Saturday, March 13, 2010

Please Help Find Stolen Vietnam Memorabilia


My Uncle Fred started a local salvage yard several years ago. His son, my cousin Tom, was a partner in the business and took over the yard when my uncle retired. Both my uncle and aunt passed away several years ago so Tom kept the business going. Tom stored some of his prized possessions and treasures at the salvage yard. They were stored in a foot locker on the 2nd floor of the office building.

The other night, thieves broke in and took lots of tools and etc… but Tom doesn’t care about that. It was the foot locker filled with his medals, certificates, citations, insignias, personal letters from home, and cassette tapes from his parents during his time in Vietnam. These items are irreplacable and only have great value to Tom.

He had always been a tough guy in his day and he did 2 tours in Vietnam as a US Marine but this situation has devastated him. He was in tears when he found these treasures gone. His heart is so big that you can ask him for help and it would be unusual for him to say no.

I am hoping that someone who reads this may have information to aid in the recovery of Tom's things. If you have any information, Click Here To Contact Us By Email. We would be very happy to help get Tom's things back to him.

** There will be no questions asked and Tom is offering a reward for the return of his belongings. **

Anyway, here is a news video of what happened to Tom.


Other things that are missing:

  • Binoculars

  • Many tools

  • Small toolbox

  • Sockets

  • Ratchets

  • Clamps

  • Vice grips

  • Kodak Easyshare C190 digital camera

  • Remington 30-06

  • Flash drive

  • Redwood Wireless USB modem

  • Sirius satellite receivers

If Tom gets nothing else back, I pray that he gets his foot locker with the contents it had in it when it was taken.

Update:

It sounds like Tom is pretty much on his own in finding his stuff. Here is an article from today's newspaper about it:

Theft of war medals pains vet

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Online Banking Fraud At $120 Million 2009 Q3


Online banking fraud involving the electronic transfer of funds has been rising since 2007 and reached more than $120 million in the third quarter of 2009, according to estimates presented Friday at the RSA Conference in San Francisco, by David Nelson, an examination specialist with the FDIC.

Computer scams which target businesses have cost US companies $25 million in the third quarter of 2009, according to the US Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.

The FDIC uses a variety of confidential reports received from financial institutions, which allow them generate the estimates, Nelson said.

Almost all of the incidents reported to the FDIC related to malware on online banking customers' PCs. A typical victim is a person visiting a malicious Web site or downloading a Trojan horse program that enables hackers to get access to his banking passwords. Thereafter, money is transferred out of the account using the Automated Clearing House (ACH) system that banks use to process payments between institutions.

Although banks encourage clients to use several forms of authentication, hackers continues stealing money. "Online banking customers are getting too reliant on authentication and on practicing layers of controls," Nelson said. Nelsen also stated, hackers are definitely targeting higher-balance accounts and they're looking for small businesses where controls might not be very good.

That's led to some nasty legal disputes, where customers say the banks should have stopped payments, and the banks argue that the customers should have protected their own computers from infection.

That is also more bad news for businesses, which are on the hook for any losses more than ever. "Commercial deposit accounts do not receive the reimbursement protection that consumer accounts have, so a lot of small businesses and nonprofits have suffered some relatively large losses," Nelson said. "In the third quarter of 2009, small businesses suffered $25 million in losses due to online ACH and wire transfer fraud."

Avivah Litan, a Gartner analyst, feels those losses may be even higher in 2010 because computer attacks that install the password stealing botnet program, known as Zeus, have increased this year.

NCPW Week March 7-13 Internet Consumer Tips


FDIC to Provide Quick Tips for Consumers Over the Internet



New service announced in conjunction with National Consumer Protection Week

At any age or stage in life, it's important to stay informed about ways to save and protect your money. The FDIC, in observance of National Consumer Protection Week (NCPW) March 7-13 and its theme of helping people of all ages exercise their consumer rights, announced today that the agency will begin to regularly deliver timely tips on money management on the agency's Web site and through an e-mail subscription service.

"Consumer education is already a big part of what the FDIC does to increase the public's knowledge of financial issues," said FDIC Chairman Sheila C. Bair. "We believe this new service – delivering simple, practical tips on an ongoing basis over the Internet – will make it easier and more convenient for people to stay informed about issues that may affect their financial decisions."

