Debit card POS rip-off in the news...

Hi!

Well, Channel 9 came and interviewed us today about our account being cleaned out. They also contacted the Sheriff's department, the AM/PM we used and the B of A.

The folks at AM/PM, at the corner of Bear Valley and Amethyst, are telling folks that this isn't real, that it didn't really happen. We're here to tell you that it DID.

They even argued with my husband telling him he was wrong. We sent the Channel 9 reporters their way and while none of the AM/PM employees appeared on camera, the store did.

I don't blame AM/PM for the loss but I do blame them for lying to people and telling them that this isn't really happening. They have a responsibility to be honest with their customers and they're not.

We've used this same AM/PM for almost 10 years now and I can't say how disgusted I am with them that they would lie about this.

Here's hoping Channel 4 shows up this evening, they said they might... :)

Don't use your PIN right now until we know what's going on...

Take care,
Diane

Is America under another terrorist attack?

A follow-up to the ATM Fraud info I've posted...

My friend's mom and dad have been in Havasu, Arizona (nowhere near Victorville) for the past 6 weeks and her mom got hit with this as well. This means it isn't just in the Victor Valley...

Is this a widespread attack on America? It is definitely a terrorist attack, whether it's foreign terrorists or homegrown terrorists, it's a terrorist attack, an attack against the people and the banking system. BUT, how widespread is it?

We expect that in about 2 days time, maybe by Wednesday October 19, this will be a HUGE story.

We finally got someone to listen to us about this. KNBC4, Patrick Healy, just phoned me to find out what we know. They may be up here in the high desert tomorrow evening to do a follow-up story.

There's something else weird going on too (in Lancaster/Palmdale), may be related or may not...

My sister-in-law's husband put his ATM card in the ATM at the bank and the ATM automatically shot out $20 at him. NO receipt, NO PIN, no nothing, as soon as he put his card in it shot out $20.

So, he put his card in again to finish draining their account and it worked right the second time. They are afraid that they are going to lose all their money like we did so they're pulling it out.

Then, their daughter went to a different ATM, and THE SAME THING happened to her. She put her card in and the machine spit out $20, NO receipt, NO PIN, no nothing. Her card came back out so she put it back in and the second time it worked the right way.

My sister-in-law called the police to say hey what's going on and the officer she spoke with said the exact same thing happened to him!

Don't know if it's related or not but it's one more weird thing going on...

Also, in case I didn't mention in my prior posting, 3 Victor Valley sheriff's bank accounts were also cleaned out in this attack that's going on right now... The officer that took our report told us that he told his wife to NOT use her PIN and to use ONLY cash, withdrawn at the bank, for purchases, until it's known what's going on...

Well, gotta go, keep your eye on your bank account and, like the officer said, DON'T use your PIN until we know what's going on...

Have a good day,
Diane

HUGE ATM FRAUD RIP-OFF

OUCH! Our personal checking account was cleaned out Wednesday Oct 5. Not only cleaned out but HUGELY overdrawn. Where were the withdrawals coming from?

Shanghai China!!

Yep, we are victims of a HUGE ATM fraud rip-off going on in the Victor Valley in California, as are over 400 other people so far!

Unfortunately, this is not getting the attention that it needs and more and more folks are getting ripped off as we speak. We feel it's IMPORTANT that everyone be made aware of this as soon as possible, in an attempt to help others to avoid getting ripped off themselves...

Here's what's going on...

You use your ATM card at a POS (Point of Sale, like at AM/PM which is where we used ours) and you punch in your PIN number while ever so cautiously making sure no one is watching and that there's no cameras around to see your PIN.

Then within as quick as 5 minutes your checking account is cleaned out and then negative, negative, negative! B of A kept paying the withdrawals even though there were no more funds left in our account. When all is said and done, we will have paid NSF fees on over 120 hits to our account!

We'll get the money back but it's taking a while because the bank cannot credit a debit until it's actually been posted. So, every night at midnight when they credit back the bogus debits, they turn around and debit us an NSF fee for every negative. It's an ongoing nightmare that won't be resolved for a couple weeks...

