| #: |
From / Date: |
Question / Answer: |
| 5497. |
Sarah
Casper, WY
Age: 50
Feb 27, 2009
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Re: 5480 David
My daughter had all of her ID stolen...SS card, Drivers License, etc. When we went to the SS Office we were told that they WILL NOT issue another SS Number for her...she was just 18 at the time. When asked why not we were told it is against policy regardless of having it stolen, including for the reason of Identity Theft, we just had to keep checking her credit report to make sure there was no illegal activity. Even then, they would not reissue another number to her. We were shocked by the response and asked to speak with a supervisor, we were told the same thing. Leave it to the government to HELP in these situations.....sarcasm intended. Good luck!!
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| 5495. |
Brian
Detroit
Age: 21
Feb 27, 2009
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Don - vumber
Don, have you tried contacting Vumber and asking them about it? Maybe they will give you a new number free. Maybe they can explain how they generate the numbers and what might account for the calls. If there's a weakness in Vumber's operations, who knows, maybe your inquiries will inspire Vumber to change the way they get numbers so as to prevent this in the future.
Submitted Link #1: https://www.vumber.com/contact.aspx...
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| 5489. |
Theresa
Franklin, TN
Age: 44
Feb 25, 2009
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Don- Vumber
Don- I put Net 10 phones just for my kids or husband to call me. I get a lot of "junk" calls too from all over the place. (I never answer those.)
My kids have answered it accidentally few times; it was a wrong number.
My guess is they're either recycled numbers or computer generated marketing garbage. (Once, with an old contract cell phone, I started getting weekly solicitations from a large tele-evangelist. I have NO idea how they got my number. I was furious!)
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| 5488. |
Seth
collbran, co
Age: 50
Feb 25, 2009
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Tax privacy
I'm also not aware of a requirement to note the physical address up front. However, if you're audited, particularly if you are subjected to the dreaded TCMP (taxpayer compliance measurement program) audit, you will have to not only reveal the location but prove the degree of business office use, in detail, with receipts, photos and possibly an inspection by an IRS agent.
Home business deductions are one of the "red flag" items that any good tax attorney will tell you to seriously consider before claiming. The IRS is fully aware of the propensity of taxpayers to make faulty home office claims, and they quite frequently audit such returns.
If you're trying to stay private, if you can afford it, don't itemize, just take the standard deduction. Any time you itemize, you raise your chances of an audit because you're giving the IRS information it does not need, but which it can use against you.
Being invisible and trying to play clever games with the IRS is a mutually exclusive proposition.
Also, if they ASK you something, like your true street address, and its either compulsory (such as when they are going to levy on you) or if you voluntarily answer some inquiry. DO NOT LIE. Even a little, even by omission, because THAT is a federal felony crime for which they WILL toss you in the pokey if they can. Either REFUSE TO ANSWER or provide the information (if it's optional) or tell the truth. Giving the IRS your ghost address as your true residence address (as opposed to your mailing address, which is why I use a PO box) could be considered to be "concealing assets" if the IRS wants to levy on you for back taxes.
...
Peter says he is self-employed. I assume he can always take the standard deduction and still take office expenses off on Schedule C.
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| 5485. |
peter
Miami, Florida
Age: 34
Feb 25, 2009
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Tax privacy
JJ, thank you for your time. how do you reconcile being private and not listing your true home address on your taxes and being self employed and writing off your office / residence on your returns? the write off is substantial around $30,000 a year. if i want to write off my home office and some of the rent for it, i would need to disclose on my taxes where the primary residence is physically.
any thoughts or solutions? much appreciated as always.
peter
...
I am not aware of any requirement to list your home address when writing off home-office expenses. (I assume you list a ghost address as the mailing address on all tax returns, right?)
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| 5484. |
Don
Lubbock, TX
Age: 60
Feb 24, 2009
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Issue with Vumber
I'm wondering if Vumber is not in cahoots with the folks who call, saying the warranty is out on the vehicle. I signed up with Vumber yesterday on two mobile phones, and have since gotten dozens of these fake calls on both phones. Caller ID reveals numbers from all over the map. Weird.
