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.

This is our longest post yet and by far the worst effect a corrupt cooperation has had on the US. This article covers how GM hid electric cars and technology as far back as the 30’s and shows how GM and Good year bought out Los Angeles mass transit and railroads systems to monopolize cars and tires.

There’s an excellent book out titled “Internal Combustion” by the same author — Ernest Black — who wrote about IBM’s complicity in the holocaust (selling tabulating equipment to the nazis.)

In 1947 GM and its executives and many subsidiaries, including Mack Truck, were prosecuted successfully by the US DoJ for conspiracy. They appealed all the way to the USSC, but the case was well-tried and none of the appeals were successful. Still, the public’s attention span being short as it is, this soon disappeared from the headlines and everyone forgot about it until 1973, when the oil shocks from the Arabl embargos began to hit. GM was once again called to account for its systematic destruction of mass-transit in the US. Unfortunately, the congressional investigators going after GM this time charged it with trying to completely destroy mass-transit — a claim GM set about to dispute through a massive PR campaign. They were successful, and once again the public became ignorant
of GM’s crimes.

Good bye, GM. And good riddance. (Long, LONG overdue.)

Did General Motors destroy the LA mass transit system?
January 10, 1986

Dear Cecil:

I’m a big fan of the old Pacific Electric, the sprawling electric railroad known as the “Big Red Cars” that once covered much of southern California. Strangely, when I mention the old PE, many times someone within earshot says something to the effect of, “You know, back when they built the freeways, GM and the oil companies got together and forced them to tear up the tracks.” Cecil, is there any truth to this rumor? If not, why do so many natives believe it?

— Tom R., Los Angeles

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Cecil replies:

If you think trashing the LA trolleys was the extent of GM’s alleged crimes, Tom, you ain’t heard nothin’ yet. In 1974 one Bradford Snell, a staff attorney for the U.S. Senate antitrust subcommittee, advanced the startling proposition that GM had (1) sabotaged energy-efficient electric transit systems in 45 cities around the country, including LA, in order to sell more fuel-guzzling buses and autos; (2) forced the railroads to replace nonpolluting electric locomotives with GM-built diesels by threatening to withhold lucrative auto shipments; and, most astonishing of all, (3) treasonously built armaments for the Nazis during World War II through Opel, its German subsidiary. Not surprisingly, Snell’s charges were widely publicized.

Snell lavished particular attention on the case of the Pacific Electric. Though it’s difficult to believe today, Los Angeles once boasted the largest system of “interurbans” (heavy-duty inter-city trolleys) in the U.S., carrying some 80 million passengers a year in the late 1930s. According to Snell, all this went out the window starting in 1939, when GM got together with Standard Oil of California (now Chevron), Firestone, and other auto-related firms to set up a holding company that bought up trolley lines, dismantled them, and replaced them with buses. “The noisy, foul-smelling buses turned earlier patrons of the high-speed rail system away from public transit and, in effect, sold millions of private automobiles,” Snell said. “Largely as a result, Los Angeles today is an ecological wasteland.”

In a stinging counterattack, GM argued that Snell’s accusations were off the wall from start to finish. The company said it relinquished day-to-day control of Opel in 1939 following the German invasion of Poland, and severed all relations with the firm when Germany declared war on the U.S. in 1941. It denied trying to strong-arm the railroads, pointing out that an earlier government investigation into the matter had produced nothing. Finally, it said its investments in various transit holding companies were small, that it exercised no managerial control, that many of the PE lines the California holding company bought had already been converted to buses, and that in any case the conversion to buses was part of a nationwide trend that was well under way before GM had made any transit investments at all.

Now, you may or may not believe GM’s professions of innocence concerning the holding company. But most authorities agree that trolleys bit the dust in LA and elsewhere not because of a conspiracy but because they were slow and inconvenient compared to autos, and in the long run just couldn’t compete. Los Angeles is typical in this respect. It has neither the high population density nor the concentrated downtown necessary to support rail transit. The PE, which was owned by the Southern Pacific railroad, made a profit in only 8 of the 42 years it was in business under its own name. The problem was exacerbated by the fact that many PE lines in LA proper operated on city streets, and as more cars crowded those streets, service got progressively slower. (The average speed on the run to Santa Monica was only 13 MPH.)

Buses were looked on as the transit industry’s salvation because they were cheaper to operate and maintain than trolleys, with no tracks or wires. In fact, the PE had begun to convert to buses in 1917, and had changed over 35 percent of its system by 1939. A state commission in the late 30s urged that busification continue, and by the early 1950s most of the tracks were gone. The last line gave up the ghost in 1961. It’s too bad–some think the PE could have been the nucleus of a decent, if heavily subsidized, modern rail system–but blaming GM is like blaming the inventor of gunpowder for war.

