NEW YORK - The LexisNexis online information service is warning 32,000 people their personal information may have been improperly accessed in a credit card fraud scheme that postal officials say bilked hundreds.
New York-based LexisNexis says in a letter mailed Friday that former customers of the service may have viewed information including names, birth dates and Social Security numbers.
U.S. Postal Service officials have launched a criminal investigation and say 300 people in the databases of LexisNexis and a Santa Fe, N.M., company called Investigative Professionals were victims in the credit card fraud scheme. No suspects have been arrested.
Saturday, May 2, 2009
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Scammers offering Swine flu vaccinations..
By Hailey Higgins, Local News 8 Reporter
IDAHO FALLS - The top headlines for the past several days are the swine flu outbreak. It seems to be catching the attention of everyone, including scammers.
The Idaho Falls Better Business Bureau (BBB) said scammers are offering a vaccine for the swine flu, but there isn't one.
If you just go online and Google swine flu, you'll see it. The scam is a swine flu vaccine offered by CanadaPharmacy.com.
The BBB said scammers are preying off people's fear of the swine flu.
"They are going have that panic attack and they are going to try to do everything they can to try to protect themselves. And again, these are not the remedies this is not a cure. They are wasting their money," said Donna Oe, BBB Spokesperson.
It is very dangerous to buy medication over the internet; you just can't be sure what you're getting.
If you have flu-like symptoms, talk to your doctor and get a prescription from a pharmacist.
IDAHO FALLS - The top headlines for the past several days are the swine flu outbreak. It seems to be catching the attention of everyone, including scammers.
The Idaho Falls Better Business Bureau (BBB) said scammers are offering a vaccine for the swine flu, but there isn't one.
If you just go online and Google swine flu, you'll see it. The scam is a swine flu vaccine offered by CanadaPharmacy.com.
The BBB said scammers are preying off people's fear of the swine flu.
"They are going have that panic attack and they are going to try to do everything they can to try to protect themselves. And again, these are not the remedies this is not a cure. They are wasting their money," said Donna Oe, BBB Spokesperson.
It is very dangerous to buy medication over the internet; you just can't be sure what you're getting.
If you have flu-like symptoms, talk to your doctor and get a prescription from a pharmacist.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
shopper scam,,, again
By Danielle Grant, Local News 8 Reporter
IDAHO FALLS - It's nothing new, scammers going to great lengths to swindle you out of your own hard-earned cash.
Some are blaming the rough economy and payday lenders agree, they're seeing many more fraudulent checks coming into their doors.
A local couple with a check totaling close to $5,000 found out it's all a scam.
The Check 'N Loan store says they see bad checks at least once a week.
And the check the Espinosa family received was no different. It's a classic "too good to be true" offer nearly any woman would love: getting paid to go shopping.
"What woman wouldn't want to be a mystery shopper and get free stuff," said Dianna Espinosa.
Dianna got a check in the mail for $4,984 but after reading the letter along with it, things began to look a little fishy.
"[I thought] this is awesome. This seems too good to be true. This is almost $5,000 dollars and these people don't even know who I am," she said.
Although suspicious, she took it to Check N' Loan where they called the Bank of Easton to verify money was there.
"We didn't even get two words out and the bank said, ‘Is the check for this amount of money? Then its fraud.' We didn't even have a chance to confirm the funds, they automatically knew," Melanie Rhodes, a Check ‘N Loan teller, explained.
They've seen stacks of cases just like Dianna's come in: all fraudulent.
Dianna even tried to get the company on phone with us but all we heard was a disconnected signal.
Dianna believes these scammers target the weak.
Her husband's on social-security and she's looking for a job.
"With the check looking so real, I thought maybe they'll give me a shot at this. I'll get a steady income," Dianna explained.
Spending someone else's money and getting paid for it; sounds good but probably is too good to be true.
If you do get scammed and you cash a fraudulent check, you are then responsible for it and have to pay that money back.
If you don't pay, you could face felony forgery charges and end up behind bars.
Most of these types of scammers are beyond our borders so it makes prosecuting them more difficult.
If you think you may have been scammed, make sure to always call your local police department to report what happened.
IDAHO FALLS - It's nothing new, scammers going to great lengths to swindle you out of your own hard-earned cash.
Some are blaming the rough economy and payday lenders agree, they're seeing many more fraudulent checks coming into their doors.
A local couple with a check totaling close to $5,000 found out it's all a scam.
