. They put a charge on your card, you dispute, they trash your credit, it just becomes an ugly mess, not that it isn't already.

If you were here in the US, I'd recommend going to the state office in charge of regulating the telco's legal monopoly status. I'm just going to have to guess that your city, province, or other branch of government has a similar office. Your library (or local politician's office) should be helpful here.

Now, the regulators probably won't leap into action right away, but when you tell the telco about the complaint, they should be a bit more willing to listen.

"Their advice? Send a letter to the credit bureaus."

Not if Congress can stop you:

"Keep control of your credit
Fight for your state's credit freeze law!
Several men and women in Congress are trying to undo the laws states have enacted that allow you to freeze your credit. Freezing your credit helps prevent ID theft and helps minimize the damage if it's already happened. This bill will leave citizens more vulnerable than ever to ID theft. Give your reps a piece of your mind!
  States that allow credit freeze laws
  Find your representative "

http://clarkhoward.com/

Another critic of that proposed law is Consumer advocate Clark Howard. His article is here:

Contact your reps over credit freezes

According to his article, 23 states now have credit freeze protection laws. The proposed law in congress would essentially invalidate all of these state laws. After reading both the article you mention and his, it sounds to me like congressmen LaTourette and others are more concerned about the wishes of large financial institutions than protecting average consumers. The article you mentioned says this:

For their part, financial institutions tend to dislike credit freezes because such measures serve as an impediment to easy plastic and impulse purchases (such as expensively financed new cars).

What I find particularly troubling about the issue of identity theft is the question of "Why is the burden of proof always on the average consumer?" Identity theft victims can spend months trying to convince angry creditors that they really never did open those new charge charge card accounts. Shouldn't it be the financial instition's problem for failing to properly verify the identity of the person they granted credit to? The fact that an applicant knows a few basic facts such as a social security number and a mother's maiden name does not even begin to prove that they are who the say they are. If congressmen LaTourette and others don't like credit freeze laws then they should find some other methods of protecting identity theft victims before eliminating those laws. Congress seems more concerned about the interests of big business lobbyists and their campaign contributions than about identity theft victims.

I've learned a lot by listening to Clark Howard: http://clarkhoward.com/

He has a lot of general consumer advice, but he often talks about investments and saving for retirement.

In general:
1) save in your company 401k/403B, etc up to the point where your company matches
2) then save to the max you can in a ROTH IRA
3) then save more in your company 401K since it's pre-tax
4) invest additional money in something like mutual funds. Pick ones with no-loads. You'll probably do well with an indexed fund like an S&P500. He often recommends vangaurd and tiaa-cref. BUT never invest in something you don't understand, no matter how good it sounds
5) retirement savings is always a higher priority than saving for kids education. There are tons of ways for a kid to get an education paid for. There are few ways to fund your retirement.
6) use a credit union if possible - lower fees, better service, with few downsides
7) pay off all your credit cards and don't keep balances on them. Consider if you already have $5,000 in credit card debt at 17%, every dollar you put in is "earning" the same as a 17% investment

For specific advice about stocks and such, you probably need a "more advanced" source of info. But, Clark is a good start and his advice is probably good enough to cover most people's needs - since few have savings and most have lots of debt - and stocks are the last thing they need to be thinking about.

He has a pretty good book, I think called Clark Smart.

Debit cards have the same protection as credit cards when used as credit cards.

That's what the banks say, but it's not often born out by experience.

Remember, that visa debit card is attached to your checking account. If someone takes money they're not supposed to, you can end up bouncing checks and getting into all kinds of other trouble. You have to fight to get your money back, and bank does not have to respond immediately - and can even deny your claim.

If you just use a credit card and someone gets your number, it's actually the credit card company's money that's lost - not yours.

Why risk it.

Here's some info from Clark Howard's website about what he calls "Fake Visa's":

http://clarkhoward.com/shownotes/category/7/40/225 /


Feb 14, 2005 -- Update on Visa check card rights
Visa's check card is supposed to help elminate debt by drafting money directly and immediately from your account that has money. But there are some problems with the cards. First, criminals can empty your checking account if they get their hands on your card. Who pays the bounced checks charges if your check card has been stolen? YOU DO! Also, on a real credit card, if you order something you have the right to dispute the charge if something happens to your order. Until now, you could not dispute an order problem on your check card. Visa is now offering modified dispute rights for check card customers. If you have a check card, look on the back and see if it says 'enterlink'. If your card does say this, then you might be covered under Visa's new policy. Make sure you check with your bank to see if you are covered before you begin ordering on your check card.

