"There's no way to rule innocent men. The only power any government has is to crack down on criminals. Well, when there aren't enough criminals, one makes them. One declares so many things to be a crime that it becomes impossible for men to live without breaking laws. Who wants a nation of law-abiding citizens? What's there in that for anyone? But just pass the kinds of laws that can neither be observed nor enforced nor objectively interpreted - and you create a nation of lawbreakers - and then you cash in on guilt. Now that's the system, Mr. Rearden, that's the game, and once you understand it, you'll be much easier to deal with."
Dr. Floyd Ferris, Atlas Shrugged
**********************************************************
never forget.....never, ever....
2017-10-18
8 Phone Number Theft Alert
In the world of identity thieves, phone number theft is the latest thing.
These crooks trick phone service providers into switching victims' phone numbers to the scammer's own devices.
This week, we'll explain how this scam works and what you can do to minimize the risk of it happening to you.
ID Crooks Target Cell Phone Number Theft
<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>
Has someone stolen your cell phone number and is now pretending to be you, receiving and making calls and sending texts in your name? Is phone number theft even possible?
The answer to that second question is a definite "yes." It's the latest identity theft trick sweeping the country.
According to research firm Javelin, more than 160,000 people had their numbers stolen last year, almost double the figure for the prior year.
When used on another phone, it not only gives the hijackers access to your contacts but also, potentially, to your banks or credit card accounts.
Recent reports suggest some people have already suffered big losses as a result.
Stealing and using a cell phone number is easier than you might imagine. All the crook needs are your number and a few key pieces of information about you.
Then they contact your phone service provider, claiming to be you. They say they have a new phone and ask for the number to be switched to them.
Often, they claim the original phone has been stolen. This encourages the phone service provider to act quickly to switch the number to the new device, especially if the crook buys the new phone from them.
Complete Control
What's neat about this trick, from the scammer's point of view, is that it doesn't matter what security you have on your old phone. Once the number is transferred to their new phone, they're in complete control -- no need for an access passcode and it probably allows them to use any code generator you use for two-factor authentication.
Mobile phone companies are supposed to have security procedures in place to check the identify of someone who wants to switch their number to a new phone. But clearly these procedures don't always work.
To make this crime even worse, new evidence is emerging that information brokers are trading cell phone numbers and attaching them to data files they hold about us.
Some security experts suggest your cell phone number is, in effect, a substitute for your Social Security number -- used to uniquely identify you.
The problem is that just about everyone you do business with online these days asks for your cell number, meaning that, unlike Social Security numbers, it won't be as closely safeguarded.
Security specialist and former drug enforcement agent Thomas Martin was recently quoted by the USA Today newspaper as saying: "If someone you had just met asked you for your Social Security number, you would likely not give it to them. What if the same person asked you for your cell phone number? My guess is that you would readily tell them the ten-digit number."
Five Key Steps
To reduce the risk of falling victim, or at least to minimize the effects, here are some actions you can take:
1. Think twice about providing your cell number to anyone. Many online forms ask for it but it's usually not mandatory. Likewise, if someone asks you for it, offer an alternative like your email address.
2. Don't share your number online either -- especially on Facebook, Twitter or other social media. Once you do that, an ID thief can put together a pretty convincing story to pass themselves off as you.
3. If you must share a mobile number, get a virtual one, which uses an app on your phone. This isn't difficult to do. For example, Google offers a free virtual phone service here: https://voice.google.com/u/0/about
4. Don't store passwords on your phone. Or, if you do, keep them in a file protected by another difficult password. Don't allow any app to automatically insert passwords for you.
5. Check if your phone service provider offers account password protection. If they do, use this. It would stop SIM-swaps from working.
How will you know if your number has been hijacked?
Quite simply, your phone will stop working and you'll likely get a message saying you can only make emergency calls.