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| 5482. |
Stan
Atlanta
Age: 43
Feb 24, 2009
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Best Buy Stores database hacked
this week brought news of three major security breaches in Florida that have put the personal information of tens of thousands of regular citizens in danger.
First, Best Buy discovered that an employee at a West Palm Beach location may have been using a device to skim data off of credit cards as they were being swiped for purchases.
n an even larger breach, the credit card data of up to 21,000 customers at Wyndham Hotels in Florida was siphoned off the company's servers by hackers.
Submitted Link #1: http://www.switched.com/2009/02/23/florida-struck-...
...
Quote: "Needless to say, customers who shopped at Best Buy in November and December should pay close attention to their credit card bills, just in case." ... I shopped at Best Buy in December but I paid cash. If you readers shopped there and also paid cash, you have nothing to worry about. ... :-)
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| 5481. |
Seth
Collbran, co
Age: 50
Feb 24, 2009
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Another good reason to use a pseudonym
I just found this article about the involuntary paternity racket in California that gives men a really good reason never to use their real name when dating, or any other time for that matter.
Note that I'm not advocating being a deadbeat dad, but as this article points out, when you can be slapped with child support when you never even met the mother, merely because your name is the same as a deadbeat dad, and you've been the victim of "sewer service" on the paperwork that gives you just 30 days to deny paternity, it provides a really good justification for being invisible AND for using a pseudonym whenever you can manage to do so.
This is REALLY scary!
Submitted Link #1: http://www.reason.com/news/show/29035.html...
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| 5480. |
David
St Paul, MN
Age: 30
Feb 24, 2009
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Soc Sec #
"HOW TO BE INVISIBLE" mentions obtaining a new
SS#, if your identity is stolen. Does anyone know if a new number creates a new credit/criminal/ employment history and where might I obtain more information about that?
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| 5479. |
HELMUT
Kitchener,Ontario
Age: 69
Feb 24, 2009
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RE:5477
MARC,I realize the English language is full of homonyms,but you live in California,whose education standards are known to be higher than,say,those of Mississippi.Check J.J.Luna's introduction under"Read This First" to learn how to spell "principle".You pointed out the headmaster of a high school to us,which did not relate.Did you come from Florida?I read that Mr.Luna grew up in Minnesota.Now that's high standards.Not all states were created equal.
...
Helmut, I noticed the "principal" but I prefer not to change posts as long as the meaning is still there.And BTW, you addressed the post to Marc but #5477 refers to Jane.
As to education, the main difference is that English and handwriting in the schools has come down all over the country since the 1930s and 1940s.
I still make mistakes, and so do you. (You leave no spaces after the periods in your post, above.) :)
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| 5478. |
Dorothy
Topeka, KS
Age: 40
Feb 23, 2009
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Marc and Jane - cancer registries
While the concept of a cancer database may seem like the ultimate in privacy invasion, especially when it is accompanied by financial consequences from your local banker... I offer this thought: Cancer registries actually serve a very useful purpose in that they identify cancer "clusters" in a particular region. I would suggest that one get into a habit of misplacing a digit or two in one's SSN whenever possible on medical information forms, and misspell your own name while you're at it, especially if one can figure out which digits to transpose so as to create a unique, non-duplicated SSN that doesn't borrow somebody else's name in the process. But don't balk too much at the concept that one's cancer is recorded in a database somewhere. Here's why: When the health departments look at cancer clusters, you might want to know (or your surviving relatives might want to know) whether you lived in a region that had way more than the "average" number of cases of your very rare cancer. That knowledge could be useful for tracking down the fact that some industry was putting contaminants in the water or air supply in excess of what that industry or the FDA or the EPA knows to be a safe level. While you don't want your *personal* identity known, you still DO want the fact of your existence (if anonymously, then so much the better) known. Trust me on this one - it's the voice of sad experience.
