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Easy Ways to Protect Your Personal Finances From Further Economic Contraction

While the economy has already certainly softened, there may be further economic contraction for American consumers to face.  Increasing job losses, higher inflation rates, and the growing food and energy costs are making personal finance budgeting difficult for most American families to achieve.  The variable interest rate of recent mortgages makes critical, and the prospects for personal finance do not look bright for the next several years.

However, an ounce of personal finance planning is certainly worth more than a pound of monetary cure.  It is not too late to start preparing your personal finance budgeting efforts to brace yourself for further economic contraction – ensuring that when America does recover from its economic weakness, your personal finance will be intact and still healthy.

Debt management strategy: watch your interest rates

When economic uncertainty is on the horizon, interest rates are the first to react – making debt management critical.  Powered by both the Federal Reserve rate and each banking institution’s tolerance, interest rates can either soar or plummet, depending upon several factors.

Whereas our interest rates were at historical lows, the Fed Chairman Bernanke made adjustments to the rate in order to curb inflation, while attempting to simultaneously stimulate economic investment.  What does this mean for your debt management?  In essence, banks will now offer you great interest rates if you have good credit, making your debt management easy.  If you have bad credit, then banks will increase your interest rates, as the risk of a default grows greater during an economic contraction.

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Therefore, for debt management that will prepare for further economic contraction, you want to lock in low interest rates, which will be easy for those who already have good credit.  You can refinance your credit cards by consolidating your debts, or you can even renegotiate your interest rates with your existing credit card company.

For those who have less than stellar credit, you want to carefully watch your mortgages, loans, and credit cards to ensure that they are not raising your interest rates.  You may be particular susceptible to interest rate hikes in further economic contraction.

Smart personal finance budgeting

Keep in mind that regardless of how much income you earn, the key to maintaining financial stability is through intelligent debt management and personal finance budgeting.  Even if you earn millions, your spending habits and debt are what determine your financial stability.  In preparing for a further economic contraction, it is important that you take several personal finance budgeting steps:

•               Tally all of your required expenses including your mortgage or rent payment, car payment, health insurance, and utilities.  There are the bills you must pay each month, and therefore, are part of your mandatory personal finance budgeting process.

•               Allocate a set amount each month for groceries.  Keep in mind that you should try to purchase everything “on sale” for smart personal finance budgeting.  Research shows that simply by purchasing the brand that is on sale, you can save approximately 20% each time you go to the supermarket.

•               Minimize your entertainment expenses.  Smart personal finance budgeting means limiting how frequently you eat out, or spend money on entertainment.  For example, if you have a four-person family and you typically watch a movie at the theater each week, cutting this expense out could save up nearly 0 each month.  Or, brown bag your lunch instead of eating at the local sandwich shop.  This small change in your personal finance budgeting can save you conservatively 0 per month.   Just these two small changes alone in your entertainment expenses can give you an extra 0 per month for your personal finance budgeting.

•               Set money aside for your savings.  In a further economic contraction, the greatest, yet most probably fear, is losing your job.  Therefore, by taking conservative approaches with your personal finance budgeting now, you can still set aside emergency funds that will help your family if times are difficult.  Saving 10% of your income each month is a healthy, yet reasonable, amount to save in your personal finance budgeting. 

The key to protecting your personal finance against any additional economic contraction is through smart debt management and intelligent personal finance budgeting.  By taking several preventative measures now, you can ensure that your financial situation will remain healthy – regardless of what happens to the economy.

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Tags: Contraction, Easy, Economic, finances, From, Further, Personal, protect, Ways

Protect Your Personal Financial Info

Protect Your Personal Financial Info will change the way you handle your personal business matters. The inside secrets of how yo
10,000 Great Products

Tags: Financial, Info, Personal, protect

Sir Elton John Signs

Sir Elton John in Cape Town with Dr Mitch Besser, Founder of mothers2mothers

(PRWEB) March 23, 2010

Sir Elton John today announced from Cape Town, South Africa, the granting of a £984,000 award to mothers2mothers (m2m) to be used to help prevent hundreds of thousands of babies across Africa from contracting the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) through mother-to child transmission and assist mothers in staying healthy to care for their children.