— Cecil Adams

TIRE DUST

The automobile did not come to dominate American transportation by chance or by public choice. It happened as part of a plan by auto makers to buy up and destroy mass transit companies. General Motors led the way. As recently as the 1920s, many American cities and towns were connected by a network of electric railroads and interurban trolleys. Within cities, electric street railways, trolleys, and elevated trains, moved large numbers of people easily and cheaply, with minimal congestion and pollution. But steel-wheeled electric/rail mass transit systems did not serve the needs of the automobile manufacturers and their allies in the steel, rubber, glass, concrete, and oil industries.

Beginning in the 1920s, General Motors began investing in mass transit systems. According to historian Marty Jezer (and Congressional hearings held in 1974), between 1920 and 1955, General Motors bought up more than 100 electric mass transit systems in 45 cities, allowed them to deteriorate, and then replaced them with rubber-tired, diesel-powered buses. [1] Buses are more expensive, less efficient, and much dirtier than electric/rail systems. (And of course automobiles are even less efficient than buses, by far.) In 1949, General Motors, Firestone Rubber, and Standard Oil of California were convicted by a federal jury of criminally conspiring to replace electric mass transit with GM-manufactured diesel buses; in a noteworthy illustration of justice for corporations, the court fined GM $5000 and forced H.C. Crossman, the GM executive responsible for carrying out GM’s policy, to pay $1.00.

Cities where GM managed to eliminate electric/rail systems, and replace them with buses and private cars, included New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, St. Louis, Oakland, Salt Lake City, and Los Angeles.

Many people think of Los Angeles as the original automobile city. However, before GM converted the city to buses and private automobiles, Los Angeles was served by the largest electric/rail mass transit system in the nation. The Pacific Electric Railway ran more than 1000 trains per day over 760 miles of rail lines to such outlying stations as Redlands, Corona, Santa Monica, Redondo Beach and Balboa, carrying light freight as well as passengers. Its last line, to Long Beach, was abandoned in 1961 –the same year the ingredients of smog were first identified in L.A.’s toxic air.

During this same period, GM worked to convert electric-powered commuter railroads to diesel-powered locomotives, which were far more expensive, more complex, and less reliable than electric locomotives, thus requiring more maintenance, and contributing significantly to the demise of the nation’s railroad system. For example, the New York, New Haven, and Hartford line showed a profit during 50 years of operation until 1956, the year it began converting to diesel locomotives; by 1961 it was declared bankrupt and a report by the Interstate Commerce Commission censured GM for contributing to its demise.

We all know some of the consequences of converting the American transportation system from electric/rail to rubber-tired vehicles. The threat of global warming from combustion of fossil-fuels (oil and gasoline) is one part of the problem. Lung cancer from diesel exhaust is another. [2] But recently, another aspect of our transportation system has appeared in scientific and medical literature: serious pollution from rubber tire fragments (tire dust) released by tire wear.

When a rubber tire, bearing the weight of a vehicle, rolls across an asphalt or cement surface, tiny fragments of rubber break off from the tire and become airborne. In the 1970s and early 1980s, scientists working for the rubber tire industry and for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency concluded that these tire fragments were too large to enter the human lung and so presented no threat to human health.

However, new research published this year by allergy specialists has reached a different conclusion: these new studies show that about 60% of tire fragments (tire dust) are so small that they can enter the deep portions of the human lung where the latex rubber in the tire dust may cause allergic reactions ranging in severity from rhinitis (runny nose), conjunctivitis (tearful eyes), to hives (urticaria), bronchial asthma, and occasionally even a life-threatening condition called anaphylactic shock. [3] Asthma, and asthma deaths, have increased dramatically during the past 20 years, especially among children, and specialists have been searching in vain for causes. (See RHWN #374.)

Allergy to latex rubber has become more common in recent years, especially among health-care workers who are exposed more or less continuously to latex gloves, tubes, sheets, and other latex-containing products. [4] An estimated 17 million Americans have an allergic reaction to latex. Examination of latex allergy has shown it to be a true allergy; in technical jargon, it is mediated by IgE antibody to proteins that are present in the natural rubber produced from the tropical rubber tree (Hevea brasiliensis).

