Archive for the ‘Legal’ Category

Tax Scam Alert

Tuesday, March 20th, 2012

These 5 tips below will help with possible tax scams:

On my legal page at http://www.creaturecomfortsservices.com you will find information about Prepaid Legal who have now become LegalShield. They want to share these valuable tidbits to avoid legal hassles regarding your taxes.

  1. Beware of Email – The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) do not initiate contact via email. If you receive an unsolicited email from either organization, it is a scam.
  2. There is No Free Money – Many of those who fall victim to tax scammers succumb to the promise of “free money from the government.” Many scammers post signs in churches and community centers offering quick relief from financial hardship. Do not fall victim to these offers; there is no free money to be had from the CRA or IRS.
  3. Keep Your Identity Secure – The information contained in your tax forms is a goldmine for scammers and identity thieves. With the detailed information contained in those forms they could file a false tax return in your name or open new lines of credit. Keep your tax documents in a secure location. If you store your documents online make sure they are password protected and encrypted.
  4. Check Behind Your Preparer ­– Many individuals hire professionals to help them file their taxes. Most tax professionals do a great job and provide honest service, but there are some who prey on unsuspecting taxpayers. Fraudulent preparers will attempt to inflate a taxpayer’s return and take a cut for themselves. When the IRS discovers the fraud it is the taxpayer who is left holding the bag. Beware of any preparer who will not sign the return or include their ID number, charges a percentage or split of the return and promises huge returns. When in doubt get a second opinion.
  5. Check These Resources – The IRS and CRA offer more detailed information of current TAX scams. View the IRS’s Dirty Dozen here or the CRA’s Security Resource Page here.

 

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Legal Action Against Spam

Tuesday, April 12th, 2011

Anyone on the internet for a while has probably heard of Spambot, also referred to as Rustock.

“Vladimir Shergin” is the name linked to this spybot network. He (presumably alone) started Rustock in November 2005. This botnet installs rootkits on computers through e-mail attachments, particularly those using Windows XP.  The next major version came July 2006  with a RustockA or RustockB label.

Yet a third invasion came about in October 2007 and could not be pinned down till May 2008. This version was able to modify itself using spaghetti code that was difficult to decipher. This spybot sends out a small downloader that in turn downloads the parent version of the software.

Windows has many security holes which allow this invader to manifest. It also lurks on websites where it lures viewers into downloading fake codecs which uses a variety of ways to infect. Our antivirus software is able to catch only a small percentage.  So likely, the infection still remains.

Though this thought is not comforting, you will be relieved to know your passwords and bank account numbers are not on the agenda. They are looking for lists of email addresses which in turn get sent to spam headquarters or C&C servers.

Vladimir was able to amass commissions of over 2.3 million over three years from “Canadian Pharmacy” sites, those web pages originating from China or India that sell knock offs of true drugs. People follow the spam links to his benefit. Also he could order any drug without a prescription.

To stop Vladimir, Microsoft pulled together a strategy implemented by lawyers. Their Digital Crimes Unit targeted over 100 C&C servers, largely from the U.S. that housed these bots.
In order to get access to these servers, they used a trademark infringement claim on Microsoft, Pfizer and others.

U.S. District court determined Rustock violated the Lanham Act thanks to Microsoft and on March 16, server host companies were seized by U.S. authorities. At the same time law-enforcement authorities in the Netherlands took action removing hardware.  Malware infections dropped by a third over night.

Our man is still at large. Possibly he will try to reconstruct this octopus and build a type of mutation. His rootkits are still out there though inactive. Other botnets are active with twists of their own invention, so beware. The battle isn’t over.

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Legal Service gets media exposure

Thursday, December 30th, 2010

If you ever wondered about another one of my favorite topics, legal services, today is the day to take note since the company I refer to is being covered by a news network.

“Pre-Paid Legal Services, Inc.:  A Business for Today” will air at 12 noon EST and 4 p.m. EST on Jan. 1, 2011.  The 30-minute program will be shown on Fox Business News.

For those that do not have access to Fox Business News, the show will also be available online at:  www.pplsuccesschannel.com.  The streamed version will become available at 12 noon EST on Jan. 1, 2011 and will remain available throughout the day.

If you want more details about the company, you can leave your contact information in my contact form at: www.creaturecomfortsservices.com and review my legal services web page at the same location.

Should you decide to sign up after reviewing the show on fox news or after looking at the internet version, please do so with me here at: www.prepaidlegal.com/hub/mevandermeulen

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Legal Info To Protect You

Friday, July 2nd, 2010

LEGAL

My friend and Associate, Gerry MacKinnon, has just put together his site and information in his blog regarding legal services and identity theft. I suggest you examine all he has to offer since it will seriously change your life in the event legal services or identity theft protection are needed. Catch him at www.themountie.com

As you will see in my website, I talk about how I got involved with this legal service membership and why I needed them. I also talk about the man who started the whole thing, an ordinary guy like you and I who realized there was no such service available when he needed it. So he started one up to accommodate anyone, not just those who could afford legal help.

Surely, if a man like that can do something so wonderful to help others, you would give a bit of your time to find out more about it. That is what drew me into the membership as well as my own circumstances. I had to know more about someone so unique.

I also discovered a huge network of lovely people who had legal situations and signed on as a member. They had this one common thread of needing legal help. But there was another as well. I found these people to be sincere and full of passion for their new found freedom. Many went further by joining the service as an Associate so they could spread the word about this existing discovery.

It is just one more way to help you and your family, the service and the independent business you can derive out of joining. With so much out there on the web that is false, I feel comfortable in telling people about something that helped me and is the real McCoy. No pressure, just a little advice from someone who has been there. Go and check out Gerry’s site. He is one of those special people who has your best interests at heart.

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