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Solidgoldmonthly for September September 17, 2003 It's a jungle out there! The purpose of this ezine is to guide you through the swamp and onto the mountaintop. Life is a journey; Solidgoldmonthly is here to bring provisions and guide maps to assist you in finding the path of success.
Not a lot of news from the home front this month. Carolyn has taken up Yoga and our house is still for sale. Existing homes in our area have flooded the market but new home sales are booming. All I can figure is that everybody just wants a new house, sort of like the new car smell. Meanwhile there are tremendous bargains in homes for sale by owner. To find out more about upstate South Carolina visit our new website Homes in South Carolina In one of the first issues of Solidgoldmonthly we included our article warning about identity theft and it is still available on our articles page at Solidgold Home Business. Since that time more and more information has been published regarding this crime and its tremendous scope. If you don't think this can happen to you then you need to read both of the following articles. If you are a victim of identity theft then contact us and we will try to help. Thank you for agreeing to receive our ezine. Please feel free to forward this issue to your friends. Comments and article submissions are always welcome. Our email address is solidgoldhome@charter.net. If you wish to subscribe or view past issues please visit our website at Solidgold Home Business. If you have not already downloaded your fr*e ebooks the email addresses are below. ------------------------------------
Contents Email Identity Theft Thought - The Passing of an Old Friend Computer Tip - Printing Home Loan Identity Theft Coral Calcium - Facts and Fiction Interesting Links Free Ebooks ------------------------------------------
Citibank Warns of E-Mail Scam Official-looking message seeks names, checking account info. John Blau, IDG News Service Tuesday, August 19, 2003 Citibank, a division of New York-based Citigroup, is warning customers to immediately delete a scam e-mail asking them to provide their user names and the first four digits of their bank cards. The e-mail, which appears to come from Citibank with the subject "Your Checking Account at Citibank," warns bank customers that their checking accounts could be blocked if they don't provide their user information, the bank said Monday in a statement. Citibank is working with law enforcement officials to locate the source of the fraudulent e-mail. The bank has published a list of precautionary steps on its Web site to help customers avoid problems with unsolicited junk e-mail, and is urging customers who receive suspicious online mail to alert company officials. This is the latest example of "phishing," or official-looking messages telling recipients that, for technical reasons, billing information and identity data, such as social security numbers, must be submitted for their accounts. Consumers Warned In July, the U.S. federal government and ISP EarthLink warned of a surge in unsolicited e-mail and scam Web sites designed to steal the identity of unsuspecting Internet users. The Atlanta, Georgia, ISP has seen a spike since the beginning of the year in e-mail linked to phisher scams, which use spam to lure victims to Web sites designed to look like legitimate retail or corporate sites. In the same month, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission settled a civil action against a 17-year-old California boy accused of tricking Internet users into giving him their credit card numbers and other personal information on a bogus Web site meant to look like America Online's billing center. The settlement, pending approval by a federal court in central California, will bar the defendant from sending spam and force him to give up about $3,500 in profits from his venture, which ran from July to December 2002, before the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation confiscated his computer. ------------------------------------------------- The Passing of an Old Friend Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend by the name of Common Sense who has been with us for many years. No one knows for sure how old he was, since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape. He will be remembered as having cultivated such valued lessons as knowing when to come in out of the rain, why the early bird gets the worm and that life isn't always fair. Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don't spend more than you earn) and reliable parenting strategies (adults, not kids, are in charge). His health began to rapidly deteriorate when well intentioned but overbearing regulations were set in place, such as: * Reports of a six-year-old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate, * Teens suspended from school for using mouthwash after lunch, * And a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly student. These events only worsened his condition. It declined even further when schools were required to get parental consent to administer aspirin to a student but could not inform the parents when a student became pregnant and wanted to have an abortion. Common sense lost the will to live as the Ten Commandments became contraband, churches became businesses and criminals received better treatment than their victims. Common Sense finally gave up the ghost after a woman failed to realize that a steaming cup of coffee was hot, spilled a bit in her lap, and was awarded a huge settlement. Common Sense was preceded in death by his parents, Truth and Trust, his wife, Discretion; his daughter, Responsibility; and his son, Reason. He is survived by two stepbrothers; My Rights and Ima Whiner. Not many attended his funeral because so few realized he was gone. ----------------------------------- Computer Tip - Printing
What if you only want to print out *part* of a Website, or document. You know - a relevant paragraph or section? This easy method will save you a lot of time, ink, and paper! Here's the secret ... Just highlight the text that you want to print. Then, on your program's menu line, click "File, Print." When the "print" dialog box appears, you'll see a live radio button with "Selection" under the Print Range area. This will only appear if you've highlighted part of the page. Now click OK and only the selected text will be printed. That is, only the HIGHLIGHTED text that you've selected. For more computer tips visit the --------------------------------- Home Loan Identity Theft
Amos Price did what many a father would do. He helped his daughter buy a house. But in the process, Price, 73, had his identity stolen. Police in Columbia, S.C., have charged the mortgage broker that his daughter used to obtain the home loan with financial identity fraud. Police and a lawyer hired by Price's family said the broker had used Price's personal information and good credit standing to obtain a mortgage to buy a $340,000 house -- and then didn't make the mortgage payments for more than a year. That's when the lender began to pressure the mortgage holder for the monthly payments -- but of course the lender thought that was Price. Price's once-stellar credit was damaged. And he's now having health problems because of all the aggravation of trying to clear up this mess, according to his daughter, Amanda Cantey, 45. Think this can't happen to you or your elderly father or mother? Think again. Experts say that Price is one of a growing number of seniors being targeted by identity thieves. Almost 10,000 identity-theft victims had home loans -- totaling about $300 million -- taken out in their names in 2002, according to TowerGroup, a financial research and consulting firm. Seniors who have paid off their mortgages and have good credit are especially vulnerable, according to Frank Abagnale Jr., the former forger who wrote about his criminal past in his best-selling book, "Catch Me if You Can," and was portrayed by Leonardo DiCaprio in Steven Spielberg's movie version. "If you can get a credit card in somebody's name, why not buy a home in their name?" Abagnale said in an interview. "I think most people don't understand that identity theft is the most simplistic crime that has ever been perpetrated. I stole $2.5 million, but today I could steal $25 million. The bottom line is, what I did 35 years ago is so much easier to do today." The FTC has issued a press release that dramatically illustrates the impact identity theft has made over the past five years. Be sure to click on the link and utilize the information. ---------------------------------------
Coral Calcium... Facts and Fiction: This nine page report reviews what coral calcium is, looks at some outrageous claims of some promoters of coral calcium and analyses the real potential benefits. Go to and click on Special Reports -------------------------------------
Interesting Links Feel alone and afraid in a world full of security breaches and criminal masterminds? Remember, there are plenty of criminals out there who are simply too dumb to rampage effectively. For instance, one man who was tired of walking stole a steamroller and led police on a 5 mph chase until a cop stepped aboard the vehicle and stopped it. This site documents his ilk and reminds you that many bad guys are dangerous to no one more then themselves.
----------------------------------------- FR*E EBOOKS For The Bluelight Special send a blank email to mailto:bluelightspecial@sendfree.com For Ebay Marketing Secrets send a blank email to mailto:solidgoldebay@sendfree.com
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