Allergic reactions to tire dust may be increasing for several reasons. The number of tires has increased steadily during the last 20 years; the proportion of latex in tires has been increasing; and tire construction has changed from bias ply to radial. Tire dust from radials is finer and thus more respirable, meaning it enters the deepest part of the human lung more easily.

The human nose and throat filter out airborne particles larger than 10 micrometers in diameter, but about 60% of tire dust is smaller than 10 micrometers in diameter and can thus enter the lungs where it can cause allergic reactions in some people.

In 1974, tire industry scientists estimated that 600,000 metric tonnes (1.3 billion pounds) of tire dust were released by tire wear in the U.S., or about 6.5 pounds (3 kilograms) of dust released from each tire each year. In 1995, there were an estimated 280 million tires in use in the U.S.; [5]if each tire releases 6.5 pounds of dust per year, tire dust released in 1995 would total 1.8 billion pounds. A billion is a thousand million. In Los Angeles alone, at least 5 tons (10,000 pounds) of tire dust are released into the air each day.

Radial tires create a finer, more respirable dust than do bias ply-constructed tires, and the percentage of tires that are radial grew from 2% in 1970 to 95% in 1990, so tire dust released in the 1990s probably enters the lungs more readily than tire dust did in previous decades. Conceivably, this might explain part of the recent increases in asthma in the U.S.

In 1994, careful measurement of air near roadways with moderate traffic revealed the presence of 3800 to 6900 individual tire fragments in each cubic meter of air, more than 58.5% of them in the fully-respirable size range. When these fragments were examined chemically, and by mass spectroscopy, they were shown to contain latex. Furthermore, they were shown to produce allergic reactions, comparable in every way to the allergic reactions caused by dust from a pulverized latex glove. [3]

How might these problems be resolved? Allergic reaction to latex was first described in 1979; after AIDS became a major medical problem, more and more medical workers started wearing latex gloves and latex allergies came to light. Some 7% to 10% of all health care workers now exhibit an allergic reaction to latex.

Recently, latex from a new source, the guayule plant (Parthenium argentatum), which grows well in the southwestern U.S., has been shown to not cause latex allergy in exposed people. [6] Latex from the guayule plant could become a growth industry for American farmers; presently, about seven million tons of latex are produced each year from the tropical rubber tree, Hevea, worldwide.

In the case of rubber tires, the problem is more complex than mere latex allergy, although this may well turn out to be a serious public health problem by itself. The high dollar cost of truck freight, private automobile commuting, and maintenance of our highway infrastructure must be counted as major sacrifices to our rubber-tired transportation system. Furthermore, fine particle air pollution now kills an estimated 60,000 Americans in cities each year. [7] And global warming is a serious threat to many nations from many viewpoints. (See REHW #429, #430.)

However, from the viewpoint of our most important national treasure –our self-governing democracy –the systematic sabotage of the nation’s electric/rail mass transit systems by automobile corporations points up a most serious problem: the ability of “private” corporations to effect sweeping changes in our public life and culture, without public accountability or even debate. If we ever hope to achieve a sustainable environment, and re-establish a fair economy and a working democracy, this is a key problem we will have to acknowledge and address.
–Peter Montague
===============
[1] Marty Jezer, THE DARK AGES; LIFE IN THE UNITED STATES, 1945-1960 (Boston: South End Press, 1982), pgs. 138-146.

[2] See U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, HEALTH ASSESSMENT DOCUMENT FOR DIESEL EMISSIONS [External Review Draft; 2 volumes: EPA/600/8-90/057Ba and EPA/600/8-90/057Bb] (Research Triangle, N.C.: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, December, 1994). And see RHWN #120.

[3] P. Brock Williams and others, “Latex allergen in respirable particulate air pollution,” JOURNAL OF ALLERGY AND CLINICAL IMMUNOLOGY Vol. 95, No. 1, Part 1 (January 1995), pgs. 88-96. And see: M. Michael Glovsky and others, “Can Latex Allergy be Triggered by Air Pollution?” Abstract presented at Experimental Biology ‘95 in Atlanta, Georgia during April, 1995. Dr. Glovsky’s address: Asthma Center, Huntington Memorial Hospital, Pasadena, CA 91105. Phone: (818) 397-3383; fax: (818) 795-0982. Glovsky’s work is discussed briefly in J. Raloff, “Latex allergies from right out of thin air?” SCIENCE NEWS Vol. 147, No. 16 (April 22, 1995), pg. 244. See also: L.M. Hildemann and others, “Chemical Composition of Emissions from Urban Sources of Fine Organic Aerosol,” ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY Vol. 25, No. 4 (1991), pgs. 744-759.