The Check 'N Loan store says they see bad checks at least once a week.
And the check the Espinosa family received was no different. It's a classic "too good to be true" offer nearly any woman would love: getting paid to go shopping.
"What woman wouldn't want to be a mystery shopper and get free stuff," said Dianna Espinosa.
Dianna got a check in the mail for $4,984 but after reading the letter along with it, things began to look a little fishy.
"[I thought] this is awesome. This seems too good to be true. This is almost $5,000 dollars and these people don't even know who I am," she said.
Although suspicious, she took it to Check N' Loan where they called the Bank of Easton to verify money was there.
"We didn't even get two words out and the bank said, ‘Is the check for this amount of money? Then its fraud.' We didn't even have a chance to confirm the funds, they automatically knew," Melanie Rhodes, a Check ‘N Loan teller, explained.
They've seen stacks of cases just like Dianna's come in: all fraudulent.
Dianna even tried to get the company on phone with us but all we heard was a disconnected signal.
Dianna believes these scammers target the weak.
Her husband's on social-security and she's looking for a job.
"With the check looking so real, I thought maybe they'll give me a shot at this. I'll get a steady income," Dianna explained.
Spending someone else's money and getting paid for it; sounds good but probably is too good to be true.
If you do get scammed and you cash a fraudulent check, you are then responsible for it and have to pay that money back.
If you don't pay, you could face felony forgery charges and end up behind bars.
Most of these types of scammers are beyond our borders so it makes prosecuting them more difficult.
If you think you may have been scammed, make sure to always call your local police department to report what happened.
credit score disputes...
Everybody makes mistakes. But not every mistake is forgiven. In our capitalist society, mistakes with money are carefully logged, categorized and entered into a formula that controls your financial future -- your credit score.
But what happens when the companies that keep this list make mistakes? After all, the credit bureaus -- which keep the list of who's been naughty and who's been nice -- are staffed by people who are just as fallible as the rest of us. Theirs is a complicated business. They keep track of billions of pieces of information. Mistakes do happen.
Unfortunately, complaining about mistakes on your credit report can be one of the most maddening experiences a consumer can have. Erasing an unfair black mark on your credit history after a bout with identity theft or a run-in with a malicious company can turn into an odyssey worthy of a Kafka novel. That's why the first installment of our "How to Complain About" series takes on this most vexing of consumer issues.
The credit report is composed of voluntary submissions by companies that you do business with. Those companies are called "furnishers." A credit card company is a furnisher. So is a furniture store where you bought a living room set from on credit; so is a car dealership. As you might imagine, your credit report is only as accurate as the furnishers who contribute information about you. Their quality control measures vary widely.
There are many reasons a mistake might find its way onto your credit report. Perhaps a furnisher forgot to give you credit when you paid your final bill. Perhaps someone impersonated you, and didn't pay their bills. Perhaps a furnisher made a data entry error when submitting updates, and accidentally blamed you for someone else's unpaid bill. Or perhaps you and a creditor have a real difference of opinion about a debt it says you owe.
In most arenas of life, if someone makes false statements about you that cost you money or reputation, you can sue for libel. That's not true in the credit reporting system, however. Decades ago, Congress granted furnishers general immunity from libel lawsuits. That gives them less incentive to be impeccably accurate when they send data to the credit bureaus.
Credit report mistakes range from inconsequential misspellings to wrongful reports of debt defaults that prevent the victim from ever borrowing money. Credit reports are notoriously inaccurate, though it's hard to say with precision how many reports have errors, as the credit bureaus keep that secret. But studies by third parties have found error rates as high as 25 percent. A small pilot study conducted by the Federal Trade Commission recently showed that 16 percent of consumer reports contained errors that would impact a consumer’s credit score. The credit bureaus, which compile and sell the credit reports, told Congress in 2004 that the error frequency is much smaller -- only 3 percent -- but that would still impact nearly 6 million Americans.
So it's entirely possible you'll find yourself battling a credit bureau about a mistake at some point in your adult life.
Dispute process is bornDecades ago, it was almost impossible to see the contents of your credit report and to fix mistakes. In response to an avalanche of complaints, Congress set up a formal dispute process when it passed an update to Fair Credit Reporting Act in 1997. In that law , Congress mandated that consumers be given a fair trial when they believe something inaccurate is being reported. It requires the nation's credit bureaus -- Equifax, Experian, Trans Union and the smaller regional bureaus -- to take evidence from consumers, evidence from furnishers and decide who is right.
