Credit Card Fraud - Part II
In this issue of our series on credit card fraud we're going to dig a little deeper into some facts and figures that will most certainly raise the hair on the back of your neck.In plain dollars and cents, a single credit card fraud can, and has, accounted for about forty-million dollars in just one year alone. That translates to about 900,000 victims in 22 countries. That's a lot of people and a lot of money and that's just ONE fraud. For those wondering, this particular fraud involved adult web sites, but credit card fraud was going on long before the Internet came to be.What IS new is the ability to run this fraud across the entire world with just a mouse click and attack thousands of people in a very short period of time. The Internet has simply given a very old scam new legs. It has brutally exposed the security problems with our credit card system and takes advantage of these leaks to the max.The particular fraud mentioned up top was perpetrated by a company called J K Publications. If you want to read about the details of this fraud you can do so in the August 1999 issue of Scientific American. Needless to say, it is some juicy reading.So just where does the money go when a company or merchant or even individual perpetrates a credit card fraud? Well, if the fraud goes undetected in most cases the money goes to the merchant himself with the middle man, if there is one, usually getting paid a cut, if for no other reason than to make sure he keeps his mouth shut. In some cases the money goes to the merchant and the ba

Boosting Your Sexual Confidence!
Birds do it, Bee's do it... let's face it we all do it! Enjoying and participating in sex is one of the sweetest gifts we as human beings have at our disposal. Being liberated to enjoy yourself between the sheets is sometimes hard to achieve considering the negative stigma's and attitude's one encounters in life. Many people are raised to believe that sex is wrong and that enjoying sex makes you a “bad” person. Fundamentally this theory will never make sense, sex is what created you in the first place. How did sex get such a bad rap anyways? Sex is healthy, it's great exercise and is a guaranteed mood booster. Sex solidifies a bond between you and the one you love, in the most intimate way possible. If you find yourself lacking in sexual confidence and yearn to unleash any sexual hold ups and inhibitions, read on.You need to begin by asking yourself where all your hold up' s stem from. Your sexual timidity could be due to religious beliefs, your parents, bad past experiences, or simply the role which was imposed on you by society and the media. As to religion, I believe God wanted everyone to procreate. I also believe he wanted us to enjoy the act while we were at it or he wouldn't have created orgasms.Talking to your partner honestly and openly is essential so that you know where each other stands. You'll probably be fascinated by you're partners views on the topic and find out some funny insights into how they became the sexual being you've come to know and love. Reading books on sexuality either together or on your own will help you get co

Physical Activity: The Great Health Facilitator
"Opportunities are usually disguised...so most people don't recognize them." - Ann Landers"The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." - Lao-tzuPhysical activity is the best first step to health. It is the most direct way for you to discover, or rediscover, the wonder of your body. It allows you to experience vitality and provides an immediate sense of control of your body's health and well-being. In addition to having its own inherent benefits, physical activity is a great physical and mental health facilitator, and wonderfully regenerative. Your senses come alive and are attuned more delicately when you engage in regular physical activity.There is good news about actually doing physical activity. Research has shown that one can obtain its major health benefits with a minimum amount of effort and a minimum amount of time. The old myth of "no pain, no gain" and of long-distance jogging as the only way to achieve meaningful health results have been put into perspective. The evidence is clear: you can enjoy the benefits of physical activity with the equivalent of walking a half an hour a day, four or five days a week.The Institute for Aerobics Research in Texas evaluated the fitness levels of more than 3,000 people and followed their progress for eight years. While the sedentary did have a mortality substantially higher than the more fit, the principal benefits of physical activity came even after very little physical activity. Those who simply walked an average of 30 minutes a day decreased their risk of heart dis

How to Decide What to Pay Your Cleaning Employees
As your cleaning business grows, one of the first things you will have to do is hire employees. Of course, this means that you must decide on how much you are going to pay before you start interviewing and hiring new cleaning staff. As a business owner you may have times that you work more hours and make less per hour than your paid staff. However, you are investing your time and efforts not just into current cleaning accounts, but also into the growth of the company. You cannot expect your employees to act like an owner when it comes to payment for their services.Pay packages have few rules and hourly wages go up and down depending on the geographic area you live in and the potential employee's experience. Wages also depend on the current condition of the job market (are there more jobs than employees or vice versa). Typically, entry-level wages in the cleaning industry have been towards the low-end of the pay scale. A recent survey in CM/Cleaning & Maintenance Management Magazine showed that wages for cleaning workers range from $7.80 per hour to $9.51 per hour, with the overall average starting wage being $8.63 per hour. This can, of course, be higher or lower depending on specific circumstances and in what part of the country you run your cleaning business.How do you figure out what a job is worth? First off, remember that you are investing in your employees today to have a more profitable cleaning business in the future. With any luck you will hire employees who are willing to learn and grow with your business. Before setting your pay sc

Got A Hot New Business Idea? What Will You Do With It?
Ideas come to us at all times of day, sometimes when we least expect it. Many professional entrepreneurs are trained to spot new business opportunities and, to them, generating business ideas is run-of the-mill work. But average people also think up new business ideas, on the whole probably millions of times daily, all around the world.You've probably had times where you had been sitting around with your buddies where a conversation topic triggered someone to say something like, "Hey, that would make for a good business idea." Everyone would nod in agreement, maybe discuss it for a few minutes, and that would be the end of it. Nobody ever takes it upon themselves to actually take the business idea to a new level. The idea never comes to fruition; it remains just that, an idea.You, yourself, have probably dreamt up numerous ideas. But what do you do when you come up with a hot new business idea? If you’re like most people, you do nothing. Doing nothing is the easiest thing to do. You cannot fail if you do nothing. But you cannot succeed either.You probably drive to work every day. You work 9-5. You probably don't like it much either. But have you ever stopped to think about how the company you work for started? It probably started with someone thinking up a hot new business idea, just like you have many times before. The difference is that that person actually did something about it. He recognized a business opportunity and made it happen. And, because of that, you are employed.Entrepreneurship is about taking risks. Not many p

The New Bankruptcy Law: What You Need To Know
The new bankruptcy law went into effect on Monday, October 17, 2005. And the events of the previous weekend were object lessons in human behavior as it applies to financial matters.There were reports throughout the country that people were standing in lines for blocks waiting to get into courthouses to file Chapter 7 bankruptcy, which means they can wipe out their debts and start over. Now most people will have to file Chapter 13, which means they will have to pay their debts over time.The demand to file Chapter 7 before the deadline was so great that the courts had to hand out bakery numbers and vacant rooms were opened to accommodate debtors. There was a report that one man bought a first-class airline ticket to meet with his advisor to file Chapter 7 bankruptcy. Is there any doubt that the ticket was bought with a credit card?According to Lindquist Consulting, there were more than 200,000 personal bankruptcy filings for the week ending October 15, easily a record high. That's almost triple the number of filings in the week -- also a record. Sadly, the debt situation in the U.S. is out of control.Here are the key changes that come with the new bankruptcy law…There is something called a "Means Test." The means test calculates your monthly income less certain allowable expenses like food and housing. If your resulting income is less than the median income for your state, you may be able to file Chapter 7. If not, you will have to file Chapter 13. There are expense allowances that are set by the IRS.