The award, a multi-year grant from The Elton John AIDS Foundation (EJAF), will enable m2m to work to develop effective programmes to support clinical efforts preventing mother-to-child transmission of HIV, across sub-Saharan Africa and develop a gold standard for delivering and monitoring these programmes.

Each year, an estimated 1.4 million women living with HIV become pregnant. Without effective medical intervention and education, up to 40% of these women will transmit HIV to their children, either during pregnancy or in the first years of the infant’s life. Scientific advances and high-quality medical care have almost eradicated pediatric AIDS in resource rich countries. 91% of the global cases of mother-to-child transmission of HIV emanate from sub-Saharan Africa, where there are overwhelming systemic, societal and economic barriers to care. The grant from the EJAF will enable m2m to explore and roll out effective and affordable client interventions in over 600 health care facilities across Africa.

‘I visited mothers2mothers’ programme at Site B clinic in Khayelitsha a couple of years ago’ comments Sir Elton, ‘and was knocked out by how effective the Mentor Mother approach can be. We want an HIV-free generation in Africa and m2m is going to help us get there.’

m2m works in health care facilities partnering with doctors and nurses to meet the comprehensive needs of HIV-positive pregnant women and new mothers. The organisation recruits HIV-positive mothers after they deliver their babies and trains them to work as paid professional health care providers in the clinics and maternity wards where they once received medical care. These peer educators, called “Mentor Mothers”, engage, educate and support HIV-positive pregnant women and new mothers, guiding them in measures to prevent HIV transmission to their babies and in steps to ensure they will remain healthy to raise their children. These efforts contribute to empowering women and reducing stigma by teaching people to “live positively” with HIV.

Dr. Mitch Besser, Founder and Medical Director, and Gene Falk, Co-founder and President of mothers2mothers commented: “We are overwhelmed by the incredible generosity of the Elton John AIDS Foundation. This grant comes at a pivotal time in mothers2mothers’ growth as we strive to provide more care to more mothers and babies, ensuring that they receive, understand and embrace all of the medical services that contribute to healthy HIV-free children and healthy mothers. This grant will be transformational for our organization’s ability to measure the impact of our efforts and ensure we are providing the most effective services to our families. We are thrilled to be part of this strategic partnership with EJAF.”

Since 2001, m2m has grown from a local program in the townships of Cape Town, South Africa, to a multinational organization that employs and empowers more than 1600 women living with HIV in more than 600 health care facilities in seven African countries. Currently, m2m is located in South Africa, Lesotho, Swaziland, Rwanda, Kenya, Malawi and Zambia, with expansion planned in 2010 into Uganda, Mozambique and Tanzania. In 2009, mothers2mothers enrolled nearly 300,000 pregnant women and new mothers living with HIV into its programme.

About EJAF

Since its establishment in 1992 by founder and Chairman Sir Elton John, EJAF has raised over $ 175m to support HIV/AIDS prevention and care programmes in 55 countries around the globe. EJAF focuses on supporting community based, direct care services to people living with HIV/AIDS and those highly vulnerable to the disease. This includes HIV counseling and testing, medical treatment access, food security, shelter, psychosocial services, harm reduction, legal aid, and condom distribution.

For more information on the work of the Foundation visit www.ejaf.com or contact:

Anne Aslett, Executive Director    - anne(dot)aslett(at)ejaf(dot)com

Simon Prytherch, Director of Fundraising – simon(dot)prytherch(at)ejaf(dot)com

For more information on the work of mothers2mothers visit www.m2m.org or contact:

Steven Guy, Development Communications    steven(at)m2m(dot)org +27 (0)82 839-4222.

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Tags: African, babies, Elton, Grant, John, protect, Signs

How to Protect Yourself in The Great Depression

Do the current signs of The Great Depression have you worried? Are you trying to figure out how to protect yourself if the financial system crashes? Here are some things you can do.