Unfortunately, this process has been turned into something of a kangaroo court. In a recent report called "Automated Injustice," the National Consumer Law Center described the disheartening procedures that are now in place.
Consumers who initiate disputes often send in pages of documentation supporting their claims. But in many cases, the paperwork is sent overseas to places like Mumbai, India, for cursory processing, the law center reported. There, employees work under tight quota and bonus systems. Subcontractors for Equifax, for example, must resolve more than 13 disputes every hour, or about one every four minutes, according to the report.
So, according to the report, the paperwork is almost always ignored and the complaint boiled down to a two-or three digit code. About one-third of the time, that code indicates simply that the consumers claims the credit blemish is "not his/hers." This code is then sent to furnisher, which is asked simply to affirm the original entry. If it does, the bureau will often decide that the case is closed.
The National Consumer Law Center doesn’t mince words when describing this procedure.
"The FCRA dispute process has become a travesty of justice," it said in the report.
How can you get around this travesty? It's not easy. But as is typical of most consumer protection disputes, there are two keys: persistence and the threat of a lawsuit. If your dispute process hits a serious snag along the way, you'll probably have to consider filing a lawsuit. But to win, you have to prove more than a simple mistake occurred. You'll have to prove the bureau, or the furnisher, were negligent. The mere threat of a lawsuit might gain you satisfaction, but you'll have an empty threat if you don't have good records showing the bureau and furnisher ignored your repeated requests for justice.
Maintaining your rights to sue, and building a good case along the way just in case, are critical to a successful dispute with the credit bureaus, says attorney Chi Chi Wu, who authored the “Automated Injustice” report. Much of the advice she gives has a dual purpose: to win the dispute, but also to preserve legal rights and create a lawsuit-ready paper trail, just in case. Here are some of the steps she recommends.
1. Request a review in writingAll three credit bureaus allow you to dispute errors using online forms.
• EXPERIAN http://www.experian.com/disputes/• EQUIFAX http://www.equifax.com/online-credit-dispute/• TRANS UNION http://annualcreditreport.transunion.com/entry/disputeonline
Wu says using them is a big mistake. The forms only help the bureaus steer your issue into one of their dispute "buckets," helping the agency automate your claim. It also means you'll have less of a paper trail to demonstrate negligence later on. Wu strongly recommends that consumers use old fashioned U.S. mail to file their complaints and send the letter return-receipt requested. And naturally, keep good records of all contact with a credit bureau. At this point, buying a shiny new notebook for just this purpose is a good idea.
• EQUIFAX mailing address• TRANS UNION mailing address• EXPERIAN No link. Address will be on credit report.
And while all three companies provide a simple form to fill out with dispute information, Wu recommends adding narrative detail and supporting documents anyway – again, to prevent the bureaus from “bucketing” you. That will help a lawyer make a case later than the bureau didn't perform even the most basic investigation.
It's always good to send the dispute to all three bureaus. While the reports can differ, the reports generally overlap and a black mark on one report usually becomes a black mark on all three. So while there may only be one bill in dispute, you probably have three disputes on your hands.
2. Also notify the furnisherIt seems reasonable that the credit bureau would send a copy of your dispute to the company that's involved, but don't count on. Send a separate, return-receipt-requested letter to the company that claims you didn't pay your bill. A carbon copy version of your dispute letter to the credit bureau should be sufficient.
3. Be ready for surprising account numbersWhen tracking a credit bureau entry, it's likely that your "bad debt" will have an unfamiliar account number next to it. Companies often assign new numbers to accounts that go into default. Also, when debts are sold to debt collectors, they usually give an account its own number. For example, a dispute involving a furniture store account No. 345234 might end up listed on your credit report as Joey's Collections No. 432432. When filing dispute letters, including all possible account numbers. That cuts down on possible confusion -- or legal squirming -- later on. For example, a consumer might send a letter saying, "Please delete account No. 345234, and the bureau might "agree" to the request while doing nothing, and leaving the unpaid bill under the other account number.
4. Tell them where to goThis step might sound presumptive, but Wu suggests that the consumer explicitly recommend the steps that the credit bureau should take to investigate the matter. For example, if you've spoken to an operator at a furnisher who admits an error, tell the credit bureau to call that furnisher and interview that operator. The bureau may not do this, but this inclusion could help a lawyer at a later date persuade a judge that the bureau didn't take even the most obvious steps to resolve the dispute.