Nov 10, 2004 -- Fake Visa warning and Wells Fargo update
Clark has a special warning for people who carry fake Visa cards. There has been a breach of security at one of the big national merchants. No one is saying which merchant it is, but an employee has evidently obtained the records of an untold number of customers. That person is using people's debit card numbers across the country without their knowledge. So, when people try to use their cards, they are being turned away. We need full disclosure by the banking industry about this and anytime it happens. We need to know how many people are affected and what institution is involved. So, for the next seven days, if you carry a fake Visa card, check your account for unauthorized debits. Criminals are striking fast before people realize what's going on. Why is this so important? If someone gets a hold of your fake Visa numbers and charges up your account, that money is gone. You have to fight to get that money back, and banks decide on an individual basis. Also,Visa offers no protection for you if it causes checks to bounce. It's a disgrace, but right now, banks are free to decide whether they want to help you out or not.

Mar 11, 2005 -- How identity theft really occurs
Identity theft has become huge, as we all know. But how and why does it occur? Many people think that identity theft occurs because of what we do online. But just slightly more than 10 percent happens online. Almost all of it occurs when someone steals your checkbook, your wallet or your mail. The Internet actually helps in reducing ID theft, according to the Better Business Bureau. Monitoring your checkbook and credit card status online is a huge deterrent to identity theft because people find things quickly and can report them right away. So, if you still have a checkbook and you refuse to part with it, keep it at home and know where it is at all times. This is especially important for businesses, which are expected to keep a higher standard of security when it comes to securing checks. Businesses have liability for checks written that are stolen. So, keep very good track of your checks if you own a business.

This action obviously will not stem identity theft but the hope is that this will push banks into security improvements that will make identity theft much harder.

I agree. I was listening to Clark Howard a couple of weeks ago on the radio and he was talking about how 99.9% of US banks have atrocious security when it comes to online banking. I know that identity theft also happens offline, but I also think that you have to criminalize grossly negligent behavior, or else you end up with a situation like what we have today: banks see it as more fiscally reasonable to absorb the cost of the problem than to even attempt to fix it. The problem is that this has tragic consequences for the individuals that are victimized. Hopefully the US congress will jump on board and start dealing with serious problems, instead of concerning themselves with things like college sports and drug testing among athletes, which ultimately shouldn't be of importance to the federal government.

Clark Howard recommends that one never carry checks outside the home, and that they only be sent to reputable places and used only to pay bills. The reason is precisely what you are asking: identity theft.

See, if someone steals your checkbook*, he can write checks on your account and take them to various places. Faking the necessary driver's license and credit card is not difficult, so he can pass these checks easily. If he does this and checks start to bounce from your account, one of the payees can swear out a warrant for your arrest! Then, if you ever get stopped by the police for any reason, such as a minor traffic violation, you will be arrested on the spot.

All this without a SSN.

* - or has checks made using the routing and transit numbers on a check you sent him. NEVER SEND PERSONAL CHECKS TO STRANGERS!

I have, as Clark Howard calls it, the poverty package. I am not interested in spending more than 4x the money just so I can get a DVR from my cable company... I already have a TiVo, so I'd rather just be able to get at the video stored on that unit.

About 1-2 years ago this happened to me.

As the claims were ludicrous, I immediately sent the collection agency Clark Howard's drop dead letter, by certified mail.

After that, they cannot ever contact you again about that debt, and no, it will not effect your credit one way or another. (WIRED basically lost that right when they agreed to let a collection agency try to get the money for them... oversimplifying it.)

They really shot themselves in the foot, because up until that time, I would buy the magazine off the newsstand even when I let my subscription lapse. Since I got that letter, I've never bought a copy of WIRED again.

The "Drop Dead Letter": clicky

Fine Print: IANAL, IANAA (I am not an American)

Or if Federal Law allowed it, we could all buy our car directly from the manufacterer and cut out the "stealership" like Japan does. You simply walk into a boutique shop on the street, check out some car, pick your options, and thats it. It would certainly reduce the middleman costs. They do this all over the world except the US: http://clarkhoward.com/shownotes/2003/12/10.html

I don't know. Linspire is the primary OS on those $199 Walmart PCs.

And before you say only Linux people will buy those, you should consider that Clark Howard has one, and mentions how satisfied he is with it on a regular basis (he also talked up OpenOffice recently).