The first thing you need to understand is what the word ‘economics’ means in terms of thinking about your personal or company finances, and how you can use what it means to your financial advantage.

Don’t pay attention to what the media says about ‘economics’ when they talk about the ups and downs of the stock market, product shortages and demand increases, rising prices, banking industry mortgage defaults and the unemployment figures. Those are ‘economic representatives’ that evaluate an area much larger than you can control.

What you can control is your own business and household economics. The definition of the word economics I am using is the original one; meaning ‘the art or science of managing a household or business.’ And those are things that you, as an individual, can control.

There is an art to managing a business or household. It requires certain skills and abilities, like putting in organization so things run better. There is a science of managing a business or household, especially in the money area. Here are some things that you can do to make sure that the economics of your business or household are stable and strong, despite the fact the general economy may be on the slippery slide to disaster.

1 – Use Cash Not Credit

Each time you make a purchase using lines of credit or credit cards that you cannot pay off as soon as the statement arrives, you are committing your future earnings to the the credit card company. That future income will undoubtedly be needed to pay your regular business or household expenses. That is committing yourself into the hands of an economic slavemaster called the credit card trap. The exception is purchasing property that increases in value, like investing in some commercial property or buying a second home that you use to increase your income from rents collected. It’s plain smart money management to use your money to earn even more money.

Tip: Be sure you negotiate a big discount when you pay with cash. When the rest of the world is on the downhill run to economic disaster and credit is difficult to obtain, the person who has the cash is king. Another item worth a mention is, work out how to purchase items wholesale instead of paying retail prices to lower your cost even more.

2 – Don’t Spend More Than You Earn

Learn from your grandparents or parents who made very little, but lived well. Reduce expenses to less than you earn. The fastest road to disaster in the finance area is spending more than you make. It’s possible to keep a good quality of life while eliminating optional spending. This can be done by acts such as buying used equipment rather than new, and eating less often in restaurants. Don’t buy something because you only want it, but don’t really need it. It’s just a plain good money management practice.

3 – Make It Before You Spend It

When there is an expensive item you need to purchase in the future, begin by setting aside small amounts of cash in a savings account for that purchase and don’t stop until you can pay for it with cash. On a household level, if you have 10 years before your child enters college, then work out how much the tuition costs will be and figure out how much cashyou have to set aside every week to have the full amount the year they graduate from high school. Plus apply for every student scholarship, grant or financial aid package you can locate. On a company level, if you need to upgrade or buy some furnishings or equipment for your business , then work out how much the cost of that will be and figure out how much cashyou have to set aside every week to have the full amount just before you will need to make that purchase. Plus look for every place you can locate to get the lowest cost possible. 4 – Sest Aside Some Savings for Emergencies and Operating Expenses

Nothing will make you sleep better at night than the financial freedom of having some cash stashed away in savings for emergencies like needing to repair the car or an office machine, having to have some unexpected dental work or losing a job. When you have a cushion of cash you can immediately use, then magically, you stop worrying about money, and your attention goes back on living life and enjoying it, and making money suddenly gets easier.

The only thing you have to be afraid of in a great depression is not having a cash cushion sitting in a savings plan you can get your hands on at a moments notice. It might interest you to know that the Great Depression in our recent past created more millionaires in the U.S. than at any other time in history. How was that possible? During those years, the economy crashed, the stock market crashed, inflation took prices of everything through the roof, unemployment figures skyrocketed as companys shut down, and individuals who lost their jobs also lost their homes.

The people who had cash stashed away were able to buy homes, property and entire companies for pennies on the dollar. Those individuals became overnight millionaires due to the fact that they had the cash to survive the disaster called The Great Depression.

From every dime you earn, immediately set aside 10% and stash it in an interest bearing account that you have designated for your cash cushion. Even if you have to work an extra job and cut expenses on top of that to build your cushion of cash. No moaning, groaning and saying you can’t, JUST DO IT! As the weeks and months roll by you’ll find you are sleeping better and are walking through life with greater confidence knowing you are controlling your financial destiny and have protected yourself from The Great Depression looming on the horizon.