5. Discredit the furnisherA little legal legwork can help make your case, too. If there is evidence that the furnisher involved in your dispute has a reputation for complaints of inaccuracy, include that evidence in your letter. This will help build the case that the bureau should not have presumed the furnisher was accurate.
Other adviceIt might seem natural to complain directly to the furnisher of the information rather than the credit bureaus. However, the original Fair Credit Reporting Act granted no legal rights for to consumers to do so, and steered all complaints to the credit bureau dispute process. That limitation is changing. The Fair and Accurate Transaction Act of 2003 includes provisions calling for "direct disputes" with furnishers, though the Federal Trade Commission has yet to issue formal guidelines for the process. They should appear soon; public commentary on proposed rules was entertained by the agency last year.
In the meantime, consumers can try a direct dispute, but should only do so after completing the dispute process with the credit bureaus and getting an answer. Skipping the bureau process would force a consumer to surrender their rights to sue the furnisher, Wu says.
Even before the final rules are determined, Congress spelled out a few specifics in its 2003 law. Send a letter to the furnisher demanding a “reinvestigation” of the debt. Ask for all paperwork documenting the debt. Like the credit bureaus, the furnishers will be required to supply a response within 45 days. If none is forthcoming, the debt must be removed from the credit file. Even if a response arrives, it's entirely possible the company will not be able to produce detailed records documenting the debt, which would also enable a request for removal of information.
In advance of the FTC rules, consumers may not have the right to sue companies for non-compliance. But the process can work anyway, and stronger consumer rights should arrive soon.
Finally, if either the bureau or the furnisher isn't playing ball, a lawsuit is the consumer's last resort. Credit report dispute cases are highly specialized, and it's generally best to use a lawyer who specializes in these cases, Wu said. A list can be found at the National Association of Consumer Advocates Web site, www.naca.net.
There aren't nearly as many FCRA experts as there are credit report disputes, however, so some consumers may be frustrated by their inability to interest a lawyer in their case. That's why the previous five steps are so important. Lawyers love plaintiffs who are well-prepared with the right documentation and arrive with what amounts to an open-and-shut case. It's not necessarily fair, but it's true: Consumers who think like a lawyer from step one are much more likely to get justice, and a clean credit report, in the end.
But what happens when the companies that keep this list make mistakes? After all, the credit bureaus -- which keep the list of who's been naughty and who's been nice -- are staffed by people who are just as fallible as the rest of us. Theirs is a complicated business. They keep track of billions of pieces of information. Mistakes do happen.
Unfortunately, complaining about mistakes on your credit report can be one of the most maddening experiences a consumer can have. Erasing an unfair black mark on your credit history after a bout with identity theft or a run-in with a malicious company can turn into an odyssey worthy of a Kafka novel. That's why the first installment of our "How to Complain About" series takes on this most vexing of consumer issues.
The credit report is composed of voluntary submissions by companies that you do business with. Those companies are called "furnishers." A credit card company is a furnisher. So is a furniture store where you bought a living room set from on credit; so is a car dealership. As you might imagine, your credit report is only as accurate as the furnishers who contribute information about you. Their quality control measures vary widely.
There are many reasons a mistake might find its way onto your credit report. Perhaps a furnisher forgot to give you credit when you paid your final bill. Perhaps someone impersonated you, and didn't pay their bills. Perhaps a furnisher made a data entry error when submitting updates, and accidentally blamed you for someone else's unpaid bill. Or perhaps you and a creditor have a real difference of opinion about a debt it says you owe.
In most arenas of life, if someone makes false statements about you that cost you money or reputation, you can sue for libel. That's not true in the credit reporting system, however. Decades ago, Congress granted furnishers general immunity from libel lawsuits. That gives them less incentive to be impeccably accurate when they send data to the credit bureaus.
Credit report mistakes range from inconsequential misspellings to wrongful reports of debt defaults that prevent the victim from ever borrowing money. Credit reports are notoriously inaccurate, though it's hard to say with precision how many reports have errors, as the credit bureaus keep that secret. But studies by third parties have found error rates as high as 25 percent. A small pilot study conducted by the Federal Trade Commission recently showed that 16 percent of consumer reports contained errors that would impact a consumer’s credit score. The credit bureaus, which compile and sell the credit reports, told Congress in 2004 that the error frequency is much smaller -- only 3 percent -- but that would still impact nearly 6 million Americans.
