My Archives: March 2006
Thursday, March 2, 2006
Warning: Scam artists are now spoofing telephone caller IDs in order to appear to be a call from your bank, a trusted business, your credit card companies, or any place they can use to advantage. They choose the # that will show up at the other end. This Q&A from Star38 explains that the spoofing service was created for law enforcement, private investigators and collection agencies. One of the Q&As: Can you give us a general overview of how this works? Without giving away the secret of the product, of course. We control the call from begining to end: the length, the route, the access, etc, on either a PSTN line or VOIP. As a user all you have to do is log in, sign off on the legal disclaimer, enter in the number you are calling, the number you would like to be called back at and the number you would like to show up on the caller ID. Depending what service your company is offering (PI, law enforcement or collections) depends on what number you can enter.
Other services seem less selective. SPOOFTEL.com "the World's Leader in Spoofing Caller ID allows you to appear as the cupid of choice when calling your Valentine on Valentine's Day. Just imagine all the fun you can have." And the Chicago Sun-Tribune reports today, Millions of people have Internet phone equipment that can be set to make any number appear on a Caller ID system. And several Web sites have sprung up to provide spoofing services. For instance, one Web site sells a virtual ''calling card'' for $10 that provides talk time. The user dials a toll-free number, then keys in the destination number and the Caller ID number to display.
Our house has pre-solved this problem by never, ever giving out information over the phone unless we've originated the call.
Posted by mac @ 11:32 AM EST [Link]
Quote of the Day: “You know a politician is in trouble when even shooting a lawyer can’t boost his approval ratings.” -- Joseph Sobran
Posted by brad @ 11:00 AM EST [Link]
Thanks to C.M. for sending the following article, which amazes even me -- a cynic about the police who believes taking my chances with criminals is preferable. The report opens, Most police officers are a credit to the badge, serving the community and the people who pay their salary, getting criminals off the street, making the community safer for everyone. But on occasion, a police officer and a member of the public they serve don't see eye to eye, and the citizen feels a need to complain. In many departments around the country, the process starts out simply: a person just requests a complaint form. Police departments around the country, like here in Tallahassee, give citizens police complaint forms all the time, no questions asked. But walk into a police station in South Florida, trying to find out how to file a complaint, and watch what happens.
The report then proceeds to offer a wide array (transcripts) of the responses received from the various police officers of whom a form is requested. The responses range from stonewalling to a threat of violence. The latter is reproduced below. [more]
Posted by mac @ 10:25 AM EST [Link]
Wednesday, March 1, 2006
It is time to get out of U.S. dollars if you possibly can. Why? I quote an article from The Free Market News Network, "The clock is ticking folks. Next month, the Federal Reserve is due to discontinue reporting M3 money supply [and related] statistics. They would have us believe that it's their intention to save us a few nickels. Many in the mainstream are as reluctant to see this ruse as they were to recognize gold rigging or corrupted inflation data. Oil is also slated to begin trading for Petro-Euros next month too. Many pundits feel that this is a non issue as well. I beg to differ." Without money supply statistics, it becomes almost impossible to know whether inflation is rising, by how much, and other information vital to the average Joe and Jill on the street. For more analysis, click here.
BTW -- and strictly as my personal opinion -- I think the U.S. will move against Iran in March in order to disrupt the switch to Euros.
Posted by mac @ 11:51 AM EST [Link]
Scott Adams on the virtues of "oil conservation" in a recent Dilbert. Hat tip to Lynne Kiesling,
Posted by mac @ 06:23 AM EST [Link]
Dear Bill: everyone knows your Windows product will crash on the slightest provocation. You really don't have to advertise the fact in Times Square. —brad