Why is controlling the flow of your money so important? It is the energy and life blood of a business or household. It is necessary to pump some of it through the income producingareas first to keep it running smoothly, and also to set aside some of it for future survival. Everything runs smoother when enoughcash is available. Our Money Management Software guides you towards making the most advantageous decisions of how to use your income to generate more profits and build wealth.

Tags: Depression, Great, protect, Yourself

Why Use a Pool Cue Case to Protect Your Stick

People who don’t play pool seriously do not see the use in safeguarding their own cue. In case you are one of the many individuals who do understand however, maybe you are wanting to know which kind of pool cue case to get. There are many different types, some offer you a lot more protection when compared with others. With that being said, let’s talk a little about the various kinds of pool cue cases and the type of protection they’re able to supply to your cue.

Features

You’ll want to make sure you buy a case which will shield your pool cue from the elements whether those elements are inside the case or outside. Since you most likely understand, a cue can certainly sustain just as much damage on the inside as it could outside if not looked after adequately, and you certainly can’t be walking on eggshells each and every time you transfer your pool cue.

It’s also vital that you try to find a pool cue case which boasts several different chambers. This kind of compartments will undoubtedly help you to stow some other accessories including chalk as well as aiming devices. A lot of people might bring some other items such as a notepad, pens, or any number of other accessories, and if you are somebody who likes to carry more than merely the cue, a full sized case could possibly the ideal selection.

Hard Cases

You are going to benefit from the hard case if you have just acquired a new $500 pool cue. These kinds of cases can be found in various sizes, the largest size having the capacity to carry up to seven cues. The smaller sized models are generally less expensive and they’ll be ideal for the skilled billiard player.

Box Cases

Box cases were rather widespread at one point although they’ve faded into obscurity recently. These days’ professional billiard players keep these around either for the sake of nostalgia or to display an expression of class. In either case, there are several options out there that you could make the most of if you want to up the actual stakes on your billiard presentation.

Soft Cases

The soft cases are generally pretty typical among beginners. Most of these cases are much cheaper plus they allow a person to be able to keep their cue relatively protected without really investing the cost which is normally linked to this very exclusive activity. This type of case won’t give you the same degree of security which a hard case is going to but it will be able to keep all parts of your respective cue in one place, ensuring that you do not lose any parts and that your cue will be easily accessible when you decide to play a game.

As you can see, there are various factors to be taken when you’re getting ready to undertake the activity of billiards. You may find it to be a gratifying hobby, or you might find it to be a tad too complex. Either way, you’re certain to have fun exploring this excellent sports activity.

Tags: Case, Pool, protect, Stick

Protect Yourself From Identity Theft

As degree candidates in standard programs there is campus training every semester on personal safety and how to get around campus at night. As an online degree candidate you do not have those concerns but you do have identity theft.

Identity theft is a huge and growing proliferating problem. What is fairly new however, is the danger is poses to online degree candidates. Yes, your records and degree are in danger of being stolen. Here’s how to protect yourself.

What is identity theft?

Identity theft occurs when someone steals your identity and impersonates you in order to obtain student loans or other forms of financial aid. Fraudulent credit card accounts could be opened or other criminal acts committed using your identity.

You may not know when it happens. One day you may be turned down unexpectedly for a loan, get a call from a collection agency about an account you never opened or worse yet, a call from the police about a crime you didn’t commit. Suddenly you are a victim of identity theft.

What are the effects of identity theft?

On average, identity theft is not discovered until 14 months after the crime has occurred. By this time, the thief has wreaked havoc on the victim’s credit rating. Victims might spend months or even years regaining their credit worthiness. In the meantime, the victims find it difficult to obtain loans, get a job, an apartment, or even write checks.

How does identity theft happen?

Criminals steal personal information, such as Social Security numbers, driver’s license numbers, ATM card numbers, telephone calling card numbers and other key pieces of personal data and use them to impersonate their victims. After assuming your identity, they will quickly move to spend or borrow as much money as they can before moving on to their next victim.