How is it happening?

Currently it's believed that it's a third-party contractor's computer system that was hacked. The third-party contractor handles the POS transactions and evidently also has your PIN number. The third-party contractor's computer system that contains all of this incredibly sensitive information was hacked and the rest is history.

According to a Victorville sheriff, over 400 victims in the Victor Valley alone so far... and that's just folks who live here. Victorville is a MAJOR stop for folks traveling to Las Vegas and this weekend is a 3-day weekend, which means even more travelers stopping here. There are victims outside of the Victor Valley but they may not realize it yet, or it may just not be connected to the Victor Valley yet.

Folks, until we know what's going on QUIT using your ATM card with the PIN number. If the store you're trying to use your card at won't process your debit card as a credit card (you sign instead of punching in your PIN) then LEAVE, DO NOT CONDUCT BUSINESS through POS right now!!

A thought from my husband and sister-in-law...

This is a terrorist attack. What if this is a trial run with the plan of doing this to major cities nationwide simultaneously? It would literally shut down our economy, our banks could go broke from refunding everyone and from the folks who haven't yet been attacked withdrawing their money to keep it safe!

I'll write more soon because I have some folks I want to contact and warn about this.

Thank you,
Diane

I C E = In Case of Emergency - A helpful suggestion from a reader...

A helpful suggestion from a reader...

I C E = In Case of Emergency

A BIG thank you to one of our readers, Howard Royster of RR Building & Repair LLC in Va Beach VA, who sent me some excellent info regarding cell phones...

A Cambridge(UK)-based paramedic has launched a national campaign with Vodafone to encourage people to store emergency contact details in their mobile phones.

Bob Brotchie, a clinical team leader for the East Anglian Ambulance NHS Trust, came up with the plan last year after struggling to get contact details from shocked or injured patients.

Now, while this campaign was actually launched in the UK, there's no reason why we here in the US can't adopt the idea! :)

Figure out who you'd like the rescue personnel to contact in case you are involved in some type of emergency and cannot tell the rescue personnel yourself who to call.

Enter the phone number of the person you'd want the rescue personnel to call but rather than entering the person's name, instead enter ICE or I C E.

The rescue personnel can search your contacts on your phone, find the ICE and instantly call that number. Voila! You're emergency contact person knows right away that you're in trouble.

If you have more than one emergency contact you'd like to enter, then enter the first one as ICE (or I C E), the second as ICE2 (or I C E 2), the third as ICE3, and so on.

Tip: Do this on your kids' phones as well!

Anyone who knows a fireman, policeman, paramedic, etc. - tell them about this so that they can tell their co-workers and spread the word.

Read more about this program in the UK

ps: There's been some concern voiced that adding ICE to your phone will allow bad guys to access your contact list in your phone, and/or that adding ICE to your phone will cost you. This simply isn't true, ICE is NOT a hoax nor is there a charge for it, so if you get an email claiming these things, just delete it.

Help me evaluate a new product!

If you currently use Excel spreadsheet to manage your inventory, budget, finances, sales data, or any other business critical information, I NEED YOUR HELP!

PLEASE take a few moments and click here to open another page to answer a few questions. I'm currently evaluating a new product for our web site that's designed to show you what to do in your business to increase your profits, and I could really use your feedback to determine if it's the right fit. :)

Thank you for helping to keep TheContractorsGroup.com the best contractor's site on the web!

Have a wonderful day!!
Diane

Attention Contractors! Forget those costly construction software programs! You can download construction forms at TheContractorsGroup.com, fill 'em in with your computer and have 'em ready to go in LESS than 5 minutes! Don't waste another moment, visit soon!

California Compliant Construction Contracts

There are many, many requirements of the California contractor in regards to what they must have included in their contract and what documents they must provide the homeowner with.

I looked everywhere for a California compliant construction contract, and although there are several out there that claim to be compliant, indeed the majority of them are NOT compliant (which puts the user in violation of California Contractors State License Law!).

It frustrates me to no end that a construction contract is claimed to be compliant when it isn't because bottom-line, when you use a non-compliant contract you are contracting illegally and the license board will punish you if they catch you.