This happened last year to a tech expert from the Federal Trade Commission. Read about his experience here: https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/blogs/techftc/2016/06/your-mobile-phone-account-could-be-hijacked-identity-thief
If you don't use your phone that often, the first you know might be a big bill or a call from a debt collector.
What to do if you're a victim
If this happens to you, contact your cell phone service provider immediately. Keep their number easily accessible, especially if they have a separate number for their fraud department.
You may need to contact other companies with which you do business and take other security steps if the crook has taken on debt in your name.
Learn more about what to do here: https://identitytheft.gov/
Also, alert your contacts to watch out for emails and texts being sent out in your name.
As we become more and more dependent on our mobile devices, the risk of cell phone number theft is likely to grow. Be on the alert!
Internet Scambusters
The #1 Publication on Internet Fraud
http://www.scambusters.org
By Scambuster Keith
Issue #775 October 18, 2017
These crooks trick phone service providers into switching victims' phone numbers to the scammer's own devices.
This week, we'll explain how this scam works and what you can do to minimize the risk of it happening to you.
ID Crooks Target Cell Phone Number Theft
<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>
Has someone stolen your cell phone number and is now pretending to be you, receiving and making calls and sending texts in your name? Is phone number theft even possible?
The answer to that second question is a definite "yes." It's the latest identity theft trick sweeping the country.
According to research firm Javelin, more than 160,000 people had their numbers stolen last year, almost double the figure for the prior year.
When used on another phone, it not only gives the hijackers access to your contacts but also, potentially, to your banks or credit card accounts.
Recent reports suggest some people have already suffered big losses as a result.
Stealing and using a cell phone number is easier than you might imagine. All the crook needs are your number and a few key pieces of information about you.
Then they contact your phone service provider, claiming to be you. They say they have a new phone and ask for the number to be switched to them.
Often, they claim the original phone has been stolen. This encourages the phone service provider to act quickly to switch the number to the new device, especially if the crook buys the new phone from them.
Complete Control
What's neat about this trick, from the scammer's point of view, is that it doesn't matter what security you have on your old phone. Once the number is transferred to their new phone, they're in complete control -- no need for an access passcode and it probably allows them to use any code generator you use for two-factor authentication.
Mobile phone companies are supposed to have security procedures in place to check the identify of someone who wants to switch their number to a new phone. But clearly these procedures don't always work.
To make this crime even worse, new evidence is emerging that information brokers are trading cell phone numbers and attaching them to data files they hold about us.
Some security experts suggest your cell phone number is, in effect, a substitute for your Social Security number -- used to uniquely identify you.
The problem is that just about everyone you do business with online these days asks for your cell number, meaning that, unlike Social Security numbers, it won't be as closely safeguarded.
Security specialist and former drug enforcement agent Thomas Martin was recently quoted by the USA Today newspaper as saying: "If someone you had just met asked you for your Social Security number, you would likely not give it to them. What if the same person asked you for your cell phone number? My guess is that you would readily tell them the ten-digit number."
Five Key Steps
To reduce the risk of falling victim, or at least to minimize the effects, here are some actions you can take:
1. Think twice about providing your cell number to anyone. Many online forms ask for it but it's usually not mandatory. Likewise, if someone asks you for it, offer an alternative like your email address.
2. Don't share your number online either -- especially on Facebook, Twitter or other social media. Once you do that, an ID thief can put together a pretty convincing story to pass themselves off as you.
3. If you must share a mobile number, get a virtual one, which uses an app on your phone. This isn't difficult to do. For example, Google offers a free virtual phone service here: https://voice.google.com/u/0/about
4. Don't store passwords on your phone. Or, if you do, keep them in a file protected by another difficult password. Don't allow any app to automatically insert passwords for you.
5. Check if your phone service provider offers account password protection. If they do, use this. It would stop SIM-swaps from working.
How will you know if your number has been hijacked?
Quite simply, your phone will stop working and you'll likely get a message saying you can only make emergency calls.