Methods with which criminals gain access to your identity online: Pose as your bank or utility company needing to “update their records” Grab information off Internet sites that are not secure Once the thief has this information, they may open a new credit card account or apply for financial aid using your identity and their address. Chances are, you will be unaware that any of this has taken place until the bills go unpaid. The creditor then reports the delinquency to your credit file.

How do I protect myself from identity theft?

Prevention is the first step in battling identity theft. To minimize the risk of someone’s stealing your identity and the hassle of cleaning up the aftermath, follow these guidelines:

- Be very careful in giving out your credit card, social security number, bank accounts and other information online.

- Do not give personal information or account numbers to anyone claimig to be from your degree program until you have confirmed the identity of the person requesting the information and verified that you need to provide them with the information.

- Know what type of student financial aid you are applying for (e.g. loans, grants) and the amounts of the aid awarded. Make sure the amount is promptly credited to your school account.

- Immediately report the suspected theft or loss of a key identification document such as a driver’s license, passport or Social Security card to the issuing agency.

What should I do if I become a victim of identity theft?

First, contact the fraud department of each of the three major credit bureaus. Request that a “fraud alert” be placed on your credit file. This alert will warn creditors to be especially careful in authenticating the identity of anyone claiming to be you. This means you cannot obtain instant credit, a minor inconvenience in light of the damage identity theft can do. File a report with your local police department and make sure to get a copy. Contact each credit grantor who has opened a fraudulent account to let them know that you are not the person responsible for opening the account. Have them close these accounts. If you open new accounts, make sure to place passwords on them. Call the Identity Theft Toll-free Hotline at 1-877-438-4338. This is the central point of contact within the federal government for reporting incidents of identity theft.

Remember to close the accounts that you know or believe have been tampered with or opened fraudulently. If someone has stolen your identity and you are concerned about your AES-guaranteed loans or grants, or are suspicious about student financial aid granted under your identity, you may contact AES Investigative Services at 717-720-2740, or via email at: investigativeservices@aesSuccess.org.
EQUIFAX: http://www.equifax.com

TO ORDER YOUR REPORT, call: 1-800-685-1111 or write:
P.O. Box 740241
Atlanta, GA 30374-0241

TO REPORT FRAUD, call: 1-800-525-6285 or write:
P.O. Box 740241
Atlanta, GA 30374-0241

EXPERIAN: http://www.experian.com

TO ORDER YOUR REPORT, call: 1-888-EXPERIAN (397-3742) or write:
P.O. Box 2104
Allen TX 75013

TO REPORT FRAUD, call: 1-888-EXPERIAN (397-3742) or write:
P.O. Box 9532
Allen TX 75013

TRANSUNION: http://www.transunion.com

TO ORDER YOUR REPORT, call: 800-916-8800 or write:
P.O. Box 1000
Chester, PA 19022

TO REPORT FRAUD, call: 1-800-680-7289 or write:
Fraud Victim Assistance Division
P.O. Box 6790
Fullerton, CA 92834-6790

Tags: From, Identity, protect, theft, Yourself

How to Protect Your Baby From the Sun’s Rays

When the sun is out and the weather is crisp and clear, it’s difficult to resist going outside to enjoy time with your little one. Whether you’re visiting the park together or enjoying a meal on your patio, the warmth of the sun’s rays feel especially soothing on the skin. Unfortunately, these rays are also damaging to the skin – and even more so for your baby.

Below, we’ll take a closer look at the sun’s ultraviolet rays in the context of what they can do to your infant’s skin. We’ll offer a few suggestions for buying suntan lotion and describe the benefits of staying in the shade. You’ll also learn how to protect your little one’s eyes in the event you’re going to be outside for an extended period of time.

The Danger Of Ultraviolet Rays

You might think that a golden-brown tan is the quintessential sign of good health. It’s actually a clear sign of skin damage caused by ultraviolet rays. Over time, too much exposure will eventually cause premature wrinkling and skin blemishes.

