Human greed knows no bounds... but shame is there right behind it

This story doesn't require much commment.

A British father faked a burglary at his home and claimed his daughter’s Christmas presents were stolen in a bid to get more gifts from sympathetic neighbors, local media reported Monday...

Unemployed Wood then posed for photographs for his local newspaper with his two-year-old daughter Abbey, saying Christmas was ruined.

However, he admitted the scam to police hours after the newspaper story was published, saying he could not live with the shame of using his little girl.

Crimes like this are always found out, whether thru good police work or thru good old feelings of shame. If you're in a tough spot, don't go to the low road. Ask for help. You can usually find someone willing to step up.

Congresses passes (and Obama vetoes) bill no one wanted

If you're looking for a perfect example of how dysfunctional the current Congress is, consider this story. A well-meaning bill to enhance interstate commerce was passed without debate, and almost unanimously. Only problem? It also would make fraudulent foreclosures MUCH easier, just at the moment we are learning many of the major banks ignored regulations.

Democrats were trying to figure out Thursday how they allowed a bill to pass that critics say would introduce more fraud into the system, a Pelosi staff member said. It was sponsored by Rep. Robert B. Aderholt (R-Ala.), the first measure he sponsored that passed.

Even he was surprised that it passed, his spokesman said.

Might I be so bold as to suggest the current practice of congresspeople voting on bills without reading them might be the cause?

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.) said in a statement that his office heard no objections from inside or outside the Senate and even asked the Justice Department to review the language. His committee then approved the bill and it passed by unanimous consent after every Senate office was notified.

Yet another example of how our "professional politicians" are anything but acting professionally in this Congress.

Vote Switching in West Virgnia

Between these charges and the widespread allegations of voter fraud by ACORN, I am expecting we are in for a rash of after-election lawsuits about the results.

Three Putnam County voters say electronic voting machines changed their votes from Democrats to Republicans when they cast early ballots last week.

This is the second West Virginia county where voters have reported this problem. Last week, three voters in Jackson County told The Charleston Gazette their electronic vote for "Barack Obama" kept flipping to "John McCain".

In both counties, Republicans are responsible for overseeing elections. Both county clerks said the problem is isolated.

They also blamed voters for not being more careful.

"People make mistakes more than machines," said Jackson County Clerk Jeff Waybright.

I am betting on of the first things the next President/Congress will have to tackle is a way to restore faith in our electoral system. That may require abandoning the electronic machines that they mandated only a few years ago.

Watch your back: Trilegiant

Mod-Blog friend and commenter, Bowhunter, called last night to report that a company had attempted to scam him last night. Apparently, the company called "Trilegiant" (formerly Compucard, currently Affinion, constantly changing its name) had enrolled him into a "discounts program" without his permission. When he checked them out, he discovered they are currently under investigation for fraud for doing the same thing to many, many others.

Be sure to check your credit card and bank statements each month for fraudulent charges like this, as it is becoming easier and easier in the electronic age to sneak something past the radar.

Lottery is False Advertising?

I was thinking about the lottery yesterday (State lotteries in particular) and came to the realization that they are even more deceitful than you'd think. Lotteries are usually sold as being good for state education as in Connecticut all of the proceeds from lotto ticket sales go to education funding. But this ignores the portion of the "winnings" that is paid back to the state in taxes. This money is treated as income so it the taxes goes back into the general fund of the State. So in essence the state is funding its regular budget with help from the lottery. The other piece of false advertising is that although you can "win" say $10 Million, after taxes you only get about $5 million. So you are winning the money from the same organization that is taking it back from you. Shouldn't the state lotteries have to advertise what the post tax winning are since you have don't actually receive the whole lotto jackpot from them? (They usually take the taxes out before sending you a check.) an illustration of this is a women in Greenwich who won a $8.8 million jackpot in November of 2007. She just claimed the jackpot this week and took the lump sum payment of $3.8 million after taxes. So by taking that one time payment, with taxes she actually received less than half of the advertised jackpot. This just seems not only unfair, but like fraud to me.

Writer's Note: I do not play the lottery. I discourage others from doing so for many reasons.

Your PIN Is Not So Secret

The University of Cambridge has discovered some scary vulnerabilities to the "chip and PIN" system that is used for debit cards. As best I can tell, this is the same (or at least very similar) system to what those of us in the U.S. use for our debit card purchases. An interview with one of the certifying agencies is a must see. I would say protect yourself, but it appears there is no way to. Slashdot discussion here. I hope that I am overreacting and that this is only a UK problem, but my guess is that it is not.

Be aware, an unactivated credit card CAN be charged

A few of you know that I work for a bank. What you may NOT know is that I often work with the ATM Operations group who manages ATM and Debit Cards. I know that a LOT of their time is spent monitoring cards for unauthorized purchases, and to ensure that fraudulent activity is as difficult as possible (while real activity is as easy as possible for the real consumer). And yet, we still get burned all the time. One big way banks ensure against fraud is by making it hard to activate a card if you are not the person who ordered the card.

Now, however, some banks are weakening the protection of card activation in order to get more money into their own coffers by charging for credit protection services. Be VERY careful if you sign up for a new card that you are not hit by this particular scam which is costing consumers thousands in fees and unintended hits to credit ratings.

NEVER use your ATM Pin Code in front of a stranger

Working at a bank, I am always amazed at how far criminals will go for a quick buck. This story reminds us to NEVER use your ATM Pin Code in front of a stranger, no matter how helpful they may appear to be. Remember, if a thief has your card and your PIN, as far as the bank is concerned, they ARE you. And there is suprisingly little legal protection for PIN-based transactions. Only signature transactions with a DEBIT card recieve VISA's protection against theft.