| #: |
From / Date: |
Question / Answer: |
| 6029. |
Dorothy
Topeka, KS
Age: 40
Jun 14, 2009
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IP addresses from cell phones
I have access to a cell phone that has internet access on it. I also have access (as moderator/administrator) to a forum. One of the forum's handy-dandy tools is to track the IP addresses of its users. So out of curiousity, I made up a User ID from my cell phone with internet access, and then ran an IP address check on the IP address that the forum was showing for my phone. The IP address checker site only shows "USA" for my location when posting from phone - and it shows Opera Mini as the web browser being used. It does NOT show a city or even a state. It does NOT show which carrier my cell phone is based from. It does NOT even show that the IP address is a cell phone, except for the fact that Opera Mini is a cell-phone based browser, a fact which most computer & phone-savvy people would already know. My questions are these: 1) Am I "missing something" regarding IP address checking tools? 2) Is it possible that cell phone internet access isn't as "trackable" as computer-based internet access? Thanks in advance!
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| 6026. |
Aaron
St. Louis, MO
Age: 38
Jun 12, 2009
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Yet another reason to be very careful what you post to blogs, facebook, etc.
Ever wonder who's visiting your blog or social networking profile? A Missouri family recently found out how "worldwide" the web is-- a high-resolution family photo of theirs (posted to several social networking sites) had been used, without their knowledge or permission, in an advertising campaign in the Czech Republic.
A little prevention goes a long way.
Submitted Link #1: http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/jun/11/smith-...
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| 6024. |
Cathy
Rochester, NY
Age: 19
Jun 11, 2009
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privacy-friendly homeowner/renter insurance
I've never delved into the insurance world since I don't own anything worth insuring, but out of curiosity, what happens when you try to get insurance in the name of the LLC that owns your home? I've seen discussions here about getting insurance in the name of an LLC on cars (and usually people run into the problem of the insurance company charging a significantly higher "corporate rate" on the insurance), but no one's explained what happens when you try to get homeowners' insurance in the name of an LLC. Has anyone tried?
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| 6022. |
peter
florida
Age: 30
Jun 11, 2009
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p.o. box and magic jack
Few things: first would never use magic jack as primary number.. I had 2 and they were the worst customer service ever. (Actually they had no phone customer service only through instant messenger and the Indian reps writing skills were so bad I couldn’t understand their writing.. . ) I just threw them away…
p.o. box trick. it works so far in ny and florida. If the reps at the dmv do not want to issue you your license to a p.o. box even after I tell them that I am in transition and have no home now. Just tell them the street number of the usps and use the p.o. box number as your apartment number.
It works every time and the reps at the usps said if they ever received anything like this in your name they would just put It in the appropriate box..
So it works great :)
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| 6021. |
Paul
Stafford, Tx
Age: 58
Jun 11, 2009
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Comment on Majic Jack
Jack: Please be advised MajicJack will not work over Satellite Internet Connections. Needs to be Cable or DSL. I have used one for 4 months; for $20. per year including long distance for U.S. and Canada you can not beat the price. Best Regards
...
I received another comment from a tech expert:The MagicJack Service is not a bad deal for the price ... but there are
a few catches, first it is dial-up. They do offer some services that
you can use through a high-speed modem, but their claim to fame is being
a cheap, simple dial-up solution for internet, phone, etc.
The other key thing is that there is virtually no customer support. If
you are tech savvy enough, you should be able to take care of most of
your issues ...
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| 6020. |
Edmund
Oregon, USA
Age: 61
Jun 11, 2009
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Invisible Phone Numbers
I've been using a MagicJack phone www.magicjack.com for the past year. You can buy them a Staples, Walgreens and other retailers for about $39 including the first year of unlimited phone service. As a cash commodity, there are no questions or credit cards needed to get a valid and usable US phone number. Besides being a really cheap alternative to a landline with no long distance costs, there is a really valuable additional feature.
You get to choose your phone number area code.
While I nominally live on the west coast, my principal MJ phone # is in Florida. So, whenever I make a l-d call, the caller ID shows Florida. This has proved to be invaluable for misdirection of those who might want to know where I am.
I've also found that when I travel out of the country, the MJ gives me a valid US phone number even in Brazil, the UK, Canada and China. All you need is a moderate broadband Internet connection. When I'm talking and there is Internet distortion, I just blame it on a 'bad cell' location. Works every time.
You can set the 'call forwarding' feature to jump to another phone or answer with conventional voice mail. I usually stack two MJ lines before it terminates as a WAV file email message sent to my unpublished email address. Then I can choose to call back, or not.