This happened last year to a tech expert from the Federal Trade Commission. Read about his experience here: https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/blogs/techftc/2016/06/your-mobile-phone-account-could-be-hijacked-identity-thief
If you don't use your phone that often, the first you know might be a big bill or a call from a debt collector.
What to do if you're a victim
If this happens to you, contact your cell phone service provider immediately. Keep their number easily accessible, especially if they have a separate number for their fraud department.
You may need to contact other companies with which you do business and take other security steps if the crook has taken on debt in your name.
Learn more about what to do here: https://identitytheft.gov/
Also, alert your contacts to watch out for emails and texts being sent out in your name.
As we become more and more dependent on our mobile devices, the risk of cell phone number theft is likely to grow. Be on the alert!
Internet Scambusters
The #1 Publication on Internet Fraud
http://www.scambusters.org
By Scambuster Keith
Issue #775 October 18, 2017
2017-10-04
2017-09-02
6 Price v Value in Oil Change Consideration
Q: Okay folks, where's your favorite place to get your oil changed? We're looking for a new shop that doesn't charge too much and can do the work while we wait. And don't tell me Jiffy Lube! Seems everyone's raising their prices or pushing services we don't want. I just want an oil/filter change at a reasonable cost... where do you go?
A: dunno what you think is reasonable.....I use Tom's Transmission on Sierra Highway, next to the GG/VFW. I believe Brian, by appointment, can change your oil and filter while you wait.
I don't care about folks pushing services; it is how they manage to bring in more revenue to their enterprises.
Also, I want to know before it breaks that something is about to fail. I know about dealing with folks who do not warn me that something is about to fail.....fg expensive....
That is a reason to do business with folks who "push services".
The concern about price seems to be that value is a synonym.....value is what satisfies you.....price is what someone else wants for satisfying you.
see Hazlitt's "Economics in One Lesson"
A: dunno what you think is reasonable.....I use Tom's Transmission on Sierra Highway, next to the GG/VFW. I believe Brian, by appointment, can change your oil and filter while you wait.
I don't care about folks pushing services; it is how they manage to bring in more revenue to their enterprises.
Also, I want to know before it breaks that something is about to fail. I know about dealing with folks who do not warn me that something is about to fail.....fg expensive....
That is a reason to do business with folks who "push services".
The concern about price seems to be that value is a synonym.....value is what satisfies you.....price is what someone else wants for satisfying you.
see Hazlitt's "Economics in One Lesson"
2017-07-01
5 DUI_checkpoint
by Nolan Cochran,
Totally unrelated, but I am just very curious at this point...anybody know why the guy in the comments above (Mr Ellis) calls himself "Doc"?
Nolan... When I worked at a freight delivery service, folks tagged me Doc in 1979 because I spoke like a PhD guy. I am not a so-called sovereign citizen. I am a voluntaryian individualist aka agorist. Here is a link to You Own You: The Prime Axiom at http://tinyurl.com/y9frdm45
by Ed Porter,
Doc is his name
He is a nice guy and helpful around town musician volunteer etc, good guy.
But I fully disagree with his point of view on law enforcement and most of his political views. Doc's political views seem like an anarchist of some sort. I am very Conservative fiscally, more liberal socially. Great respect for law enforcement nearly all of whom are great people looking to help society.
We owe a great debt to them putting their life on the line. Just as we owe a great debt to the military and to our constitution for the freedoms we enjoy.
My late maternal grandfather was a sergeant in the USAAC/USAF, my late dad was a lt in USAF, two brothers were airmen in the USAF, and another brother was in the 82th airborne.....you will not see me say thank you for killing folks for other folks....see this essay at http://tinyurl.com/gp49x3q for a discussion one of the true purposes of military agencies.
and the us constitution was a framework more to the liking of those who wrote it than the articles of confederation that was in force at the time. here is just one link to the reality that the constitution is a scam: John Hancock's Big Toe and the Constitution, By Gary North at http://tinyurl.com/yaqmll4n . There are more links, but I am only posting one.
by Ed Porter,
Thanks for your service Nolan. I know you've been through a lot. My wife's dad's entire career was in Marine Corps Aviation on Harriers. Cherry Point NC, she grew up there.