Chairman Bair added, "The FDIC also is proud to be one of the national organizers of National Consumer Protection Week and to support this year's message that we all can become knowledgeable and empowered consumers."

The first five tips will be issued during NCPW – one each day – beginning Monday, March 8. Starting the following Monday, the tips will be provided on a weekly basis as the FDIC "Consumer Tip of the Week." Topics will range from saving and borrowing money to protecting money with FDIC insurance and avoiding financial fraud.

The FDIC's "Consumer Tip of the Week" may be found at www.fdic.gov/consumertips. Consumers, members of the media, financial educators and anyone else interested in receiving the tips automatically in e-mails should subscribe to the "Consumer Tip of the Week" using the e-mail update link on this Web page.

For more information about the FDIC's educational programs and service for consumers, including a toll-free Call Center, free videos and brochures, current and past issues of FDIC Consumer News (including the Spring 2008 special edition entitled "Money Tips for All Ages: Your Finances at Different Stages of Life"), and the Money Smart financial education curriculum (one version for adults and one for young adults), visit www.fdic.gov or call 1-877-ASK-FDIC (1-877-275-3342). The FDIC also has added a special Web page about National Consumer Protection Week at www.fdic.gov/ncpw that features quick links to several of the agency's products for consumers.

# # #

Congress created the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation in 1933 to restore public confidence in the nation's banking system. The FDIC insures deposits at the nation's 8,012 banks and savings associations and it promotes the safety and soundness of these institutions by identifying, monitoring and addressing risks to which they are exposed.

The FDIC receives no federal tax dollars – insured financial institutions fund its operations.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 8, 2010 Media Contact:
David Barr (202) 898-6992
dbarr@fdic.gov

Atomic Mall's 1 Millionth Listing Contest


Atomic Mall is excited to announce our newest contest! AM launched officially on July 1st 2008, and less than two years later, fast approaching listing ID number One-Million.

To commemorate this event, Atomic Mall has a virtual smorgasbord of prizes and cool stuff waiting for the seller who creates the 1,000,000th listing.

The registered seller who creates listing number 1,000,000 through Atomic Mall's Creation Station will not only have bragging rights throughout the entire online marketplace world, but they will be the proud recipient of some very groovy prizes:

  • $100 AtomicPass Gift Certificate, for use at any AM store.

  • 100 hours of free store exposure in Atomic Mall's "Seller Spotlight"

  • Zero Final Sale Fees for 100 days

  • $100 worth of free advertising on AtomicMall.com for the winner's personal site

  • $100 software package including some handy auction utilities and tools

  • $100 worth of site credits for listing enhancements, front page placement, etc.

  • and last but not least...a crisp new $100 bill
The rules:

  • Participants must pre-register using the form on this page to be eligible.

  • Atomic Mall employees, principles and their family members are not eligible.

  • Employees, principles and family members of competing auction/marketplace sites are not eligible.

  • All participants must be at least 18 years of age, and be verified, registered sellers in good standing on Atomic Mall prior to creation of the 999,500th listing.

  • Registrations will cease after listing 999500 is created.

  • Winning listing must be created manually using the Atomic Mall "Creation Station".

  • Winning listing must consist of a tangible item placed for legitimate sale on Atomic Mall. It cannot be a "fake", "promotional" or otherwise illegitimate ad created for purposes of gaming the contest.

  • Winning listing cannot violate any section of the Atomic Mall Terms of Service.

  • Winner agrees to allow their AM store name to be used for purposes of post-contest promotion.

  • The contest winner will be the first eligible member to create listing ID # 1000000. If listing # 1000000 is created by an ineligible member, or the listing is deemed invalid for content reasons, the winner will be the next eligible member to create a valid listing.

  • Prizes are non-transferable and are not redeemable for their cash value equivalent.

  • AM reserves the right to change or add to the rules of this contest at any time as deemed necessary to ensure its integrity.

To be eligible to win our cool contest, simply fill out the easy 2-field form below. If you do not yet have an Atomic Mall account and have always secretly wanted one, go here to do the deed: http://www.atomicmall.com/register.php