many will see and fear

40 by U2

I waited patiently for the Lord
He inclined and heard my cry
He brought me up out of the pit
Out of the miry clay

I will sing, sing a new song
I will sing, sing a new song

How long to sing this song
How long to sing this song
How long...how long...how long...
How long...to sing this song

He set my feet upon a rock
And made my footsteps firm
Many will see
Many will see and fear

I will sing, sing a new song
I will sing, sing a new song
I will sing, sing a new song
I will sing, sing a new song

How long to sing this song
How long to sing this song
How long...how long...how long...
How long...to sing this song

news you can use

As promised, here are my tips on protecting yourself from fraud. Don't become paranoid about it, but just act wisely. Most every company will cover you if your information is stolen and money is diverted from your accounts, but it is a hassle to straighten out.

-If you do not use online banking and it is offered, contact your bank and let them know that you want online banking blocked. That way a fraudster cannot come along and set up online access and clean you out. This applies to credit card companies with online access (most cards issued by major banks have online access), 401(k) or IRA servicers (such as Fidelity or Smith Barney), and stock trading companies (such as eTrade or Ameritrade).

-If you use online banking or other online financial services (named above), log in exclusively from your computer. If that is not possible, ensure it is a trusted computer. (I'll explain what that means in a moment.) Never, ever access your accounts from a public computer such as a library, an office services center (Kinko's, UPS Store), common hotel or airport computers, or other computers with access open to anyone. It is far too easy for a fraudster to install a trojan virus that will capture all of your personal information.

-Access accounts only from home or via a trusted computer. A trusted computer is one which you know is behind a firewall, has virus protection, and belongs to someone you trust. Yes: my computer No: the guy who is sitting next to you in Starbucks who offered to let you use his Internet access. If you have a Mac, you have a higher level of security and it is my opinion that you don't need to worry about viruses (yet). It's true. I asked the guy from one of the most well-respected computer security firms who came to the fraud summit to speak. He told me not to be complacent, but that I could giggle a little at all of the PC users who were running around trying to find the latest spyware fix. Sweet.

-When possible, set up special pin numbers for accessing accounts via phone. If one only needs your name, zip code and phone number to access your account, it is too easy to hack. Never provide this information in public where you can be overheard. If companies access your account without identifying you, complain.

-Passwords should be difficult to guess and should not be in the dictionary. They should always include numbers and letters. With symbols are even better, but I have no stomach for that personally. Bad: Conrad1234 Good: kKyoto7272.

-Always shred bills, statements, cancelled checks, and other documents that include your personal information. Get a cheap shredder. It doesn't have to be exceptionally fine. There are enough other people who don't shred at all. The fraudster won't sit around reassembling your bank statement. You don't have to outrun the bear. You only have to outrun the guy next to you.

-Get your name removed from sites such as zabasearch.com by writing to them directly. All the better if your phone number is also unlisted. If you are listed in the phone book, you are also findable on Google and Yahoo.

-Google yourself to ensure you know what kind of personal information is online about you. I can help you with this upon request.

-Report lost or stolen cards immediately. Know what is in your wallet. You don't want to have to try to figure out what's in there while trying to remain calm and file a police report.

-Never provide any information to anyone calling you. Never give out your password EVER! Not even to the most credible person calling you. Companies will never ask you for it.

-Do not agree to send money to someone even if they promise you a prize or tell you that you've won a trip and just need to pay the taxes. Do not cash checks from people or companies you don't know. There are ways to hold you responsible. It can be quite bad news.

-Keep some cash in your home tucked away safely (enough for a week) and ideally a credit card that you don't use for anything other than an emergency. It can take a week or more to recover money stolen from your account. And if you have to cancel all of your credit cards due to fraud or loss, it's ideal to have one put away that you know is safe to use.

