ATM Safety

Washington Mutaul just sent me these tips to help you be safe at ATM's.


Pay attention to your surroundings. Consider taking a friend with you if you use an ATM at night or in a deserted area.
Park in a well-lit area close to the ATM, and prepare your transactions before approaching the ATM.
Close the entry door completely upon entering an ATM facility equipped with a door. Do not permit any unknown person(s) to enter an ATM facility with you after regular banking hours.
If you notice something suspicious or feel uncomfortable, cancel your transaction and leave the ATM immediately. Report all crimes immediately to the operator of the automated teller machine or to local law enforcement.
When using an ATM or point-of-sale (POS) terminal, shield the keypad while entering your PIN.
Put your cash in your handbag or pocket immediately; wait to count it until you get home or are safely in your car.
Take your transaction receipt with you. Do not leave it at the ATM.
When using your Debit MasterCard® for purchases, review your sales slip before signing it and check to see if the correct amount has been filled in. Never sign a blank sales slip.
Make sure the merchant returns your card to you when your purchase transaction is complete.
Memorize your PIN. Do not write your PIN on your card and never give your PIN to anyone. The bank will not call you to request the information.
Protect your card as you would cash, checks, or credit cards. Report lost or stolen cards to us immediately.

Work From Home Scam

This scam involves everyone’s fantasy make lots of money by working at home. Unfortunately for the most part these are all scams to get your money. All of them will want you to send them money for supposedly either teaching you how to make the money or buying a franchise. Your best bet is just to stay away from these scams as appealing as it may be to work from home. Some of the different types are stuffing envelopes, medical billing, Forex apprentice, multi level marketing, real estate investor apprentice.

Stock Investment Scam

Here is a typical stock investment scam: You receive a telephone call from a stock broker telling you about XYZ Company and their stock is going to go up 600% in the next few days. You pass on the stock and the stock does what the broker said. You get another call from the same stock broker and he says that the stock is still on the rise and will repeat the previous performance. You decide you don’t want to miss out on the instant fortune and decided to buy shares. You buy the shares and the stock continues to climb. The scammers sell the stock leaving investors holding the worthless stock.

Ponzi Scheme

Named after Charles Ponzi whom developed the largest investment scheme. This took place around the 1920's in the United States. The scheme works as follows: The person or company perpetrating the scheme usually pays out a very high rate of return to entice investors. They use the investment money to pay back investors. To keep the scheme going they need to bring in new investors and investment dollars. So in essence they have to rob Peter to pay Paul. When the collapse happens they usually put the blame on government regulators.

Example of Phishing

Here is an example phishing

British Online Co-ordinatorsP O Box 1010 3b Olympic Way,Sefton Business Park,Aintree, Liverpool , L30 1RDRef: UK/776090X2/23Batch: 013/06/8394369===========================We are pleased to inform you of the result of the winners of the BRITISH NATIONAL LOTTERY ,held on the 11th February,2008.Your e-mailaddress was selected Which subsequently won you the lottery bonus draw. You have therefore been approved to claim a total sum of £1,500,000 (One Million Five Hundred Thousand Pounds Sterling ) The selection process was carried out through random selection in Our computerized email selection system (ess) from a database of over 100,000 email Addresses drawn from which you were selected. To file for your claim, please contact your fiduciary agent Mr Richard Cook With the Verification/Fund Release Form Below.1.Full Name:2.Full Address:3.Marital Status:4.Occupation:5.Age:6.Sex:7.Country Of Residence:8.Telephone Number:Mr Richard Cook.Tel:+44703-195-7381Or + 44703-192-6337E-mail: RegardsGeorge HowardBritish Online Co-ordinatorCongratulations! Dear Customer,You've been selected to take part in our quick and easy 8 questionssurveyIn return we will credit $80.00 to your account - Just for your time!Please spare two minutes of your time and take part in our onlinesurveyso we can improve our services.Don't miss this chance to change something. To access the form please copy/paste the link below in your browser
Note:* If you received this message in your SPAM/BULK folder, that isbecause of the restrictions implemented by your ISP* For security reasons, we will record your ip address, the date andtime. * Deliberate wrong imputs are criminally pursued and indicted. E-mail Number :MDUUMSZBJUITNOJTIIQUUEVNKXICZDQICIDKBY

Investment Rule

When it comes to investments there is 1 real basic rule.

1. If it sounds to good to be true it probably is to good to be true.