My own dad was in the Army. Long family history of service and I have family in law enforcement too.
Any and all of those who have issues with LE, will be the first to call them immediately if they're victim of a crime. Kind of hypocritical. And while doing so, they will be demanding top notch service. Kind of funny tbh.
by Doc
Ed....no, I don't call predators for help when somebody else assaults or steals from me. I know from experience that predators are useless for those concerns. I only demand that they leave folks alone. Take a look at this:
The Danger of Obedience: Fake Police Crime Spree By Joe Jarvis
at http://tinyurl.com/y8e8uzgy
In my experience, honesty and integrity are over-rated. Hypocrisy and deceit are crucial survival skills. This goes along with the observation that sincerity and empathy are key to successful living; faking those lets you get away with so much. Nice try with the hypocrisy accusation, though.
.
Totally unrelated, but I am just very curious at this point...anybody know why the guy in the comments above (Mr Ellis) calls himself "Doc"?
Nolan... When I worked at a freight delivery service, folks tagged me Doc in 1979 because I spoke like a PhD guy. I am not a so-called sovereign citizen. I am a voluntaryian individualist aka agorist. Here is a link to You Own You: The Prime Axiom at http://tinyurl.com/y9frdm45
by Ed Porter,
Doc is his name
He is a nice guy and helpful around town musician volunteer etc, good guy.
But I fully disagree with his point of view on law enforcement and most of his political views. Doc's political views seem like an anarchist of some sort. I am very Conservative fiscally, more liberal socially. Great respect for law enforcement nearly all of whom are great people looking to help society.
We owe a great debt to them putting their life on the line. Just as we owe a great debt to the military and to our constitution for the freedoms we enjoy.
My late maternal grandfather was a sergeant in the USAAC/USAF, my late dad was a lt in USAF, two brothers were airmen in the USAF, and another brother was in the 82th airborne.....you will not see me say thank you for killing folks for other folks....see this essay at http://tinyurl.com/gp49x3q for a discussion one of the true purposes of military agencies.
and the us constitution was a framework more to the liking of those who wrote it than the articles of confederation that was in force at the time. here is just one link to the reality that the constitution is a scam: John Hancock's Big Toe and the Constitution, By Gary North at http://tinyurl.com/yaqmll4n . There are more links, but I am only posting one.
by Ed Porter,
Thanks for your service Nolan. I know you've been through a lot. My wife's dad's entire career was in Marine Corps Aviation on Harriers. Cherry Point NC, she grew up there.
My own dad was in the Army. Long family history of service and I have family in law enforcement too.
Any and all of those who have issues with LE, will be the first to call them immediately if they're victim of a crime. Kind of hypocritical. And while doing so, they will be demanding top notch service. Kind of funny tbh.
by Doc
Ed....no, I don't call predators for help when somebody else assaults or steals from me. I know from experience that predators are useless for those concerns. I only demand that they leave folks alone. Take a look at this:
The Danger of Obedience: Fake Police Crime Spree By Joe Jarvis
at http://tinyurl.com/y8e8uzgy
In my experience, honesty and integrity are over-rated. Hypocrisy and deceit are crucial survival skills. This goes along with the observation that sincerity and empathy are key to successful living; faking those lets you get away with so much. Nice try with the hypocrisy accusation, though.
.
2017-02-27
4_autocorrected_joke_201700227
A man got a text from his next-door neighbor: "Must confess. Been tapping your wife when you're not around. Probably more than you. No excuse. Can't live with the guilt. Please accept apology. It won't happen again."
