Monday, July 26, 2010

Debt Collection: Know Your Rights

The Federal Trade Commission is the nation’s consumer protection agency...as enforces the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA)...which prohibits debt collectors from using abusive, unfair, or deceptive practices to collect from you. If you'd like to read up on your rights...check out the FTC's consumer debt collection guide...
Here's what the FTC says you need to know...
Debt collectors may not harass, oppress, or abuse you or any third parties they contact.
For example, they may not: use threats of violence or harm; publish a list of names of people who refuse to pay their debts (but they can give this information to the credit reporting companies); use obscene or profane language; or repeatedly use the phone to annoy someone.
False statements.
Debt collectors may not lie when they are trying to collect a debt.
For example, they may not: falsely claim that they are attorneys or government representatives; falsely claim that you have committed a crime; falsely represent that they operate or work for a credit reporting company; misrepresent the amount you owe; indicate that papers they send you are legal forms if they aren’t; or indicate that papers they send to you aren’t legal forms if they are.
Debt collectors also are prohibited from saying that: you will be arrested if you don’t pay your debt; they’ll seize, garnish, attach, or sell your property or wages unless they are permitted by law to take the action and intend to do so; or legal action will be taken against you, if doing so would be illegal or if they don’t intend to take the action.
Debt collectors may not: give false credit information about you to anyone, including a credit reporting company; send you anything that looks like an official document from a court or government agency if it isn’t; or use a false company name.
Debt collectors may not engage in unfair practices when they try to collect a debt. For example, they may not: try to collect any interest, fee, or other charge on top of the amount you owe unless the contract that created your debt – or your state law – allows the charge;
deposit a post-dated check early; take or threaten to take your property unless it can be done legally; or contact you by postcard.

Monday, July 19, 2010

Beware Independent Musicians...

If you're an aspiring artist...you're gonna want to steer clear of this website... www.numberonemusic.com... the online company claims to sell promotional packages to musicians who are hungry for exposure. For a couple hundred dollars, the company promises to boost your page views, song plays, and fan base on your profile for numberonemusic.com and myspace. Initially...you think you're getting a bunch of traffic on your pages...what you don't know...it's actually an online bot... also known as web robots...software applications that run automated tasks over the internet. According to Wikipedia...bots perform tasks that are both simple and structurally repetitive, at a much higher rate than would be possible for a human alone.

Remember...just because you read something online..doesn't make it true. Take advantage of search engine sites like Google when checking out a company...and before you make any sort of purchase online...make sure to read the fine print...does that company have a refund policy?? Just be careful...the more thorough...the better!

Monday, July 12, 2010

Are you unknowingly aiding terrorism??

You've all seen the online ads...work from home...get rich quick. Sounds too good to be true, right?? um, yes...that's because it likely is. Criminals overseas continue to target Oklahomans online. You think you're working from home, but what you don't know is you could be unknowingly helping terrorists. A disabled man from Guthrie thought he was working as a shipping clerk...re-shipping merchandise to Americans overseas.. but really he was sending stolen merchandise to scam artists in Nigeria. In his case...the crooks posted a bogus ad online...our victim then responded to the ad. Once they got his personal information...they used a stolen credit card to order cell phones...those cell phones were then shipped to our victim's home address in Oklahoma...where he repackaged and tried to re-ship the merchandise to West Africa. Here's the scary part...the cell phone's SIM card can be used as the trigger mechanism in IED bombs used by terrorists in Africa and possibly the Middle East. U.S. Postal Inspectors warn about the scheme on their webpage...