Submitted Link #1: http://www.magicjack.com...
...
(Your link, below, did not work until I added http://)
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| 6019. |
Drake
LA, CA
Age: 34
Jun 10, 2009
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6013 - Marriage/Divorce records
Tommy - information from marriage licenses and most of the information in divorce records are open to the public in the local courthouse or from the custodian of that record. If you ask nicely for something specific, you'll usually get it.
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| 6018. |
Elizabeth
Monterey, CA
Age: 54
Jun 10, 2009
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Ins. and Credit Reports, RE: #6009 and #6017
Seth, regarding #6009. You say you took out a homeowner's insurance policy and saw the house address on your credit report within a few days. Did you have a freeze on your credit reports at the time? If so, I am wondering how they put info on those reports without you voluntarily lifting the freeze.
Brian, regarding #6017. I chose an auto insurance company/agent that did not require giving SSN (some do, some don't). I also gave separate mailing and residence addresses. I have never seen my residence address show up on my credit reports or any database as a result of this type of car insurance. Note that I did this long before I put a freeze on my credit reports, so that is not what saved me. My advice is do not give out your SSN for car ins. and make sure they put your mailing address everywhere except under location where car will be garaged at night.
As far as renter's insurance, I never saw any that didn't require giving the renter's SSN, so I never got it. Good luck and let us know if you find out how to buy homeowner's insurance (for a home paid for in cash) without compromising the home address on credit reports, etc.
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| 6017. |
Brian
detroit
Age: 22
Jun 10, 2009
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Insurance
Seth, I've been struggling with Insurance questions for a few months now as I approach college graduation (paid for entirely through scholarships by the way). Insuring my car and maybe a house have turned out to be the one real vulnerability in my privacy framework--the customary HTBI method being to insure in your own name. I wouldn't mind insuring in my own name but I keep learning of database sharing, and things like you've described that totally destroy any protection.
Please post if you learn of any ways to solve this issue. I know it has stumped me so far.
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| 6015. |
Seth
collbran, co
Age: 50
Jun 10, 2009
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Renter's insurance and public databases
In answer to #6011:
No, I have not purchased the house yet, I'm still renting because the buyer for my ranch failed to close.
It's my understanding the the insurance industry, not just my company Allstate, has a policy of reporting to credit agencies that they will not waive.
I haven't gotten all the details yet.
Maybe someone like Lloyds of London would do it privately, I don't know. Perhaps a UK reader could check that out for us.
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| 6014. |
Dorothy
Topeka, KS
Age: 40
Jun 9, 2009
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Kammi's Visa gift card and gas purchases
Gas stations *sometimes* place "holds" on credit/debit cards for what seem to be random amounts; that's the amount that they pre-approve a card for before they allow to pump the gas. Some gas stations pre-approve a card for only $1, others go as high as $50 to $75. In my area, there is fine print on the gas pumps that a Visa purchase will max out at $50 while a Mastercard purchase will max out at $75. Those limits imply that the gas station can put through a pre-approval hold on your account for either $50 or $75. Sometimes the gas stations do "ding" the card for the whole amount, sometimes they don't. Once the actual amount gets processed by the bank, the "pre-approval" amount usually drops off within a few days. In general, those pre-approval amounts don't cause a problem with regular credit cards because the credit limit is usually so much higher than the credit balance that the card user never notices. However, in the case of debit cards, and also in the case of gift cards, it can make a significant dent in the ability of the cardholder to purchase other items for a few days. It is my personal humble opinion that Kammi's Visa gift card is simply following standard banking practices for gas station purchases. Nona is definitely on the right track, Kammi. If you purchase a Visa gift card for a specific purchase, you need to use that Visa gift card for ONLY that specific purchase ALSO.... When you use a Visa gift card for an ONLINE purchase, you need to VERIFY the billing address online FIRST. SOME Visa gift cards allow a back-door approach of using the address of the Visa card itself as your *billing address* when you're filling out an online form. I've done that with the Visa gift cards from Walgreens that come in specific dollar amounts. I've never tried it with a GreenDot card, however. I hope this all makes a little bit of sense. Those Visa gift cards are very tricky creatures and really should only be used for things that truly require privacy because if you use them for everyday purchases, it just costs too much and requires too much aggravation to jump through all the hoops. Hope this helps!
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| 6013. |
Tommy
Bronxville, NY
Age: 52
Jun 9, 2009
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Marriage/Divorce Records: Not public, but available thru info brokers???