The distraught, betrayed husband found his gun and, without a word, aimed it at his wife. As he prepared to pull the trigger, he got another text: "Damned auto-correct. I meant wifi, not wife!"
via Today's CyberJoke 3000™
The distraught, betrayed husband found his gun and, without a word, aimed it at his wife. As he prepared to pull the trigger, he got another text: "Damned auto-correct. I meant wifi, not wife!"
via Today's CyberJoke 3000™
2017-02-05
3. Excessive high speeds on the 14 again
1 @ original poster:
how do you know how fast these guys were going?
did you clock them? did you time their travel between fixed points?
did you pace them?
did you track them via radar or laser?
did you use prior training to gauge their speed?
or did you guess and hope to be close?
were the slower drivers moving over to let the fast drivers pass safely?
were the fast drivers driving competently, or were they driving carelessly?
driving fast does not kill
stopping abruptly into another object or person can kill
so long as fast drivers don't collide, no harm, no victim, no crime.
how do you know how fast these guys were going?
did you clock them? did you time their travel between fixed points?
did you pace them?
did you track them via radar or laser?
did you use prior training to gauge their speed?
or did you guess and hope to be close?
were the slower drivers moving over to let the fast drivers pass safely?
were the fast drivers driving competently, or were they driving carelessly?
driving fast does not kill
stopping abruptly into another object or person can kill
so long as fast drivers don't collide, no harm, no victim, no crime.
2017-01-22
2_response_to_comment_regarding_illegal_dumping
1) and folks who use critter care takers who work without gimmevermin folks' permission contribute to the animal abuse trade....or who buy bread outside of gimmevermin-approved venue contribute to the decline of the empire, or something....
let me point out that gimmevermin folks control other folks by making so much illegal that residents commit three felonies a day, just by living their own lives.
the scam of regulating businesses is all about limiting opportunities to most folks. and gimmevermin folks execute that limiting through the use of up-to-lethal force.
I understand that los angeles county gimmevermin folks decreed that drivers, that they presume to rule, had to find other venues than the ones drivers had used up to then. Some drivers apparently found sites along Sierra Highway.
2) I don't favor dumping on property without permission of the property holder. I addressed the issue of "illegal" (without gimmevermin folks' permission). that is all.
let me point out that gimmevermin folks control other folks by making so much illegal that residents commit three felonies a day, just by living their own lives.
the scam of regulating businesses is all about limiting opportunities to most folks. and gimmevermin folks execute that limiting through the use of up-to-lethal force.
I understand that los angeles county gimmevermin folks decreed that drivers, that they presume to rule, had to find other venues than the ones drivers had used up to then. Some drivers apparently found sites along Sierra Highway.
2) I don't favor dumping on property without permission of the property holder. I addressed the issue of "illegal" (without gimmevermin folks' permission). that is all.
2017-01-11
1_work-related_joke_20170111
One afternoon, Cliff showed up for work stark naked.
His boss stopped him at the door. "Cliff, where are your clothes? And why are you here on your day off?"
Cliff explained, "Well, boss, I was at this party when all the lights went out. Someone ordered, 'Women, take off all your clothes!' and when the lights came back on, every woman was stark naked! Then the lights went out again and the voice ordered, 'Men, take off all your clothes!' and when the lights came back on, every man was naked. Then the lights went out and the voice ordered, 'All right, men: get to work!' So I grabbed my briefcase and came here, sir!"
-- Today's CyberJoke 3000™
His boss stopped him at the door. "Cliff, where are your clothes? And why are you here on your day off?"
Cliff explained, "Well, boss, I was at this party when all the lights went out. Someone ordered, 'Women, take off all your clothes!' and when the lights came back on, every woman was stark naked! Then the lights went out again and the voice ordered, 'Men, take off all your clothes!' and when the lights came back on, every man was naked. Then the lights went out and the voice ordered, 'All right, men: get to work!' So I grabbed my briefcase and came here, sir!"
-- Today's CyberJoke 3000™
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