Credit card fraud online is on the rise. Years ago, you knew your card had been compromised when it was lost or stolen, but now you may not even know someone has your credit card information until you check your bank statement!

Thankfully, the law here is in your favor – but only if you act quickly.

Before I lay out the steps to take once your card has been compromised, above all you need to start doing this one thing: check your credit card statements regularly! Even better, check your account online.

Since you have to report credit card fraud within a short amount of time to get liability protection under the law, you’ll be able to catch any suspicious activity right away the more often you check up on things. Sounds like common sense but truth is, few people do it. Five minutes a week is a small price to pay to avoid getting taken advantage of.

If you do think your credit card has been compromised, you don’t even need to wait until money has been charged fraudulently to take action. Especially if you’ve lost your card or think it was stolen, you should go ahead and take these steps:

Click here to Read On… »

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Investing & Finance banking, credit cards, fraud

There’s a lot of people out there who shy away from credit cards, and for good reason.

I’m sure you’ve heard plenty of horror stories about outrageous fees, insane interest rates, and crippling debt that all come with the use of plastic for your purchases. With all the bad media attention credit cards have gotten over the years, and recent laws unmasking the shadowy underbelly of the banking industry, it harder than ever to like the damn things.

But to throw them out completely is a mistake. A big mistake. Because with the right tactics, credit cards can be powerful tools in your financial life.

Here are 7 smart ways you can use plastic over paper… and come out ahead of the game… »

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Investing & Finance banking, credit cards, debt, interest, personal finance

See the photo over there to the left?

That’s a screenshot of the new GPS tracking software by Sense Networks called Citysense.

Basically it’s a program you download and run on your iPhone or Blackberry that gives you a live feed of where to find people around the city with similar backgrounds and interests.

It does this by automatically tracking where everyone goes at certain times of the day and then lumps all the data into a heatmap overlay of the city, instantly allowing you to see where certain kinds of people are likely to be found at certain times of day.

Everyone’s profiles are recorded and tracked by the GPS chips embedded on the mobile devices then logged into a database over the wireless network. After that, finding out where people are right now is as simple as doing a Google search.

And since most people these days wouldn’t be caught dead without their beloved cell phone (seldom turning them off), all the data is crisp and accurate.

Of course the general idea with this software is to help people find hotspots of local activity where they’re most likely to meet people similar to them, and hopefully make some new friends…

…but how easily would it be for someone to take this simple idea… and turn it into a systematic method of hunting down:

1. Political opponents?
2. Personal enemies?
3. Rival gangs?
4. Rape victims?
5. Any “undesirable” group of society?

Thankfully right now the software is opt-in only and the personal details are anonymous. And there’s certainly nothing wrong with wanting to make new friends.

But you know how these things go: It’s only a matter of time before the right person gets ahold of the ideas and technology and soon all those anonymous features begin to erode away.

The best time to protect your privacy is NOW, by designing a comfortable lifestyle off the radar without giving up the things you enjoy today. Joe Decameron shows you how in his new course, The Perfect Privacy Solution.

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Privacy & Security blackberry, citysense, gps, gps tracking software, iphone, privacy, privacy protection, tracking, tracking software

I’ve always loved The Onion for their brilliantly biting sarcasm on every issue from politics to dating.

But I wanted to share this video with you because it drives home a lie you’ve been fed about privacy protection.

A lot of people… ignorant people… have shouted from the rooftops for years that “privacy in America is dead” … but don’t you fall for the rhetoric.

Yes, privacy can be difficult if you don’t know the tricks and sometimes inconvenient – but dead?

No. At least not yet.

And to make matters worse, a lot of business owners and ordinary folks today don’t value their privacy until it’s too late.

Heed my words: The more successful you are in business and in life, the hungrier the eyes watching you from the darkness.

Most of the privacy claptrap out there is rigged by shameless fear mongers, crazies hiding out in some RV in the middle of nowhere, and special interest groups to confuse and overwhelm – leaving you paralyzed not knowing who to trust or what to do.

The problem with LifeLock and other “protection services”… Click Here To Read On… »

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Privacy & Security google, moving, opt-out, personal info, personal information, privacy, privacy protection, private information, relocating, video

If you’re not careful, buying a new car or truck these days can be a real mindfuck.

After you sift through the exhausting details of over 400 vehicles currently on the market, you’re then brought face-to-face in the final showdown: negotiating price and terms with the dealer.

Few men and women relish this task. But unless you want to clunk around in some 2nd class hand-me-down, dealership negotiation is an essential skill in modern America.

It’s not hard. The key is knowing what to say and when to say it for maximum leverage. And now that the economy’s in the crapper, the process today is easier than ever.

Dealerships sell cars all the time whereas you and I only buy once in awhile. This allows them to get lazy and rely on the same old psychological tricks over and over. That’s why knowing what they are ahead of time (and how to reply) will make them stutter like a stood up date… and nab you a better deal.

So here are the 8 most common tricks car dealers have thrown at me over the years… and how you can use the dealers own words to turn the tables and back him into a corner from which there is no escape.

Take back control with these 8 key replies… »

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Scams & Cons auto dealers, automobiles, car dealers, cars, dealerships, ethics, hard-sell, negotiation, sales, salesmen, trucks