So it's entirely possible you'll find yourself battling a credit bureau about a mistake at some point in your adult life.
Dispute process is bornDecades ago, it was almost impossible to see the contents of your credit report and to fix mistakes. In response to an avalanche of complaints, Congress set up a formal dispute process when it passed an update to Fair Credit Reporting Act in 1997. In that law , Congress mandated that consumers be given a fair trial when they believe something inaccurate is being reported. It requires the nation's credit bureaus -- Equifax, Experian, Trans Union and the smaller regional bureaus -- to take evidence from consumers, evidence from furnishers and decide who is right.
Unfortunately, this process has been turned into something of a kangaroo court. In a recent report called "Automated Injustice," the National Consumer Law Center described the disheartening procedures that are now in place.
Consumers who initiate disputes often send in pages of documentation supporting their claims. But in many cases, the paperwork is sent overseas to places like Mumbai, India, for cursory processing, the law center reported. There, employees work under tight quota and bonus systems. Subcontractors for Equifax, for example, must resolve more than 13 disputes every hour, or about one every four minutes, according to the report.
So, according to the report, the paperwork is almost always ignored and the complaint boiled down to a two-or three digit code. About one-third of the time, that code indicates simply that the consumers claims the credit blemish is "not his/hers." This code is then sent to furnisher, which is asked simply to affirm the original entry. If it does, the bureau will often decide that the case is closed.
The National Consumer Law Center doesn’t mince words when describing this procedure.
"The FCRA dispute process has become a travesty of justice," it said in the report.
How can you get around this travesty? It's not easy. But as is typical of most consumer protection disputes, there are two keys: persistence and the threat of a lawsuit. If your dispute process hits a serious snag along the way, you'll probably have to consider filing a lawsuit. But to win, you have to prove more than a simple mistake occurred. You'll have to prove the bureau, or the furnisher, were negligent. The mere threat of a lawsuit might gain you satisfaction, but you'll have an empty threat if you don't have good records showing the bureau and furnisher ignored your repeated requests for justice.
Maintaining your rights to sue, and building a good case along the way just in case, are critical to a successful dispute with the credit bureaus, says attorney Chi Chi Wu, who authored the “Automated Injustice” report. Much of the advice she gives has a dual purpose: to win the dispute, but also to preserve legal rights and create a lawsuit-ready paper trail, just in case. Here are some of the steps she recommends.
1. Request a review in writingAll three credit bureaus allow you to dispute errors using online forms.
• EXPERIAN http://www.experian.com/disputes/• EQUIFAX http://www.equifax.com/online-credit-dispute/• TRANS UNION http://annualcreditreport.transunion.com/entry/disputeonline
Wu says using them is a big mistake. The forms only help the bureaus steer your issue into one of their dispute "buckets," helping the agency automate your claim. It also means you'll have less of a paper trail to demonstrate negligence later on. Wu strongly recommends that consumers use old fashioned U.S. mail to file their complaints and send the letter return-receipt requested. And naturally, keep good records of all contact with a credit bureau. At this point, buying a shiny new notebook for just this purpose is a good idea.
• EQUIFAX mailing address• TRANS UNION mailing address• EXPERIAN No link. Address will be on credit report.
And while all three companies provide a simple form to fill out with dispute information, Wu recommends adding narrative detail and supporting documents anyway – again, to prevent the bureaus from “bucketing” you. That will help a lawyer make a case later than the bureau didn't perform even the most basic investigation.
It's always good to send the dispute to all three bureaus. While the reports can differ, the reports generally overlap and a black mark on one report usually becomes a black mark on all three. So while there may only be one bill in dispute, you probably have three disputes on your hands.
2. Also notify the furnisherIt seems reasonable that the credit bureau would send a copy of your dispute to the company that's involved, but don't count on. Send a separate, return-receipt-requested letter to the company that claims you didn't pay your bill. A carbon copy version of your dispute letter to the credit bureau should be sufficient.
3. Be ready for surprising account numbersWhen tracking a credit bureau entry, it's likely that your "bad debt" will have an unfamiliar account number next to it. Companies often assign new numbers to accounts that go into default. Also, when debts are sold to debt collectors, they usually give an account its own number. For example, a dispute involving a furniture store account No. 345234 might end up listed on your credit report as Joey's Collections No. 432432. When filing dispute letters, including all possible account numbers. That cuts down on possible confusion -- or legal squirming -- later on. For example, a consumer might send a letter saying, "Please delete account No. 345234, and the bureau might "agree" to the request while doing nothing, and leaving the unpaid bill under the other account number.