There are plenty of people in the world that never install anything on their computers beyond what it came with, and those are exactly the kind of people those cheap Linspire systems will appeal to. Should they really be left practically naked to the world like that?

Please post a link to info about that regulation. As I said in my post, the $50 is for Credit Cards. Some banks are now offering the same protections on Debit Cards as Credit Cards, but it is not law. Here's a link I should have included in my original post. I listen to Clark howard all the time on Radio here in Atlanta and he's is constantly slamming debit Cards.

An important distinction to make is that debit cards don't offer the protections that credit cards do. If someone makes a fradulent purchase with your debit card (using it as a "Visa" card), you don't get the opportunity to dispute it.

See here for more info.

With rare exceptions ten year old 'bills' are not collectable. They can't garnishe your wages or report it to credit services(see http://www.pueblo.gsa.gov/cic_text/money/fair-cred it/fair-crd.htm) or even continue contacting you if you tell them to stop. Think of it like a statute of limitations on bills.
Also most hospital emergency rooms are in hospitals that are publicly funded. As such they can only bill you a limited amount, if any, if your income is below certain levels.
You can probably tell both of these billers to go jump. If they don't tell them you will call the appropriate authorities.
Now IANAL or a financial expert, and some of the rules on 'old' debts vary from state to state . But I have listened to knowledgeable people (Clark Howard, others) on the radio give mostly the same advice to quite a few people.
However if you make a payment over eigther one you migh be screwed. I think the time limit is from "last payment" or some such, and can sometimes be reset even if expired by you actually paying them.
My advice would be to find someone who knows the actual details (cpa? lawyer?) as a professional in the field and find out before doing ANYTHING else about it.
Besides if someone with a foriegn accent called me and said he was collecting on a 10year old debt I believed I'd paid my bs detector would be pegged on SCAM (I'd ask if he was selling bridges too).
Possible starting place is http://www.clarkhoward.com/, not shure haven't been there much myself, but I do know he's had a LOT of questions about old/odd/fraudulent debts so it's likely there somewhere.
I did just check there, there is some odds and ends in there. Including his drop dead letter to 'bill collectors' apparently federal law says you can tell them to stop harrassing you: http://clarkhoward.com/topics/drop_dead_letter.htm l
Again, don't let anyone fast talk/intimidate you into sending them money. Find out if and who you owe what too and what your rights are or you could wind up with far worse than a few bucks light in your bank account.

Mycroft

With rare exceptions ten year old 'bills' are not collectable. They can't garnishe your wages or report it to credit services(see http://www.pueblo.gsa.gov/cic_text/money/fair-cred it/fair-crd.htm) or even continue contacting you if you tell them to stop. Think of it like a statute of limitations on bills.
Also most hospital emergency rooms are in hospitals that are publicly funded. As such they can only bill you a limited amount, if any, if your income is below certain levels.
You can probably tell both of these billers to go jump. If they don't tell them you will call the appropriate authorities.
Now IANAL or a financial expert, and some of the rules on 'old' debts vary from state to state . But I have listened to knowledgeable people (Clark Howard, others) on the radio give mostly the same advice to quite a few people.
However if you make a payment over eigther one you migh be screwed. I think the time limit is from "last payment" or some such, and can sometimes be reset even if expired by you actually paying them.
My advice would be to find someone who knows the actual details (cpa? lawyer?) as a professional in the field and find out before doing ANYTHING else about it.
Besides if someone with a foriegn accent called me and said he was collecting on a 10year old debt I believed I'd paid my bs detector would be pegged on SCAM (I'd ask if he was selling bridges too).
Possible starting place is http://www.clarkhoward.com/, not shure haven't been there much myself, but I do know he's had a LOT of questions about old/odd/fraudulent debts so it's likely there somewhere.
I did just check there, there is some odds and ends in there. Including his drop dead letter to 'bill collectors' apparently federal law says you can tell them to stop harrassing you: http://clarkhoward.com/topics/drop_dead_letter.htm l
Again, don't let anyone fast talk/intimidate you into sending them money. Find out if and who you owe what too and what your rights are or you could wind up with far worse than a few bucks light in your bank account.

Mycroft

Well, first off, cars come with a warranty. This is not a "my Palm doesn't browse the web fast enough" this is akin to "there's a problem with the transmission and it jerks when I shift gears".

I used that analogy because I am talking about the product operating to spec. If you buy a Porsche and 300hp doesn't feel like you expected, you can't make them "fix" it.

