No Charges? No Fraud? Not Always!

After working a few years in the financial sector, including fraud review, I've seen the damage fraudsters can perform within minutes to over months. Possibly months after they have your information, giving you a false sense of security. Here are a few scenarios consumers may not notice or may not see.  

                       


Monthly statement shows nothing out of the ordinary? 
The local card thief may live in your community. Humans are creatures of habit, they tend to go to the same restaurants, the same grocery chains, and even the same gas stations.  Those are usually close to home, work, school, and church.  As we get older, we develop our preferred interests leaning toward brand loyalty.  Some charges may appear not so out of ordinary. If a duplicate card has been made from information obtained off of your card, thieves could be using them right at the same places.

What to do? 

• Change your pin number periodically
• Ask for a new card if you suspect fraud. 
• Some banks may charge a fee for a replacement card or issue a courtesy one.
• Be predictable with same amounts of purchases, for ex: Budget $30 for gas at each visit. 

Small preauthorization amounts? 
Pre- Authorizations or Test amounts on cards from new merchant accounts are run to check available funds. Some merchants run these as a way to test the cards, usually in person, if you are a new customer. Most of the time, these delete after 72 hours. The amount is set by the merchant and normally an even number of up to $100.  Once the pre-authorization clears, the merchant allows you to continue with your transaction.

What to do? 

• Place a daily withdrawal limit through your bank or credit card. 
• Notify your bank or card if you are going on vacation or out of town to reduce a fraud flag. 

Small purchases
Formerly working for an online Fraud Department, we would see small purchases through the online system account, the system flagged.  These are tester amounts to see if the card is still active.  Generally, they are online purchases to a fake set up website ranging from a few pennies, odd numbers, or in foreign currency.

What to do? 

• Look for a customer service number next to the amount on your statment to dispute the charge or review what the purchase was for. 
• If it was through an online merchant like Amazon or Paypal, run a virus scan, clear cache and cookies and change your password, contact them. 
• Call your credit card company to dispute it or ask about filing a chargeback. 

Automatic Bill Payer Withdraws
Modern tech trendy banks offer automatic bill payer, where you can pay your bills right from home electronically rather than by check. This reduces check fraud, but if you allow a merchant to automatically withdrawal for your monthly bill, watch out!. Errors can be made and there is a human on the other end controlling the numbers.

What to do?

• Self control how much and when the money gets withdrawn after reviewing your bills. 
• Periodically get a printed copy of your bill for accuracy as online data can be changed quicker. Website print outs will show a time date stamp on the printed copy. 

Additional Tips: 

• Be informed about your bank and credit card fraud systems, alerts, and handling as each one is different.  
• Review your statements often, print occasionally. 
• Limit issuing multiple cards to family members or associates. 
• Change passwords and pin numbers routinely.  
• Be predictable with your spending and control your spending patterns.
• Fraud review agents review patterns. 
• Understand how chargebacks work. 
• Provide ID upon using a credit card. 
• Limit how many cards are used.
• Secure your mailbox 
• Be cautious of giving sensitive info by email or phone.    

Other Names for Saleman in Job Postings

Scouring through pages of Want Ads, A Headline reads:

MARKETING ASSISTANT.
People person, friendly, must like to party.

Whoo hoo, that sounds just like me! Til you get to the description.

One of the Other Titles for Salesman.

Presenting a few more for you.



Marketing Assistant
Includes: Administrative duties, Graphic Design, Transportation, Promotion, Sales, Advertising, Data Entry, Secretarial, and more.
Entry Level

Account Executive/Manager
A mid level salary range where people are assigned personal business advertiser'; accounts. This is found across many publication forms: TV, Radio, Newspaper, Magazines, Ad Placement Sales. Receives percentage of the price of the sale, usually of higher value from Mass Media accounts.

Customer Service Correspondence/Representatives.
The first person you usually speak to by phone, when you call a customer service number for a complaint. They are trained to try to keep the complaining party a customer.  Most are at an hourly rate at a telemarketing center or at home office.
Entry Level

Ticket/ Customer Relations Agents
This is in the same category as customer service representatives. A person who sells tickets to an event, answers phones for sales or questions.
Entry Level

Promotional Models- Convention Booth Models
Never believe them when they say, "Just smile and look pretty, darling."  But then when you ask them to speak, even if asked a question by the crowd, and she or he knows nothing about the product.  It looks bad on her and the company, so, many are or should be trained to promote the product.
Mid Entry Level Salary

Appointment Setters
Now, why make an appointment with someone about something they don't know much about? That's not all you have to do, you have to convince them to make the appointment for a service.  If on the phone, speaking to someone, questions and information is going to be given or expected.