There are three types of ultraviolet rays that span a wide spectrum of light: UVA, UVB, and UVC. UVA and UVB are the most well-known because they directly impact our health. UVA rays penetrate several layers of skin. UVB rays penetrate the surface, but little else. Both types of UV light can damage your baby’s skin beyond the visible signs of sunburns and mild irritation. Over years of exposure, the cellular damage accrues and can even lead to skin cancer.

Using The Right Suntan Lotion

Most sunscreens and suntan lotions have an SPF rating. The abbreviation stands for “sun protection factor.” The rating reflects the number of minutes of protection offered by the product. A simple rule of thumb – though not entirely accurate – is to multiply the SPF rating by twenty. For example, a person who normally burns after fifteen minutes would be protected for 450 minutes while using an SPF 30 sunscreen.

Few people realize that a product’s SPF rating only indicates protection from UVB rays. It does not reflect the product’s ability to protect your infant’s skin from UVA rays. This is an important distinction because UVA rays can be just as damaging.

Another important note: ultraviolet rays can penetrate cloud covers. If you and your baby are enjoying time together at the park on a cloudy day, you should still apply a high-quality sunscreen to her skin.

Fun In The Sun Versus Safe In The Shade

A lot of parents think the sun is unable to cause damage during short periods of exposure. In reality, UV damage accumulates. Even if you and your baby spend five or ten minutes outside, the ultraviolet rays can still penetrate her skin. Because her skin is still fragile, it is more susceptible to cellular damage than your skin.

This is one of the reasons pediatricians suggest limiting babies’ exposure to the sun whenever possible. Stay in the shade. Otherwise, liberally apply a strong sunscreen to your baby’s skin that offers her protection from UVA and UVB rays.

Safeguarding Your Baby’s Eyes

In the same way ultraviolet rays can damage the skin, they can also cause eye problems. Millions of people suffer from cataracts due to prolonged exposure to the sun’s UV rays. Keep in mind, your baby’s eyes are extremely sensitive. They need protection. Consider buying sunglasses that provide a guard against ultraviolet light. The darkness of the tint matters less than the UV protection.

Don’t underestimate the power of the sun’s rays. Their warmth may feel comforting against the skin, but they penetrate the surface and cause damage. Your baby relies upon you to help ensure she’s protected. If you intend to spend time outside, ask your little one’s pediatrician for sunscreen recommendations.

Tags: Baby, From, protect, Rays, Sun's

Nigeria Scams – How to Protect Yourself from Nigerian Scam

Nigeria scams have made news in recent years because hundreds of people, perhaps even thousands, have suffered from one Nigerian scam or another.

These victims lost money because they believed the scam stories presented to them by innocent looking and unsuspecting conmen. As I speak, some are in the process of losing money to Nigeria scams artist.

The amazing part is that I get regular emails from people telling me they have been presented with a wonderful proposal and that they suspect it is scam. They then request that I help them check it out to confirm it is scam.

Now, that is surprising.

If a person is so sure a scheme presented to him is likely to be scam, why does he want me to confirm what he already knows?

That highlights the core reason why Nigerian scammers have had a tremendous success with conning people.

The reason?

Greed.

If you are greedy . . . if you want to reap where you did not sow . . . you’re likely to be a victim of conmen, scammers, or fraudsters sooner or later.

Scammers play on the greed of potential victims.

They send a mass email out with a proposal that potential victims are likely to consider irrestible. Those who show interest in the scammers proposal, contact him for more information.

The net spread out by the scammer is bringing home some prey.

Those who indicate interest are supplied more information by the scammer. The scammer either paints a picture of poverty and oppression to attract sympathy or presents a proposal with potential for prosperity and unbridled profitability for the potential victim.

Either way, the soft-hearted or greedy potential victim falls into the well-laid out trap and gets scammed.

What are the common kind of scams?

They are . . .

1. Lottery scam

In this case, the Nigeria scam perpetrator informs the potential victim that he has won a lottery worth millions of dollars. This piques the interest of the potential victim. He goes ahead to request information regarding how to claim the prize.

He is told to pay a certain amount to a certain account or through Western Union to the Nigerian scam artist. The amount requested is often a tiny fraction of the supposed amount won. The unwary victim pays and the scammer disappears.