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| 5477. |
Jane
Sacramento, CA
Age: 49
Feb 23, 2009
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Marc #5476
Other states besides California probably require doctors to report cancer patients. I remember about 10-15 years ago reading about a situation on the east coast (might have been Maryland but I'm not sure) where a bank officer, who also sat on some state medical board, cross-referenced the state's list of cancer patients with his bank's records. He then called in the loans of everybody on the cancer registry and put a "no loans allowed" remark in the computer of account holders who had cancer but did not have a loan at the time he did it. I know credit is bad for privacy but it's the principal (or rather, lack thereof) I wanted to point out.
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| 5476. |
Marc
Burlingame, CA
Age: 44
Feb 23, 2009
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CA and cancer patient confidentiality
I came across this appalling item while reading a medical research paper. It would appear that in California, if you are diagnosed with cancer, the doctor is REQUIRED to report your name, social security number, birthdate, phone numbers, race, ethnicity, gender and detailed medical information to the state. Further, the CA registry may send a person to the doctor's office to look over your records and copy items as they see fit. This has been going on since 2001.
The reporting compliance information for doctors has a bold section stating "CALIFORNIA LAW DOES NOT REQUIRE WRITTEN OR VERBAL PATIENT CONSENT TO REPORT, AND SPECIFICALLY EXEMPTS PHYSICIANS FROM ANY LEGAL ACTION OR DAMAGES FROM MEETING THEIR LEGAL OBLIGATION TO REPORT CANCER CASES OR TO PROVIDE ACCESS TO THOSE PATIENT'S MEDICAL RECORDS" No doubt in an attempt to prod doctors to help hide this ethical nightmare. Once the information is sent off to the state, you are given a notice that it's been done.
There are a few loopholes that would allow a privacy friendly doctor to not report you. If you are "directly referred" to a treatment facility or have been previously diagnosed or admitted for that specific instance of cancer, reporting is not required. So you could have the doctor do a direct referral, then call the new doctor to cancel the appointment or tell them that you decided to go elsewhere. I can't think of any doctor that would go chasing you just to fill out more paperwork.
Submitted Link #1: http://www.ccrcal.org...
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| 5475. |
Dorothy
Topeka, KS
Age: 40
Feb 23, 2009
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Carlos - GSM phones & SIM cards
Both AT&T and T-Mobile seem to be able to recognize the MODEL of the phone that a SIM card is sitting in, or recognize that the SIM card is not in a turned-on phone at all. I can't say for certain that they would be able to read the individual serial number of the phone or whether they can just tell the make and model. From various things gathered from using both AT&T and T-Mobile for prepaid and postpaid accounts, it is clear to me that they CAN and DO recognize the make (Nokia, Motorola, etc.) and model (Nokia 6101, Motorola v195, etc) of a phone when the SIM card is installed in that phone. The ONLY way I know of to disassociate a phone's SIM card from its phone is to remove the SIM card and/or remove the battery. The ONLY exceptions I have found are these: T-Mobile's "MYAccount website" does not seem to be able to recognize a Nokia 1100 or a Nokia 1208. The Nokia 1100 is obsolete and hard to find, but the Nokia 1208 can be found at Walgreens and Wal-Mart and perhaps more stores, for $19.99. Which of course you will pay cash for.... :) There may be other phones that T-Mobile's "Myaccount" website can't recognize, but I'm a cheapskate, so I haven't tried every phone out there yet!
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| 5474. |
Seth
Collbran, co
Age: 50
Feb 23, 2009
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Re #5468 - Vehicle Registration Renewal Consent
Lee, you DO NOT have to check this. They wouldn't make it a check box if it was not optional. It's a Junk Mailer's dream, and it allows the DMV to sell addresses to anyone who pays the freight.
NEVER consent to release of your personal information, EVER! No one can force you to do so, under any circumstances.
ALWAYS take the opposite position. In fact, when someone TRIES to get you to waive privacy, don't just object, PUT IT IN WRITING. Cross out any contractual provisions that purport to authorize release of information, get photocopies of the contract as amended, get the representative to initial the corrections, and then follow up the contract with a confirming letter advising them to NEVER release your information to anyone without your express, written consent on each occasion.