Each of these jobs, in some way, tries to sell a product or service, to save one, to get one, for the businesses they work for, in some way. There is no doubt, there are plenty more that fall under this category. My advice is to measure the amount of work you are doing to obtain that sale. Consider hourly over salary, every one is at different stages of careers.

In reality, ideally,  if you work for a company or even yourself, it is only toward your benefit if you learn how to sell. Be it a skill, a service, a product or a even a night out, well that last one was just for fun.  It's detrimental, if you have someone working for you that knows little about the company. Always keep the product, your partner, or the company in good light with others, as much as possible.
That is a good salesman! 

Top 10 Cast and Crew Call Sites of Arizona

Many Arizonans may feel the state has declined in multi-media revenue generating projects but at least one way to show potential investors, it is a good investment, is to show them successful projects. Check out what Arizona is doing, by people in Arizona. Every person is at different stages of development so choose projects wisely, ask questions and research.

Note: Some may require registration, log in names, and passwords to create accounts. Many are offered free and we hope you support their passionate ongoing efforts with contributing donations for their time.

zonie
Zonie is one of my favorite most detailed categorized sites that covers all of Arizona. From Casting to Crew positions to current news and all kinds of announcements. Many members are from Arizona and work in or moved on to surrounding states, but still stay connected to offer their services.

Durant Communications
Durant Communications lists productions for actors, and if the production company is listed, you may inquire about crew positions. The site lists workshops, classes, crew jobs and more.

Tucson Stage Blog
Listings of Auditions and Crew Calls. It also lists local performances, written reviews, plus announcements from local supportive groups.

Tucson Film Office or Phoenix Film Office
Most major cities have Film offices which are key connections to production companies' first point of contact. They may list what they are working on, what they have worked on, current articles of interest, film festivals and some may also have a local directory of available crew. Some may list auditions and crew calls as well.




Good Faith Casting
A Casting Agency with integrity. They've been linked with many major motion pictures, print work, commercials and more with a future of expanding throughout the Southwest area with experience in other cities. Most auditions are listed quickly on their Facebook page. They also offer workshops, lessons, and guidance. A very active group in the community and very easy to submit to.

Arizona Model and Management
They also partner up with Good Faith Casting. They are affiliated with the actor's union, SAG AFTRA, so when a major motion union picture projects come to town, she offers to find the fit. Between Good Faith and this agency, they have an impressive portfolio of recognized named companies she's booked for.

Backstage
A national crew and casting magazine. So far this link is free to search through a detailed filter. Choose casting, choose city, type of production plus more. It may list nationwide submissions. Contact info may be included or not with or without a requirement to subscribe.

American Federation of Advertising of Tucson  and
American Federation of Advertising of Phoenix
Major cities usually have chapters who have job boards. These are mainly for behind the scenes and can include print and multi-media positions. Great source that list companies who are hiring in the area. Jobs range from entry level to experienced and filtered in various ways. Contact and submission requirements are very detailed. Listing accessibility vary between each chapter.


The Following require more searching.
Even though some may not list specific jobs, periodically submit your resume to present yourself. Human Resources departments may be slow to post a job publicly. If your resume hits their desk or inbox at the right moment, it may be your lucky day.

When doing a search, do not limit yourself to one title. Titles, responsibilities, and tasks are always evolving. Keep yourself open to the tasks required. The same title at one place may be a different workload but same title at another place.

Local Radio and Television Stations
There are too many to list links here particularly. Find your local favorite station's website. Job listings are mostly listed under the contact us tabs on the top of the page. Hover over the tabs to see drop down menus that indicate jobs or careers. There are parent broadcasting companies that own stations, for example: Clear Channel Radio, Journal Broadcast Group, ABC Affiliates, etc. These may also lead to other websites that lists jobs at their other stations.

This is a great way to get in to the industry. Many use in house staff people to help create commercials, voiceovers, small appearances, and start your community exposure with career development growth potential.

Search online
The good old internet usually will rank highly viewed popular sites at the top of the list. Search for more developed information and possibly search their website to see their projects. Some may list crew and auditions for a variety of their projects. Use key words or as many specific words.


Social Media Pages
Thousands of pages and accounts are created daily from general titles to specific titles. When you create your own account, many will let you do searches to help you get connected to more people or job listings. These are used for networking, expanding your connections.

Just a few so far:
Linked In
Facebook
Twitter
Google Plus
Meetup

Craigslist
Even between all the scams, the sleeze, and the deceiving ads there may be a crew or cast call. Many can be found in various categories, check under mainly the categories of: gigs, radio tv, media and even all jobs. Be wary of those that list or require not enough or too much info. Some may or may not list pay. Pay information agreement is usually listed at the bottom of the ad.


Others:

Playbill
Can be sorted by location, but minimal coverage of Arizona.