[4] Doris Jaeger and others, “Latex-Specific proteins causing immediate-type cutaneous, nasal, bronchial, and systemic reactions,” JOURNAL OF ALLERGY AND CLINICAL IMMUNOLOGY Vol. 88, No. 3 (March 1992), pgs. 759-768. And: Gordon L. Sussman and Donald H. Beezhold, “Allergy to Latex Rubber,” ANNALS OF INTERNAL MEDICINE Vol. 122, No. 1 (January 1, 1995), pgs. 43-46. And: Denise-Anne Moneret-Vautrin and others, “Prospective study of risk factors in natural rubber latex hypersensitivity,” JOURNAL OF ALLERGY AND CLINICAL IMMUNOLOGY Vol. 82, No. 5 (November 1993), pgs. 668-677.

[5] Tire use in 1995 is a projection based on trends from 1970-1990 shown in: Bureau of the Census, U.S. Department of Commerce, STATISTICAL ABSTRACT OF THE UNITED STATES 1990 (Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1990), Table 1027; and Bureau of the Census, U.S. Department of Commerce, Statistical Abstract of the United States 1992 (Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1992), Table 1000.

[6] Richard Lipkin, “No-itch latex,” SCIENCE NEWS Vol. 147, No. 16 (April 22, 1995), pg. 254.

[7] C. Arden Pope III and others, “Particulate Air Pollution as a Predictor of Mortality in a Prospective Study of U.S. Adults,” AMERICAN JOURNAL OF RESPIRATORY AND CRITICAL CARE MEDICINE Vol. 151, No. 3 (March 1995), pgs. 669-674. See also RHWN #373.

Descriptor terms: automobiles; transportation systems; general motors; mass transit; railroads; trolleys; electric street railways; firestone rubber; gm; standard oil of california; new york; philadelphia; baltimore; st. louis; oakland; salt lake city; los angeles; pacific electric railway; diesel; buses; global warming; lung cancer; asthma; allergies; latex allergy; rubber; guayule; air pollution; radial tires; fine particles; bias ply tires;

Just in case their racism, sexism, and general awfulness hasn’t been enough to turn you away from Abercrombie & Fitch after all these years, here’s another glimpse of the inner workings of the horrible store.

When I previously (and gleefully) wrote about the economic troubles that Abercrombie was having a few months back, I mentioned that my personal hatred for the store comes from the fact that one of the women I was in the intensive inpatient unit with during my treatment for anorexia was heavily recruited by the store just days before her hospitalization (she was incredibly underweight) because she had “the look” they wanted. Turns out that this horrific “look policy” doesn’t just revolve around being stick-thin; according to Riam Dean, she was forced to work in the stockroom, as opposed to on the floor, at Abercrombie’s London flagship store because her prosthetic arm didn’t fit the company’s attractiveness standards. You stay classy, Abercrombie!

When Riam applied to the store, they took a photograph of her and gave her a handbook that listed the company’s expectations, as far as physical appearance goes. According to the Daily Mail, the handbook “stipulates that staff must represent a ‘natural, classic American style’ and instructs them on everything from how to wear their hair (clean and natural) to how long they should wear their nails (a quarter of an inch past the end of the finger).” Apparently, Riam’s prosthetic arm wasn’t “natural” or “classic” enough for the store- they made her buy a cardigan to wear in order to hide her arms while working.

The cardigan, however, wasn’t enough to satisfy the Abercrombie team. As Riam recalls:

“A worker from what they call the “visual team”, people who are employed to go round making sure the shop and its staff look up to scratch, came up to me and demanded I take the cardigan off. I told her, yet again, that I had been given special permission to wear it. A few minutes later my manager came over to me and said: “I can’t have you on the shop floor as you are breaking the Look Policy. Go to the stockroom immediately and I’ll get someone to replace you. I pride myself on being quite a confident girl but I had never experienced prejudice like that before and it made me feel utterly worthless. Afterwards I telephoned the company’s head office where a member of staff asked whether I was willing to work in the stockroom until the winter uniform arrived. That was the final straw. I just couldn’t go back.”

She is now suing the company, which, by the way, already paid 2.2 million dollars to employees who felt that that the company was unfairly forcing them to buy Abercrombie’s clothes in 2003. Oh, and did I mention they paid a 40 million dollar settlement in 2004, after being accused of discriminatory employment practices? Because they did! This is a company that continues to be called out for their sexist, racist, discriminatory practices, and by issuing half-ass apologies and paying off their accusers, they expect us to forget the nastiness at the core of this operation. Sadly, all of this only makes Riam’s story as unsurprising as it is upsetting.