Don't be afraid to use online tools. You will actually likely identify fraud faster than those who don't. Just use them wisely. Know who has your information and why they have it. Cancel cards you don't use, ensure you ask to be removed from mailing lists at your earliest opportunity. And get a Mac. Ok, I couldn't resist.

worlds collide

The last two days were spent at a conference on preventing fraud. It was related to work, of course. I learned a lot about kiting, bust outs, title flipping, quit claims, and other types of fraud. Did you know that the Latvians are the perpetrators of a lot of the bank fraud? That you can buy account numbers and other personal information on chat boards on the Internet? I'll post later about how you can protect yourself from the fraudsters. There are some simple steps you can take to protect your assets.

At lunch today I joined an eclectic group of people, some of whom were attending the fraud conference and others who were in town for a training seminar. A colleague asked about my master's work and my thesis. Another woman sitting nearby joined the conversation and so I found myself explaining infant attachment to a fraud specialist and the woman in charge of training for the retail organization. The woman got teary-eyed when I described the various ways in which a child can suffer from trauma, abuse, and neglect. It was a very strange moment, seeing this woman tearing up in our corporate leadership center dining room. I'm not quite sure how to bring these two worlds together. They are both important parts of my life, but they certainly are miles apart.

jacaranda part deux

I was copied on the following e-mail message from our division VP (who was in the aforementioned meeting):

Hi Connie, we’d like to stick with the “tree” theme currently being used for the conference rooms. Please name the room “Jacaranda” in honor of Jennifer's childhood memories of the lovely Jacaranda tree. :)

Surprised and honored would sum up my response quite nicely. I plan to find a good print of a jacaranda tree to put in the conference room.

fate

This morning on my ride to work I had to stop to figure out what was scraping my tire. It took me about three minutes to determine that it wasn't my brakes but rather my fender that was the culprit. I've been meaning to take a bike maintenance class to learn how to adjust brakes but haven't had time. I probably would have recognized the problem faster if I understood the various parts of the braking mechanism. I yanked on the fender and it easily popped back into place, sending me on my way.

A couple of miles later I came upon a lot of traffic and ultimately, a nasty car accident in the right lane. It must have happened just about, oh, say, three minutes earlier.

I say this not to scare anyone. Every day of my life I wonder how those little delays affect each of our lives. A stuck fender, waiting for the drawbridge to descend, going back for a forgotten book, spending another minute petting the cat, one tap on the snooze bar...we know not how each moment affects the next. And so for the forgotten book, the stuck fender, the chance meeting of the chatty colleague in the lobby, the line at the grocery store...for those distruptions and others I am indeed grateful.

taken for granted

Ok, this one requires a bit of background. The conference rooms on our floor at work are all named after trees. Each floor has a different theme and my colleagues voted on trees. It isn't especially exciting, but it beats some of the floors. One has some sort of sci-fi names and no one can ever pronounce them. Then, there is the planet floor, which always makes my inner adolescent laugh. (You just have to go through the list of planets and apply the scenario of telling people where the meeting is to understand why I snicker: "We are having the meeting in...." Of course, they left that planet out.)

Back to the trees. They've just built out a new conference room on the floor and it will be in need of a name. I was in a meeting with about nine other people and, in an excited voice, I exclaimed: "We can name it jacaranda. That would be so cool!" Everyone in the room swiveled around and looked at me like I was insane. Not one person in the room had heard of a jacaranda tree. I had a quick conversation inside my head: "Am I crazy?" "No, not crazy." "Well, not crazy, except that I am talking to myself inside my head and nine people are staring at me."

I returned to my desk and of course, looked up the illusive jacaranda tree online, and sent the Wikipedia link to the entry on jacaranda trees around to my colleagues. I soon learned that jacaranda trees are quite common in South Africa and Australia...and in Southern California. They are in Southern California, where I was raised, largely due to the efforts of botanist Kate Sessions. I lived on a jacaranda-lined street, thanks to her, and remember the purple blossoms and the smeary stain they left on the sidewalks.

I suspect the conference room will bear another name, but it's still a great tree. Thanks, Kate.