2. Banking Scam

Banking scam comes in two format: deceased relative scam and deceased client scam.

In the case of deceased relative scam, the scammer writes to the potential victim that a deceased relative has left behind a huge amount of money in an account with the bank where he works. He then offers to help the victim claim the money in the deceased relative account by altering the bank’s documents to indicate that the potential victim is the heir to the money in the deceased relative’s account.

In the case of “deceased client scam”, the scammer poses as an employee of a legitimate bank in Nigeria. He then sends out a mass mail to a list claiming that one of the bank’s client has millions of dollars in his account and that this client passed away some years back.

He tells potential victims that the government has a policy of taking over unclaimed funds after 8-10yrs and that this money will go to the government if the potential victim does not act fast.

As a high-ranking officer of the bank, he offers to transfer the money to the account of the potential victim if he is interested. And that they will split the money 50-50 when the deal is done.

In either case, the scammer tells potential victims to send a certain amount of money to facilitate speedy processing of the documentation and to bribe relevant officials to ensure the fund transfer happens.

Other types of scam are . . .

3. Real estate scam and

4. Affiliate scam

How do you protect yourself from becoming a victim of these scams?

1. Understand that if something is too good to be true, it probably is

2. Understand that it is fraudulent to attempt to reap where you did not sow.

For example, if someone tells you you have won thousands of dollars in a Nigerian lottery when you did not play a Nigerian lottery, someone is lying to you. It’s probably a scam.

You cannot win a lottery if you did not play the lottery.

3. Avoid greed – If someone offers to transfer stolen money to you, that makes the person a thief. It doesn’t matter whether it is stolen government money or money left in an account of a deceased person. It is stolen money.

And remember, if this person can offer to partner with you to steal from the Nigerian government or from a bank in Nigeria, then the person can also steal from you.

Bottom line.

Don’t be greedy.

Secondly, do a check on people you meet on the internet. Buy only from genuine businesses with a valid address.

About The Author

Samson Itoje is a Lagos Nigeria real estate advisor. He provides a Nigeria scams directory where victims of scam can report their scam story and be heard. The scam directory is at http://www.lagos-nigeria-real-estate-advisor.com/nigerian-scam.html.

Tags: From, Nigeria, Nigerian, protect, Scam, Scams., Yourself

How Bug Sweeping can Protect Your Business

Last week, I had an illuminating phone conversation with one of our company’s main customers, who said that he had been losing business for quite a while now, and that most of his clients were buying the same material from a new company, just opened by one of his former partners.

His firm is producing microcircuits which are mostly used on aircrafts, and used to sell his parts to the major aircraft manufacturers. For a sheer coincidence, when one of his partners quit the company to try running one on his own, his business almost immediately started decreasing, and after investigating for a while he found out that the customers were buying from his ex-associate, at a lower price.

In that specific field, privacy is everything, and it looked like his competitor was always ahead of him, as if he knew exactly what was going on at every time of the day.
All the offers that our customer was making were regularly refused by producers, who could purchase the same kind of item, at a price which was constantly better than his.

After a few times that this happened, and especially after details of what was supposed to be a private conversation were made public, he got suspicious and started to think that the competition could be listening to his conversations.

To make sure whether this was true or not, he hired a bug sweeping specialist, that is, an expert of a technique, used mostly in counter espionage, to detect any secretly planted listening devices within an office or a house.

There are several bug sweepers, which can detect any miniaturized bugs, along with microphones, microrecorders and transmitters, and some are designed for detecting microcameras. They would send a signal on several frequency ranges, which would detect all bugs that transmit on a particular frequency.

Our customer used a wide array of camera and microphone detectors, which enabled him to find out that his office was completely bugged, and there were even some miniature cameras in his room, which allowed his competitor to track down his every move. Even his car had a GSM bug, which was transmitting his conversations just like a normal cellphone.

Thanks to the bugs he planted, his ex-partner, now competitor, had the advantage of knowing all his moves, and was able to submit lower offers , which were obviously accepted. All bugs were removed, the unlawful competitor was sued, and business started to flourish again!