If they waffle or object, first demand a supervisor and explain that things ARE going to go your way, whether they like it or not. If they still balk, get up, walk out, and find someone else to do business with.
NEVER WAIVE YOUR PRIVACY RIGHTS! NEVER, EVER!
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| 5473. |
Dorothy
Topeka, KS
Age: 40
Feb 22, 2009
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checked baggage and alternatives
My Grandmother used to send her luggage ahead of her travels via Greyhound. This was REALLY a LONG time ago (she died in 1987). Is that still a reasonable idea? What about sending it to your UPS CMRA *after* setting up a forwarding address from the CMRA to a different CMRA in your destination city? I checked on that concept last week, and my UPS CMRA only charges $10 for a month of forwarding service to a different UPS Store. So how about the price of sending the package via UPS to yourself at your CMRA, plus $10 for a month of forwarding? Relatively private? Relatively less likely to "lose" one's luggage or have items stolen from it? FWIW, a very close relative of mine lost luggage between the USA and Denmark after a weather mishap in France. It didn't show up in Denmark until approximately 10 days after the relative arrived in Denmark. And that was even including the fact that the relative got to Denmark 36 hours after the original scheduled flight! That relative was very thankful that I had strongly encouraged him/her/it to pack a change of clothing in his/her/its carry-on bag!
...
Although I prefer Priority Mail, I see no big problems with your UPS ideas.
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| 5472. |
Carlos
Clark County, NV
Age: 19
Feb 22, 2009
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GSM cell phones
I want to have 1 phone but use many SIM cards in it. Is it possible will TMobile or ATT or other company track my phone id no. and link the phone numbers? Is 2 or 3 or 4 phones safer than 1 phone and 2 or 3 or 4 SIM cards?
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| 5471. |
David
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Age: 56
Feb 22, 2009
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Private Banking
I wish to work with a private bank.
The one I work with now is not part of the ABA system of clearing houses nor the Federal Reserve.
Is there a way to access the private banking system so that i amable to function day to day? Pay bills buy clothes etc.
David
...
I have never heard of any "private" banks in Canada.
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| 5470. |
John
Virginia Beach, VA
Age: 39
Feb 22, 2009
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Re: #5469 - JJ's answer
JJ,
In response to #5469 you said Fed Ex is now in the govt's pocket so you use only the US Postal Service. Aren't they as bad or worse than Fed Ex since they were a formerly govt owned, now quasi-governmental organization with very broad powers (U.S. Postal Inspector's)? Just curious why you think they are safer or better than Fed Ex or UPS? Thanks.
...
FedEx keeps the name and address of every sender and receiver in a database which is accessible by US goverment agencies. Not so with USPS, when you use parcel post or Priority Mail.
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| 5469. |
Ryan
Missouri
Age: 21
Feb 22, 2009
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Smartitag Luggage tags
I came across this product while browsing around Wal-Mart. It's the Smartitag Luggage and Key Locator. You place this tag on your luggage, key ring, etc. and if they're lost, whoever finds them can call an 800 number on the tag and using the PIN on there, they can be connected to one of five numbers that you choose. More information can be found at www.smartitag.com.
I remember reading in HTBI that you recommend sending your luggage through FedEx, UPS, etc. in lieu of checking it with the airline so that you wouldn't have to have a business card or contact information in the luggage in the event of it getting lost. So, does this seem like it would offer enough privacy if you still wanted to check luggage with an airline?
...
My recommendation is to never check luggage when you travel. One of our sons-in-law used to circle the globe on business, often being gone from home for three weeks at a time. He never checked a bag. ... Although the airlines try to keep this quiet, there are thousands of thefts from checked bags every month. Further, if you have not checked a bag, it is so much easier to transfer to another flight or another airline when necessary to do so. And last but not least, you will never lose a bag that was never checked. ... However, since FedEx is now in the government's pocket, I never use them. If I had to send a bag ahead, it would go via Priority Mail.
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