Project Casting
Review carefully, check legitimacy. Many nationwide open submissions listed.

Old Tucson Studios
Old West style movie set/amusement park. Holds auditions for singers, dancers and performers, seasonal events, plus if there is a movie planning to film there.

Western movie set towns.
Gammons Gulch
A more quiet remote private location with plenty of backdrops. A place that is a little bit more smaller town period style country. A collection of vintage cars and props. Their site lists what has been filmed there, who has filmed there, local attractions and more. Rich information on their website. Listings of their production partners.

Tombstone
Holds more established shops inside the movie set buildings, outside scheduled re-enactment performances and business owner community atmosphere. Ghost tours, stage saloons, restaurants and shops.

Both list surrounding art areas that hold performing arts, concerts, festivals and more.


Network as much as you can, keep a look out for announcements and I hope to see you soon!

5 Speedier Ways To Employment

On an average, it takes an hour to fill out an application or resume. If you pass the next step towards acceptance, the interview screening process begins.  Once you get through to actually speaking to someone, you go through the waiting, agreeing to multiple background tests, and self torturing yourself imagining the rejection response. 

Before you completely give up sorting through possibly thousands of job titles, consider a few of these time saving tips:

1. Use Multiple Temporary Employment AgenciesIncrease your job search faster by partnering up with four or five employment agencies. Double check to be sure if they have exclusivity or non-compete clauses. Legitimate ones do not charge an up front fee. They earn by getting you work.  They will filter your qualifications, apply knowledge based tests, and ask if you have a preference of where you'd like to work.  Each place may take a couple of hours to finish all the skills testings, but this means you can have four or five agents looking for jobs with you.  

2. Apply with who you do business with
If you are a frequent shopper at a local grocery store, use electricity, cable or any other regular services consider applying with them.  Another benefit of working for them is possible discounts.  Customer service working from home positions are increasing. Check their websites and do not put an exclusive city as a search choice. Work from home jobs can be done in various cities.



3.  Volunteer
Yes, volunteer as a way to get to know an organization. This shows a selfless leadership quality with a direct personal connection to staff members watching you.  On occasion, positions are even created based on your needed talents. It also increases your network of people.  

4. Fill a need and charge a price
Services are created by seeing a need and fulfilling a solution.  Be an entrepreneur.  Match what you can do with what people may be looking for. Fix a fence, tutor, sweep a porch or two, grow and sell vegetables.  Each of us has some talented skill another is lacking. 

5. Pick a job title and strive for it
If this is a little difficult to choose, try step one. Temporary Agencies list your skills and place you in a position most suitable for your capabilities. When a person decides what direction or what industry they want to work in, it gives a focus on a goal.  Once you decide, immerse yourself with talented leaders to learn from.


Recall back to what you wished as a kid, what you did in high school, where you saw yourself living. Match that to what you'd like to be doing.  Do your best to find a position that will support that dream, even if only to support the funding.  

Why "It's just Common sense!" arguments are weak.

Lazy leaders attempt to manipulate some one's intelligence ego when they use the "It's just common sense!" argument.  Either way, if you agree or not, with their cause with only that reason, places you in an awkward position. Accepting the cause puts you in an accepted role in a perceivable intelligent group,while disinterest, could get your own perception of common sense challenged.  

Manipulation in the making.
The common sense reasoning is a "manipulate the masses" tactic.   A leader will attempt to use the common good for the whole majority -group think- strategy. A strength of united fronts plus, acceptance in a group, fuels the goal further. Not only are they using the drive to work together belief, but also the peer pressure factor.

If a person doesn't agree with the 'it's just common sense' argument, their intelligence can get questioned, as the arguer tries to instill emotional intimidation. A reach to insult self confidence. If a person accepts the argument with only that remark, they're falling into an easy quick, follow the crowd, decision.  

Common sense isn't common
Upbringings vary so diversely that the rate of total acceptance on one particular reason, across vast different groups, is rather low. Morals, ethics, and common sense are all individual interpretative values based on what was exposed to in the direct environment.  For example, one who was surrounded by, or close relation to,: hunters, military personnel, or police force may support less gun control, versus one who was brought up as a peace loving charitable humanitarian. Both would carry differing opinions about the use of guns. 

If you don't agree
When you don't agree, your lack to follow, can get your own common sense decisions judged. Personally, I feel if a person argues with only that lame debate retort of "Why wouldn't you? It's just common sense," rather than providing enough supportive convincing specific debatable facts, it actually, makes them appear less knowledgeable about the topic. If they are not willing to give their reasons, other than that excuse, they are not as convincing to sway others and you should, in turn, question their own intelligence on the matter. 

