Identity Theft

Recent reports by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) illustrate that almost 10 million Americans are affected each year by identity theft; that’s approximately 1 in every 23 consumers is affected by identity theft.
Annual complaint filings to the FTC have increased from 215,093 complaints in 2003 to 246,570 identity theft complaints in 2004.
There has been a 132.6% increase of known phishing sites – that is, 198 in January 2004 to 2,625 known sites in February 2005.
Similarly, the FTC reports, “about 90% of business record thefts involve payroll or employment records, while only about 10% are generated from customer lists.” These business record thefts also include job applications, personnel records, health insurance and benefits records, and payroll related tax documents that provide personal information that identity thieves use to steal employees’ identities.
While most identity theft is use of consumer’s personal information to make purchases, almost 1.5 millions victims indicated that their personal information was misused in non-financial ways to obtain government documents or tax forms.

SAFE USE OF CLOTHES DRYERS

INFO ABOUT CLOTHES DRYERS
>
> The clothes dryer stopped drying. The repairman went
> to the dryer and pulled
> out the lint filter. It was clean. We always
> clean the lint from the
> filter after every load of clothes.
>
>
>
>
> He told us that he wanted to show us something. He
> took the filter over to
> the sink, and ran hot water over it.
>
> I am sure you know what your dryer's lint filter
> looks like. WELL...the hot
> water just sat on top of the screen! It did not go
> through it at all!
>
> He told us that dryer sheets cause a waxy film to
> build up over the screen,
> and this does not let the air pass through, so the
> heating unit overheats and
> burns out.
>
> You cannot SEE the film, but it's there. This is
> also what causes dryer's
> to catch fire, and potentially burn your house down
> with it!
>
> He said the best way to keep your dryer working for
> a very long time (and to
> keep your electric bill lower because your clothes
> will dry faster), is to
> clean that filter after every load, and wash it
> with hot soapy water with an
> old toothbrush (or other brush) every three months.
> He said that makes the life of the dryer at least
> twice as long!
>
> How about that! Learn something new everyday!
>
> I certainly didn't know dryer sheets would do that.
> So, I thought I'd share!
>
> NOTE: I went to my dryer & tested my screen by
> running water on it. The
> water ran thru a little bit but mostly collected all
> the water in the mesh
> screen. I washed it with warm soapy water & a nylon
> brush & I had it done in 30
> seconds. Then when I rinsed it the water ran right
> thru the screen! There
> wasn't any puddle of water at all!
>
> That repairman knew what he was talking about!
>
> PLEASE PASS THIS ON TO OTHER PEOPLE IN YOUR ADDRESS
> BOOK. NOT ONLY COULD IT
> SAVE SOMEONE'S HOME, BUT IT COULD SAVE SOMEONE'S
> LIFE

KNOWLEDGE IS POWER

SHARE YOUR SECRETS WITH ME!