According to the license board, some of the top problems with construction contracts are:

• The notice regarding the Registrar's address is missing


• The down payment requested is excessive, beyond the amount allowed by law


• The information included regarding equipment to be used or installed is
  not detailed


• The materials to be used are not described well enough


• The notice to the owner regarding mechanics liens is not included


• The project is not described well enough


• The notice to the owner about the right to cancel is not included


• The info about change orders is not included


• The Registrar's address is old, no longer accurate


• The notices contain outdated, noncompliant language


• The start and stop dates are not included

All you need to do is end up with one customer that does their homework and finds out what you were supposed to include in your contract, and should they decide to do so they can turn you in to the license board. There aren't many things the license board likes less than illegal contracts/contractors.

And not knowing the requirements is no excuse, they won't let you off just because you didn't know. They also won't let you off should you claim that the merchant you bought the documents from told you that the documents were compliant. Ignorance is no excuse...

I put together a construction contract package, based upon the requirements laid out by the license board, and I guarantee that it IS compliant with California's laws. I've included the contract, all of the handouts required by license law, and the publication from the license board that tells you exactly what makes a compliant contract.

It's an instant download upon completion of purchase, it comes with unlimited usage (once it's been purchased), unlimited free replacement (once it's been purchased) and unlimited free support. Everything is fill-in-able with your computer, giving you that professional look at a fraction of the price!

If you are a California Contractor and you contract directly with homeowners then click thru and check out this construction contract package. Your satisfaction is absolutely 100% guaranteed.

Have a terrific day and thank you for reading!!
Diane

Attention Contractors! Forget those costly construction software programs! You can download construction forms at TheContractorsGroup.com, fill 'em in with your computer and have 'em ready to go in LESS than 5 minutes! Don't waste another moment, visit soon!

Info for Employers

Important Information for Employers from the EDD

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EDD Advises Erroneous Penalty Charged

Earlier this year, EDD advised employers that the LA Express P.O. Box 54567 used to mail deposits was discontinued and employers were advised to send their deposits to P.O. Box 826276, Sacramento CA 94230-6276. Some employers continued to mail their remittances to the closed mailbox and, unfortunately, the United States Postal Service did not forward those remittances to EDD.

Employers who mailed their tax deposits to the discontinued P.O. Box address may be assessed erroneous penalty and interest charges on those deposits. If employers receive a delinquency statement, they should complete an Affidavit of Mailing (DE 2251A - www.edd.ca.gov/taxrep/de2251a.pdf), and mail it to the address shown on their Employer Account Statement or the address on the form. Reference on the DE 2251A that the document(s) were mailed to the closed P.O. Box.

If you have any questions, please call the Taxpayer Assistance Center at (888) 745-3886.
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The above info is taken verbatim from an email I received from the EDD

Have a terrific day!!
Diane

Attention Contractors! You can download employment application forms at TheContractorsGroup.com, fill 'em in with your computer and have 'em ready to go in LESS than 5 minutes! Don't waste another moment, visit soon!

Welcome to my blog!

Hello and Welcome to my blog!!

This is the first time I've ever done this, a blog, and I'm quite excited about it! This blog will actually be a "companion" to my other websites:

TheContractorsGroup.com
Download-Construction-Forms.com
Construction-Business-Forms.com

I plan on posting information here about the construction industry and business owners in general. I have an email newsletter that I send out but I often find myself running out of time before I get to it.

Other times I run across some important info that I'd love to make available immediately but the time it takes to put together a newsletter is prohibitive and so oftentimes I don't get the info out.

Hopefully this blog will change that. Since I love to write and since this blog makes it so easy, I'm hoping that I'll be able to get in here every day and post good info.

If you'd like me to write about anything specific please do feel free to contact me!

Have a wonderful day!!
Diane

Attention Contractors! Forget those costly construction software programs! You can download construction forms at TheContractorsGroup.com, fill 'em in with your computer and have 'em ready to go in LESS than 5 minutes! Don't waste another moment, visit soon!