4. Tell them where to goThis step might sound presumptive, but Wu suggests that the consumer explicitly recommend the steps that the credit bureau should take to investigate the matter. For example, if you've spoken to an operator at a furnisher who admits an error, tell the credit bureau to call that furnisher and interview that operator. The bureau may not do this, but this inclusion could help a lawyer at a later date persuade a judge that the bureau didn't take even the most obvious steps to resolve the dispute.
5. Discredit the furnisherA little legal legwork can help make your case, too. If there is evidence that the furnisher involved in your dispute has a reputation for complaints of inaccuracy, include that evidence in your letter. This will help build the case that the bureau should not have presumed the furnisher was accurate.
Other adviceIt might seem natural to complain directly to the furnisher of the information rather than the credit bureaus. However, the original Fair Credit Reporting Act granted no legal rights for to consumers to do so, and steered all complaints to the credit bureau dispute process. That limitation is changing. The Fair and Accurate Transaction Act of 2003 includes provisions calling for "direct disputes" with furnishers, though the Federal Trade Commission has yet to issue formal guidelines for the process. They should appear soon; public commentary on proposed rules was entertained by the agency last year.
In the meantime, consumers can try a direct dispute, but should only do so after completing the dispute process with the credit bureaus and getting an answer. Skipping the bureau process would force a consumer to surrender their rights to sue the furnisher, Wu says.
Even before the final rules are determined, Congress spelled out a few specifics in its 2003 law. Send a letter to the furnisher demanding a “reinvestigation” of the debt. Ask for all paperwork documenting the debt. Like the credit bureaus, the furnishers will be required to supply a response within 45 days. If none is forthcoming, the debt must be removed from the credit file. Even if a response arrives, it's entirely possible the company will not be able to produce detailed records documenting the debt, which would also enable a request for removal of information.
In advance of the FTC rules, consumers may not have the right to sue companies for non-compliance. But the process can work anyway, and stronger consumer rights should arrive soon.
Finally, if either the bureau or the furnisher isn't playing ball, a lawsuit is the consumer's last resort. Credit report dispute cases are highly specialized, and it's generally best to use a lawyer who specializes in these cases, Wu said. A list can be found at the National Association of Consumer Advocates Web site, www.naca.net.
There aren't nearly as many FCRA experts as there are credit report disputes, however, so some consumers may be frustrated by their inability to interest a lawyer in their case. That's why the previous five steps are so important. Lawyers love plaintiffs who are well-prepared with the right documentation and arrive with what amounts to an open-and-shut case. It's not necessarily fair, but it's true: Consumers who think like a lawyer from step one are much more likely to get justice, and a clean credit report, in the end.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Be wary of d0-it-yourself legal software
Be wary of do-it-yourself legal software
QUESTION: There are so many software programs and Internet services offering contracts, wills, deeds, incorporations, and even divorce and name changes, made specifically to order for me, do I really need a lawyer for routine legal services any more? Can't I save myself a whole lot of time and money by doing it online or buying a program?
ANSWER: Just because you can do something on your own doesn't mean it is in your best interest. Consider medical services. There are some things, such as a common headache, for which you wouldn't even consider calling your doctor. Others, like appendicitis, you wouldn't dream of treating yourself. The same is true of all professional services, including legal services.
Published legal forms, including online "self-help" services, cannot provide specific legal advice for your situation any more than a medical textbook or a video depiction of a particular surgery can teach you to perform surgery or prescribe medication.
When you consult a lawyer, you are not just buying an expensive legal form. You are obtaining legal advice from someone who will fashion, if possible, a document or a legal strategy designed to get you the specific result you need for your situation. Sometimes the document or strategy will be generic enough that a published legal form will suffice. Other times your situation will require something more specific or complex. Do you have enough knowledge, experience and expertise to differentiate between the two?
There will be some times when virtually anyone can handle a legal matter on their own, like taking a couple of aspirin. Other situations will require the equivalent of legal first aid; if you are trained or experienced enough, you can probably handle it. But if there is a lot at risk, or if you are at all unsure of what you are doing, you should at least get a free or low-cost initial consultation to check into the possible benefits of having specific legal advice before trying to perform what might be a legal appendectomy on yourself.
