And if you're bad at 3D graphics, then make an ICO instead. All it takes is a Bootstrap template and PDF with some arcane math formulas in it (not necessarily valid).
The first one is existing product(s) --- Google "magnetic USB cable" for plenty of examples --- probably all made by the same small set of factories in China.
It's funny how I intuitively noticed that all 3 were likely to be scams (or just unlikely to be shipped due to a team's inability to see it through to shipping) just from:
- a lack of consistent, high-quality brand identity; you can notice design tropes that a novice/underpaid graphic designer would use
> People go on Facebook and tell you what car they drive, their mother’s name, their wife’s maiden name, children’s name, where they’re going on vacation, where they’ve been on vacation.
Equifax gets a lot of bad press because they made a ton of money while mismanaging people's personal information. Abagnale's point is that people go throwing around most of that same personal information around with no regard to their privacy.
> Mr. Abagnale now puts his skills to use teaching FBI agents around the country about cybercrime, identity theft and fraud. “Frank has a unique ability” to communicate, says the special agent in charge of the FBI’s Charlotte, N.C., field office, John Strong, who has worked with Mr. Abagnale on multiple occasions. “The guy is a genius.”
You didn't finish the article. He spent age 21 to 26 in prison. That's long, and it's the years when people usually develop their life direction and opportunities.
Yes. If you can trick senior citizens into giving you the information over the phone, you've got a legitimate business in the eyes of the banking industry.
This was a scam that caught my grandmother 10 years ago. The New York Times did a story on the industry:
State regulators have tried to protect victims like Mr. Guthrie. In 2005, attorneys general of 35 states urged the Federal Reserve to end the unsigned check system... But the Federal Reserve disagreed. It changed its rules to place greater responsibility on banks that first accept unsigned checks, but has permitted their continued use.
...In all, Wachovia accepted $142 million of unsigned checks from companies that made unauthorized withdrawals from thousands of accounts, federal prosecutors say. Wachovia collected millions of dollars in fees from those companies, even as it failed to act on warnings, according to records.
Yes. I've had my entire bank account emptied of 25,000 in the 1990's by someone of a different ethnicity and gender who had simply went through a dozen drive throughs of my bank in different city to cash checks in about an hour in an amount under the one that would have required more attention (as explained to me by the bank. They simply wrote checks out for cash and used the memo "to purchase car") I lived in Austin and the thief did this in Houston. I don't know if this same scheme is possible today.
Yes, but that is also why people with money don't keep it in their checking account. Checking account just hold the money that you need to pay your immediate bills. your "life savings" flow through other savings, money market, and investment accounts. So if your checking account is compromised, you do lose some money and have some hassles to go through... but they aren't going to get everything else.
If you call your bank they will ask you for your account number (found on the check), Name (on the check), Address (on the check) and date of birth (not on the check), information about recurring deposit or last deposit (not on the check), and that's pretty much it. I always feel like this is something you can find out by buying someone a beer.
A checking account and paper checks are almost mandatory in the US. If you need to make a large payment to an individual or small business, say a landlord or someone doing work on your home, it's still usually the preferred payment method. It's not that there aren't electronic alternatives, it's that most of the alternatives involve someone paying (often significant) fees.
For example, my rental company accepts online payments via credit/debit card, but if I do that they charge a $30 "convenience fee" for my $900 rent payment. I could set up automatic payments by giving them permission to draft from my checking account, but I refuse to do that since it removes the only leverage I have should a dispute occur. The only remaining options to pay without fees are cash or check, so every month I put a paper check in the mail.
In the US there's really only two payees the average person writes a check out to, the government (to pay taxes), and your landlord (to pay rent).
10 years ago if you hired someone to do a job around the house you might have to pay with check. In the last 2-3 years I've had a couple contractors work on my house and they've all taken credit cards (as well as the others I got quotes from but didn't hire). So now I won't even consider a contractor who doesn't take credit cards.
I'm 26 and I have literally never seen a check in my entire life, I don't even know how one would go about issuing one? It seems like such a US-exclusive thing, together with card payments that require signatures.
This is why you should really consider having fraud insurance as a backup, like Zanders or even lifelock. Especially of you have any sizable cash in you bank account.
No point, banks are liable for fraud rather than the consumer. I believe consumer's liability is capped at $50-500 depending on how quickly the fraud is reported. Just make sure you don't wait past 60 days to report. Credit cards have even more protections.
These plans rarely pay out, and you'll likely spend more on subscription fees than they'd return to you in fraud payments.
I don't know about Zanders (never heard of them) but LifeLock is nothing but a scam, nobody should every purchase LifeLock for anything ever.