This is just a small example, it gives you an idea of how surveillance technology can help you in business. As you can imagine, protecting your environment would allow you to solve a wide range of problem and situations, ranging from business to politics, or in the personal sphere. Read more on Endoacustica.

Tags: Business, protect, Sweeping

Copyright – How Easy It Is To Protect Your Work?

Copyright protection is becoming a hot issue for everyone. It seems that every time we click on the tv there is another feature about it. Click on the television and a popular actress or artist is talking about the importance of it. From Youtube and file sharing controversies to dvd duplication, copyright is all over. In this piece of writing we will explain copyright and as a basic overview, look at the reasons why you would copyright their work and list types of work that can be copyrighted.

Copyright explained

Copyright is a set of individual rights regulating the use of a individual expression of a idea or information. At its most general, it is really “the right to copy” an original creation. Almost always, these rights are of restricted duration. The mark for copyright is , and in some areas may alternatively be marked as either (c) or (C).

What does copyright protect

Copyright may cover a variety of creative, academic, or artistic forms or “works”. These include poems, theses, theatrical plays, and other literary works, movies, choreographic works (dances, ballets, etc.), musical compositions, audio recordings, paintings, sculptures, photographs, drawings, software, radio and television performances of live and other broadcasts, and, in some jurisdictions, industrial designs. Designs or industrial designs may have unrelated or overhanging laws applied to them in some regions. Copyright is one of the laws covered by the all encompassing term ‘intellectual property’.

Copyright exclusions

Copyright law covers only the individual form or manner in which ideas or information have been produced, the “form of material expression”. It is not designed or intended to cover the particular idea, concepts, facts, styles, or techniques which may be demonstrated by the copyright work.

For example, the copyright for the Donald Duck cartoon forbids unapproved individuals from distributing copies of the cartoon or making derivative works which mimic the Donald Duck cartoon.

But it does not prevent anyone from creating a cartoon duck. As long as it is different enough from Donald Duck. Other laws may require legal limitations on production or use where copyright doesn’t. That’s when trademarks and patents can be applied.

Length of copyright

Copyright has a variety of durations in different jurisdictions, with different categories of works and the length it exists also depends on whether your work is published or unpublished. In most regions the default length of copyright for many works is time of death of the author plus 50 years. The copyright always expires at the end of the year concerned, rather than on the specific date of the death of the author.

Public domain and how it applies

So when is a book is in the public domain? In the u.s., all books and other items published before 1923 have expired copyrights and are in the public domain, and all works created by the U.s. government, regardless of date, enter the public domain upon their creation.

But if the intended use of the book includes publication (or distribution of a film based on the book) outside the U.s., the arrangement of copyright around the world must be weighed.

If the author has been deceased more than 70 years, the work is in the public domain in most areas.

Transfers

Under the United states Copyright Act, if you want to transfer ownership of your copyright it must be transferred in writing. No official transfer form is required. A basic document that specifies the work involved and the rights being allowed is admissible.

Non-exclusive grants (often called non-exclusive licenses) need not be in writing under United states law. A non-exclusive grant is when you allow someone to utilize your work by giving them your approval. For example, you allow a writer to include a paragraph of your book in his work. Your go-ahead can be oral or even implied based on the behavior of all the individuals involved.

Transfers of copyright ownership, including exclusive licenses should be formally recorded in the U.S. Copyright Office. While fileing is not compulsory to make the grant effective, it offers important benefits, just like you would get from registering a real estate deed when you buy a home.

Now what?

You can download the paperwork yourself from the US Copyright Office at www.copyright.gov. This is the most economic option on hand, at the time of this writing the US Copyright Office usually charges $30 per application. You will need to settle on the right form for your work type, but the Copyright Office does a fairly good job of organizing their forms so users can find what they need. Browse through their online Help files for guidance on how to fill out the forms and what materials you will need to submit. With a little research and work you can do it all yourself. If you need more assistance there are a number of commercial websites that will help.

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