Don't be misled by claims that the form you are considering is "valid in all 50 states." Usually the substance of the document is equally crucial to getting a good result as the form's ultimate validity. What will it matter if the will or contract is valid, if it doesn't end up doing what you need?
The rule in the marketplace for legal documents is "buyer beware." All professions impose a higher standard on their members than that. With legal forms, you are on your own. With a licensed lawyer, doctor, accountant, engineer, architect or any other professional, you purchase the loyalty and expertise of a professional. Often enough, that's well worth the cost.
QUESTION: There are so many software programs and Internet services offering contracts, wills, deeds, incorporations, and even divorce and name changes, made specifically to order for me, do I really need a lawyer for routine legal services any more? Can't I save myself a whole lot of time and money by doing it online or buying a program?
ANSWER: Just because you can do something on your own doesn't mean it is in your best interest. Consider medical services. There are some things, such as a common headache, for which you wouldn't even consider calling your doctor. Others, like appendicitis, you wouldn't dream of treating yourself. The same is true of all professional services, including legal services.
Published legal forms, including online "self-help" services, cannot provide specific legal advice for your situation any more than a medical textbook or a video depiction of a particular surgery can teach you to perform surgery or prescribe medication.
When you consult a lawyer, you are not just buying an expensive legal form. You are obtaining legal advice from someone who will fashion, if possible, a document or a legal strategy designed to get you the specific result you need for your situation. Sometimes the document or strategy will be generic enough that a published legal form will suffice. Other times your situation will require something more specific or complex. Do you have enough knowledge, experience and expertise to differentiate between the two?
There will be some times when virtually anyone can handle a legal matter on their own, like taking a couple of aspirin. Other situations will require the equivalent of legal first aid; if you are trained or experienced enough, you can probably handle it. But if there is a lot at risk, or if you are at all unsure of what you are doing, you should at least get a free or low-cost initial consultation to check into the possible benefits of having specific legal advice before trying to perform what might be a legal appendectomy on yourself.
Don't be misled by claims that the form you are considering is "valid in all 50 states." Usually the substance of the document is equally crucial to getting a good result as the form's ultimate validity. What will it matter if the will or contract is valid, if it doesn't end up doing what you need?
The rule in the marketplace for legal documents is "buyer beware." All professions impose a higher standard on their members than that. With legal forms, you are on your own. With a licensed lawyer, doctor, accountant, engineer, architect or any other professional, you purchase the loyalty and expertise of a professional. Often enough, that's well worth the cost.
Watch an Identity thief's "commerical"
PLAY VIDEO: Click to see an excerpt of an identity thief's "commercial," which was posted on YouTube recently. Msnbc.com's Bob Sullivan reports.
Identity theft is usually a virtual, intangible crime. The theft often occurs in cyberspace, with criminals ordering merchandise with stolen credit cards, or downloading cash from online bank accounts. The victims rarely know anything has happened until months -- or even years -- later. There's no blood, no shattered glass, no broken locks. Not even the anxiety rush that comes after the brush of a pickpocket.
But identity thieves, in the end, are real people stealing real money and causing real harm. And surprisingly often, they are friends, family members, or co-workers who initiate the crime by stealing personal information found on papers left around offices or homes. The stolen data can be surprisingly easy to come by, as this ID theft “commercial” shows.
In it, a YouTube poster claims to have a cache of stolen data dossiers for sale. He films himself sitting in his car, sifting through what appear to be file folders, perhaps freshly stolen from an office or a dumpster outside an office building. With a shaky hand, he shows some of the files, then announces that he will sell complete data sets for $25 -- or at a discount of 5 for $100 -- to anyone who e-mails him.
You can watch part of the video by clicking above. We've included only a small portion of the video to avoid abetting what appears to be a crime. Here's more of what the salesman had to say in the video:
"I have records for sale. These records include the following: Name. Sex of the individual. Social Security number of the individual. Mother's name. Their current street address," he says.
At this point, a beeper begins to sound in his car, perhaps because his seat belt isn't fashioned. Then, he continues to list the items he has for sale. "License number. Their date of birth. Kind of work they are in, the industry that they're in. And their net worth. That's including real estate and any liquid assets. And I could get a good credit read on them as well."