To protect against this scam, just don't keep your money in your checking account, simple! My checking account has a balance of zero 99% of the time. If I do a billpayment for $325.45 then I transfer $325.45 to the checking account a minute before I issue the billpay. If I write out a check for my taxes (the only checks I every write) then I transfer the money into the account while I am writing out the check. The only money goes in is when it's already planned to go out.
I keep $150 in a separate checking account that I access with ATMs if I need cash on the go.
>tfw you realize Bitcoin and Monero are more secure than your US banking account.
When are we going to stop the stupid practice of using serial numbers and strings for identity and start using strong cryptography to establish identity, authorized signatures, etc?
[+] [-] throwa34943way|8 years ago|reply
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1041610927/znaps-the-9-...
$ 2,438,203
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/ritot-the-first-projectio...
$1,401,510
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/shiftwear-customize-your-...
$925,952
And you're not even obligated to fulfil anything, just demonstrate you've "tried" enough!
[+] [-] TeMPOraL|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] userbinator|8 years ago|reply
http://www.aliexpress.com/store/product/1-Piece-Moizen-Micro...
[+] [-] dictum|8 years ago|reply
- a lack of consistent, high-quality brand identity; you can notice design tropes that a novice/underpaid graphic designer would use
- use of generic/non-exclusive stock photography (this woman - https://c1.iggcdn.com/indiegogo-media-prod-cld/image/upload/... - is a meme: http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/ariane-the-overexposed-stock-p...)
- plain kitsch: https://c1.iggcdn.com/indiegogo-media-prod-cld/image/upload/...
[+] [-] maxerickson|8 years ago|reply
https://www.kickstarter.com/terms-of-use?ref=footer#section4
A $10 rendering is a good test of that though. Most people aren't going to work very hard to get $10 back.
[+] [-] astura|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] gnicholas|8 years ago|reply
Also, Equifax.
[+] [-] yesiamyourdad|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] a3n|8 years ago|reply
His masterpiece scam?
[+] [-] skrebbel|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] cdubzzz|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] klenwell|8 years ago|reply
This was a scam that caught my grandmother 10 years ago. The New York Times did a story on the industry:
State regulators have tried to protect victims like Mr. Guthrie. In 2005, attorneys general of 35 states urged the Federal Reserve to end the unsigned check system... But the Federal Reserve disagreed. It changed its rules to place greater responsibility on banks that first accept unsigned checks, but has permitted their continued use.
...In all, Wachovia accepted $142 million of unsigned checks from companies that made unauthorized withdrawals from thousands of accounts, federal prosecutors say. Wachovia collected millions of dollars in fees from those companies, even as it failed to act on warnings, according to records.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/20/business/20tele.html
I documented my failed effort to get Washington Mutual to reverse the checks written against my grandmother's account:
http://wamublamesgrandma.blogspot.com/
[+] [-] stevenwoo|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] sprintf|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] codingdave|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] Amygaz|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] throwaway2048|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] unknown|8 years ago|reply
[deleted]
[+] [-] craigds|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] Merad|8 years ago|reply
For example, my rental company accepts online payments via credit/debit card, but if I do that they charge a $30 "convenience fee" for my $900 rent payment. I could set up automatic payments by giving them permission to draft from my checking account, but I refuse to do that since it removes the only leverage I have should a dispute occur. The only remaining options to pay without fees are cash or check, so every month I put a paper check in the mail.
[+] [-] astura|8 years ago|reply
10 years ago if you hired someone to do a job around the house you might have to pay with check. In the last 2-3 years I've had a couple contractors work on my house and they've all taken credit cards (as well as the others I got quotes from but didn't hire). So now I won't even consider a contractor who doesn't take credit cards.
[+] [-] lostlogin|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] gambiting|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] Aaargh20318|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] kapauldo|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] tdburn|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] UnoriginalGuy|8 years ago|reply
These plans rarely pay out, and you'll likely spend more on subscription fees than they'd return to you in fraud payments.
https://www.consumerfinance.gov/ask-cfpb/how-do-i-get-my-mon...
[+] [-] astura|8 years ago|reply
To protect against this scam, just don't keep your money in your checking account, simple! My checking account has a balance of zero 99% of the time. If I do a billpayment for $325.45 then I transfer $325.45 to the checking account a minute before I issue the billpay. If I write out a check for my taxes (the only checks I every write) then I transfer the money into the account while I am writing out the check. The only money goes in is when it's already planned to go out.
I keep $150 in a separate checking account that I access with ATMs if I need cash on the go.
[+] [-] keksicus|8 years ago|reply
When are we going to stop the stupid practice of using serial numbers and strings for identity and start using strong cryptography to establish identity, authorized signatures, etc?
[+] [-] bgwallace|8 years ago|reply
Good luck proving a manufacturer key generation screwup on smart cards for example. Things like this happen.