The best way to rob a bank is to own one.

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.

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A Wal-Mart worker died early Friday after an “out-of-control” mob of frenzied shoppers smashed through the Long Island store’s front doors and trampled him, police said.

The Black Friday stampede plunged the Valley Stream outlet into chaos, knocking several employees to the ground and sending others scurrying atop vending machines to avoid the horde.

When the madness ended, 34-year-old Jdimytai Damour was dead and four shoppers, including a woman eight months pregnant, were injured.

While nothing can match the horror of workers getting killed by stupid mobs and shootings in the middle of a Toys R Us, we keep receiving horror tales about other Black Fridays gone wrong. The biggest one is about how CompUSA/Tigerdirect online “sale”—the one with the Sony Vaio TT with a $5,000 discount was apparently a total disaster, according to readers. Update: A guy from the CompUSA “sale” wrote to us. Readers keep posting their stories about other places in the comments.

CompUSA and Tigerdirect

Please let it be known that everything about tigerdirect.com/compusa.com ’s “big” sale was a bust.

First it was not an online sale but a tele-marathon instead. Prices were valid only through phone lines which for half the night were actually dead. When the lines were working i was either on hold for a minimum of 20 min then hung up on or on the one occasion i got through was told that the product i requested was not on sale and then got hung up on. The crew for the live web cast lost video throughout the night.

Browsers were crashing, phones were crashing, all organization was lost. It was just a very unsatisfying experience for having spent 12+ hours tuned in to their product placement and free advertisement and still leaving empty handed. Now i realize everyone cries when they do not get their tickle me elmo but this seemed different.

I felt as though I was lied to. Quantities were not limited but scarce. They were based off donated products a fact that was no where to be seen in the advertisement. I don’t know. It is late, i am tired, and i somehow feel robbed even though i had no chance to spend money. I wrote you so this message did not get lost in the comments. I am a long time tigerdirect promoter but i am reconsidering my loyalty. So please just let me known. That this was a FAIL!

well i know people that went to the compusa.com web site and watched their live stream /pink Friday sale ALL day, essentially they would show an item on sale and give you an 888-444-9×00 number to call to try to order it.

i guess it worked ok until the last few hours when all their computers and cameras went out—they switched to a asus netbook to broadcast the last few items, including the coveted sony vaio TT laptop that lists t $6000, being sold for $999.

yes I tried desperately to call in for that, as did nearly the 5000 people watching…the last few hours had not only the problems with the webcast, but also audio sync, and then problems with the sale 888
phone lines, making it impossible to get through…..we need the net to complain to make compusa do the sale again or just sell more of the sony vaio tt.

The Compusa/Tigerdirect Pink Friday sales where a joke and I question whether or not anyone received any of the high demand products other than staff members and there friends.There where a few products which I had planned on buying mainly: i7 920 processors,x58 mobo’s,Nec projectors,Xbox360….. I had 3 phones auto-dialing the numbers.Since they were basically changing the phone# in sequence ie: 1-888-444-9300,1-888-444-9500,1-888-444-9800 repeat. I had the phones set to start dialing b4 they were put on the screen,as they put the number on the screen,and just after the number was put up. and would receive the “Item is already sold out”,”Please hold” message or would just plain get hung up on.
All in all it was ONE BIG SCAM!

A CompUSA guy wrote a reply to this story. He had this to say:

I also looked all over PinkFriday.org and I now have to agree with some of the customers who are complaining. I don’t believe that the deals and the ways in which they were delivered were explained. They did not say that the deals were only available through the phone and they did not explain that they only had a few units of each item. Perhaps they could have said, “Telethon style giveaways of extremely limited quantities.”

This is a small issue but it seems to have riled up a few people.

My final thought is this: Despite all the frustration and the technical difficulties, despite the fact that the explanation of the event was vague, despite the customer complaints, there were a lot of happy people and there was a ton of money donated to Susan G Komen.

Circuit City

I went to Circuit City to get a videocamera. They didn’t have the $200 JVC one that I really wanted. They didn’t have the $450 HD Samsung (marked down from $850) in stock. And, when I spotted a good $650 HD Sony videocamera, they wouldn’t do a $50 price match to CompUSA.

That’s right – Circuit City was unwilling to do an 8% price match for a customer in store ready to buy. In fact, I didn’t even get a counteroffer. At least a “I can’t do $610 but how about $630?” Is it any wonder they’re going out of business.