If you agree 
If someone agrees quickly with the common sense argument, rather than inquiring further data, they are lazily accepting the cause, partly from a sense of wanting to belong or be accepted. If you agree with the cause with only that excuse, your sense of ego is strengthened by the emotional feeling of appearing smart by smart peers.  

Be an independent critical thinker
A true intelligent decision comes from research, experiences, and feelings. Don't fall prey to the lazy leader who only appeals to your feelings rather than provide several other factual reasons.  Common sense is not a strong enough argument and should be a trigger warning sign to be cautious of personal intent. Major decisions should be given more serious thought, especially those causes that will truly effect the masses.  

10 Online Providers who Spy on You

The National Security Agency admits to devising projects to spy on anyone as quick as possible although, our daily activities are monitored by the numerous businesses making records of our use of their services.

Every minute, people all over the world use technology to communicate with friends, initiate financial transactions, talk on the phone, surf the internet, record data for thier work and so on. Each method requires correspondence with a company that is required to maintain records. That company may submit more information to other companies they use and the paper trail gets longer and digitally sent faster.

Those Business Agreements Fine Prints.
Most of humanity is too busy or too broke to hire our own personal lawyers to review a document handed to us prior to using large companies' services. Services that tech savy or non tech savy users use on a daily basis for hours.  In those agreements, there is usually a privacy clause which actually is an explanation of the exact opposite results.  The privacy clause gives the business permission to submit your information to various other entities.

Printed, Submitted and Hacked Into Risk.
As documents are going digital, the risk of the information spreading is higher. As that information gets submitted to multiple parties between multiple departments and multiple companies, it can be printed, submitted and hacked into.

Inside Security
These businesses have a vested interest on the activities going on within their businesses. They have the right to view their users use. This can protect any party involved.  Users may complain of the insider spying, however, as now both parties have gone into a mutual partnership, the company is now involved in the activity the user attempts.

Cooperate with Authority
Figures of authoritative power have legal methods of requesting records such as issuing a warrant, but most businesses comply rather easily with or without it.  The pressure, the time sensitive nature of a potential crime in progress, and a negative reputation from a refusal of cooperation are split second decisions a business representative must comply with.  Most businesses have another clause in their handbook that include acts of good faith to cooperate with authorities or obligated to report crimes. 

10 Types of Business who collect Data about you.
Banks, Credit Unions, and other Financial Institutions
Cable or Satellite Companies
Car Dealership
Colleges and Schools
Grocery Stores
Internet Providers
Phone Cell Providers
Public Libraries
Retail cards
Utility Companies


10 Major Online Providers
Amazon
Craigslist
Ebay
Facebook
Google
LinkedIn
PayPal
Pinterest
Twitter
Yahoo

Computer technology education has risen in demand with more speciality fields being created. Just to name a few; database management, network analyst, information technology, cyber security and the titles are growing. Its no wonder our walls aren't lined with more wires, oh wait, we've gone wireless.

The National Security Agency has hired Information Technology experts to assist them in developing software that can help them collect data quicker.  Our defense system is using the good guys to help them defend, prosecute, and catch criminals.  I would rather have them on my side trying to stay one step ahead of the hackers and other numerous criminals lurking online.

5 FREE Events in the City this Week - Tucson,

Heroes, Education, Pit Bull Fest, Improv, and 1st time Expo

Contact the Businesses directly with any questions.Each week may be a different themed topic, so stay tuned or make a request.
If you would like to be included in a weekly listing, contact me for details:
Email: tolendahand@yahoo.com Website: www.tolendahand.com

Heroes,

1. Its good to be a Hero
Heroes Day, Thursday, October 18th, 2012
Events Throughout Tucson

2. Education Appreciation Week
Barnes and Nobles 5130 E. Broadway Blvd.
Monday, Oct. 15th 4pm: Lesson Plans
Tuesday, Oct 16th, 4pm: Home-Schooling
Thursday, Oct. 18th, 4pm: Nooks
Friday, Oct. 19th, 6:30pm: Essay Contest Awards
Saturday, Oct. 20th, 11am: High Tea

3.  Pit Bull Festival
Brandi Fenton Memorial Park - Common Area
Saturday, Oct. 20th, 2012 10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.
Pit n Proud - Pitbulooza
Training, Supplies, games

4.  Improv ComedyNot Burnt Out Just Unscrewed
Friday, Oct. 19th 7:00 p.m.
Rock N. Java-Marana
7555 W. Twin Peaks Rd

5.  ORO Valley Expo
1st Annual Local Event
Saturday, Oct. 20th
10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Casas Church

Contact the Businesses directly with any questions.Each week may be a different themed topic, so stay tuned or make a request.
If you would like to be included in a weekly listing, contact me for details:
Email: tolendahand@yahoo.com Website: www.tolendahand.com