That said it's pretty much impossible to get someone to let you try a phone before you buy it. I know, I've tried at both Sprint (work account) and Cingular (home account). Clearly there's an issue, like most glitches it may not pop up all the time, or it may not appear until after a fashion.

How about not going with a vendor who does not have a good return policy? Be aware you are talking to someone who ends up returning about 30% of his purchases due to a lack of satisfaction. Learn how to be a responsible adult shopper here. You can also learn a little bit about what can be done legally and not what you think they should do because they are nice people.

You must use Windows. How about better features/integration?

Low blow bringing M$ into this. I contribute annually to open source projects I care about, with my own money, and not through a company. You can take your retail copy of Redhat your mama installed for you and stick it where the sun don't shine you pre-built kernel noob. /note the name, how can i ever really be serious?

Perhaps you should consider moving somewhere with a lower cost of living?

I'm frankly surprised your bank financed a home that is 50% of your income. It's rare they finance as much as a ratio of 40%.

So now we're back to the issue of life choices. You don't have to live in Oregon, and you don't have to live in a house that expensive. You choose to do these things.

While you can't avoid all expenses (taxes and health care), you should address the things you can affect.

Is there any possibility your wife could work? Even part time would no doubt help a lot.

Also, if you don't already, check out Clark Howard! Not sure what station he'd be on out there, but if you can find him on the radio and spare some time to listen, he might give you some helpful ideas.

In three to six months, get a fresh copy of your credit report from the credit bureau. Also, see this site about ID theft issues. It provides a pretty good cheat sheet for what to do in your situation.

I had the same thing happen to me last year. We had a break-in at the firm which handled my last company's payroll, which later turned out to be an inside job. Fortunately, I haven't had any problems, and I hope you don't either.

It just so happens that talkshow host Clark Howard hit on this topic today (maybe he peruses /.). We pretty much agree that the problem is the government supported monopolies of telecom companies (phone, cable), and that the solution is good ol free-market competition. But, since the FCC is pretty much propping up telecom monopolies with a myriad of crushing regulations, competition is almost impossible.

Then comes the geurilla solution which has been covered here on slashdot and was talked about by Howard - free municipal wireless mesh networks. The city of Philadelphia estimates complete coverage of Philadelphia with mesh networks will only cost $10 million USD. Now since its government, you can double that figure, but it'll still be far less than what a telecom would expend on traditional buried cable methods.

Just another example of how open source is a tremendous economic foundation.

The hell of it is that (according to Clark Howard), cell phones are still rather expensive items, and what they "sell" the phones for doesn't even cover their cost - the remaining phone cost is payed for out of the monthy service fees. "Selling" the phone at under-cost prices along with the service undermines what people think they should sell for, and they think they're getting a "good deal" when they buy the phone through "this" service provider.

I agree, selling the phone separate from the service would offer more choices for consumers, but goes against what the providers' marketing plans. Phone companies were forced to provide number portability by the US Congress passing a law, and that may be what it takes to make the phones separate from the services.

Not sure where you can get the side of the people who have been completely pleased with their surgery, but Clark Howard (who has a nationally syndicated consumer-affairs talk show) recommends you read about what to expect (and some of the possible complications) of laser eye surgery at SurgicalEyes.com.

What they do is get YOUR bank info (from victims who email it to them) wher they will alledgedly deposit money, but apparently it's as easy to query the balance and withdraw that amount as it is do deposit. It appears to be a loophole in the US banking system. Clark Howard has talked about this on his radio show. Here's an artice about the latest Iraq variation on Clark's website

I would recommend Clark Howard's site. Clark Howard has a nationally syndicated radio show and has written several fantastic books on smart financial principles. He is very well known here in the Atlanta area and his life story is very interested. He made his first million on an average salary by saving and investing for the long term (of course he makes a lot more now on his radio gig and his books).

His site contains an abundance of information on anything subject you can think of. Hey, he's pretty cool technology-wise...he even uses Vonage!

According to the Wall Street Journal (which my respect for is questionable, nevertheless...) and related to me by Clark Howard, it appears that Florida is one of the best states for a business tax-wise.

I don't know that I'd ever move a business to Florida, but at least it's not California or New York.

Cheers

According to the Wall Street Journal (which my respect for is questionable, nevertheless...) and related to me by Clark Howard, it appears that Florida is one of the best states for a business tax-wise.

I don't know that I'd ever move a business to Florida, but at least it's not California or New York.

Cheers