How are these information brokers such as US Search, Intelius, etc., obtaining marriage and divorce records which are unavailable in most states without an affadivit from the targeted persons??? Or are these info brokers selling bogus information??
Thanks Much.
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| 6012. |
Nona
SF, CA
Age: 44
Jun 9, 2009
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6007 - Kammi's Visa giftcard
Kammi, did you get a receipt from the gas station when you bought the gas? It is possible the gas station attendant is embezzling. My advice would be to cut up the card and walk away for a few months.
You say you got the card for Internet purchases, that didn't pan out the way you wanted, but then you used it for buying fuel. You planned your work but didn't work your plan. Keep each quarantined, segregated, compartmentalized, tool for it's specific purpose. Don't infect them with outside activities that do not follow The Plan.
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| 6011. |
brian
detroit
Age: 22
Jun 9, 2009
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Home Insurance
Seth, you bought your home outright, correct? No mortgage is attached to the home, correct?
Has an insurance company explained to you the purpose of placing the policy on your credit report? Assumption being that it protects them somehow (from fraud or something?).
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| 6009. |
Seth
collbran, co
Age: 50
Jun 9, 2009
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Renter's insurance and public databases
Homeowners insurance companies report names and addresses of their insured to the credit bureaus.
I took out a homeowner's policy for my new home, but as a precaution I gave a ghost address for the house, as a test of security.
That address appeared on my credit report within THREE DAYS of obtaining the policy.
Needless to say, I cancelled the policy.
I haven't found a way to get a large insurance company to agree to not submitting such information to the credit bureaus.
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| 6008. |
peter
florida
Age: 30
Jun 9, 2009
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privacy
jj,
does getting renters insurance mess up ones privacy efforts? i am using a ghost address and nothing comes to my rented home in my name including cable, phone, electrical utilities....etc but i have to have the renters insurance in the home where i occupy in case of damages, theft...etc
any opinion?
...
I have never used nor recommended renter's insurance. However, if you have so many valuables in your home that you cannot do without it, then yes, you will have to reveal your home address. Is this a big danger to your privacy? I don't think so.
However, see Seth's comment #6009, above. Perhaps other readers can chime in on this one, as well.
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| 6007. |
kammi
carmel, ny
Age: 60
Jun 9, 2009
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Strange behavior - Visa Gift Card.
When I checked my balance on the above subject card, I found that $37.00 had been deducted from the card for a $7.25 gasoline purchase. When asked the gas station about this I was told that the money was reserved and the settlement process would take place over night; I found this strange, but interesting. The next day when the numbers were not as I believed they should be I called, and I was told that I should give it another day or two. Today, two days later, I checked the balance (via internet, with no particular security) an saw that the card was flagged as a possible fraud. I find this deeply worrisome, and I invite comment and advice. For now I am taking no action I no more than $100.00 at risk, within the card itself - can walk away from it. I bought this card to make purchases over the internet and so my personal information is linked within those orders; even though I was not allowed to use this gift card to pay for the items I wished to order, and had to substite another brand of gift card. Backgound Information: I do have problems with other Visa card; and I am taking advice on my unsecured detd .
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| 6005. |
Susan
Cleveland, OH
Age: 53
Jun 8, 2009
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Re: #5995, Shadow Escrow & Foreclosure
I don't know anything about Shadow Escrow, but for advice in fighting foreclosure check out Neil Garfield's Living Lies website. Make them produce the note, and use the court procedures to your advantage.
Submitted Link #1: http://livinglies.wordpress.com/...
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| 6004. |
Hu
Autthaya, Thailand
Age: 54
Jun 7, 2009
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2nd Ring of Protection
Here is one of the security devices you mention in your book-Invisible Money. One of the 5 rings of protection. This is the 2nd ring-the loud noise deterrent. Just Google 12 Gauge Boundary Security System and you will get several results you can check out. This one goes for $90.
Submitted Link #1: http://www.ajarmsbooksellers.com/cgi-bin/ajarms/12...
...
It's the identical unit sold by Shomer-Tec but Shomer-Tec sells it for much less.
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| 6002. |
Tina
Great Falls, Montana
Age: 45
Jun 7, 2009
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Where to start?
I just found your book! I was wondering what should be my first step? A ghost address or the LLC?
...
By all means start with a ghost address in Great Falls, Black Eagle, or Vaughn. (Later, you may wish to add a ghost address in Alaska.) For your current vehicle, try for a change of address so the DMV no longer lists your true home address. (Always good to hear from a reader in one of my favorite states!)
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