Those details would give an identity thief all the information they’d need to wreak havoc with a victim’s credit report, and probably, their financial life,
Without purchasing records from the poster, it is impossible to determine that the records are genuine. But in a short e-mail dialog with msnbc.com, the poster claimed the information was real and said that he could sell us 100 records if we deposited money into his PayPal account.
He did not answer a question posed about the video, which was removed from YouTube a few days after it appeared, but not before msnbc.com viewed it and copied it. A message at the link now says the video was "removed by the user."
Before finishing the sales pitch in the video, the poster includes some fine print:
"These records are not to be used for any illegal purposes. They are for outsourcing marketing materials and anything of that nature," he said.
He then closed with a polite sign off.
Identity theft is usually a virtual, intangible crime. The theft often occurs in cyberspace, with criminals ordering merchandise with stolen credit cards, or downloading cash from online bank accounts. The victims rarely know anything has happened until months -- or even years -- later. There's no blood, no shattered glass, no broken locks. Not even the anxiety rush that comes after the brush of a pickpocket.
But identity thieves, in the end, are real people stealing real money and causing real harm. And surprisingly often, they are friends, family members, or co-workers who initiate the crime by stealing personal information found on papers left around offices or homes. The stolen data can be surprisingly easy to come by, as this ID theft “commercial” shows.
In it, a YouTube poster claims to have a cache of stolen data dossiers for sale. He films himself sitting in his car, sifting through what appear to be file folders, perhaps freshly stolen from an office or a dumpster outside an office building. With a shaky hand, he shows some of the files, then announces that he will sell complete data sets for $25 -- or at a discount of 5 for $100 -- to anyone who e-mails him.
You can watch part of the video by clicking above. We've included only a small portion of the video to avoid abetting what appears to be a crime. Here's more of what the salesman had to say in the video:
"I have records for sale. These records include the following: Name. Sex of the individual. Social Security number of the individual. Mother's name. Their current street address," he says.
At this point, a beeper begins to sound in his car, perhaps because his seat belt isn't fashioned. Then, he continues to list the items he has for sale. "License number. Their date of birth. Kind of work they are in, the industry that they're in. And their net worth. That's including real estate and any liquid assets. And I could get a good credit read on them as well."
Those details would give an identity thief all the information they’d need to wreak havoc with a victim’s credit report, and probably, their financial life,
Without purchasing records from the poster, it is impossible to determine that the records are genuine. But in a short e-mail dialog with msnbc.com, the poster claimed the information was real and said that he could sell us 100 records if we deposited money into his PayPal account.
He did not answer a question posed about the video, which was removed from YouTube a few days after it appeared, but not before msnbc.com viewed it and copied it. A message at the link now says the video was "removed by the user."
Before finishing the sales pitch in the video, the poster includes some fine print:
"These records are not to be used for any illegal purposes. They are for outsourcing marketing materials and anything of that nature," he said.
He then closed with a polite sign off.
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Woman mistaken for girl's suspected killer
Woman mistaken for girl's suspected killer
She says she is getting death threats from people and fears for her safety
MANTECA, Calif. - A Northern California woman who has the same name as the Sunday school teacher charged with murdering an 8-year-old girl says she is getting death threats from people who mistake her for the suspect.
Like the Tracy resident who is accused of killing Sandra Cantu and putting her body in a suitcase, the Melissa Huckaby who lives 14 miles away in Manteca is 28 years old, has a 5-year-old daughter and volunteers at church.
The improbable similarities have created inevitable confusion. News crews keep calling or showing up in Manteca looking for the wrong woman. And so many people posted threatening messages on her MySpace page that the misidentified Huckaby says she fears for her safety.
She and her parents are speaking out in hopes of clearing her name.
She says she is getting death threats from people and fears for her safety
MANTECA, Calif. - A Northern California woman who has the same name as the Sunday school teacher charged with murdering an 8-year-old girl says she is getting death threats from people who mistake her for the suspect.
Like the Tracy resident who is accused of killing Sandra Cantu and putting her body in a suitcase, the Melissa Huckaby who lives 14 miles away in Manteca is 28 years old, has a 5-year-old daughter and volunteers at church.
The improbable similarities have created inevitable confusion. News crews keep calling or showing up in Manteca looking for the wrong woman. And so many people posted threatening messages on her MySpace page that the misidentified Huckaby says she fears for her safety.
She and her parents are speaking out in hopes of clearing her name.
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