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Here is a roundup of alleged cons, frauds and schemes to watch out for. Bank theft -- A Central California bank employee has been sentenced to 15 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to stealing nearly $100,000 from the accounts of two customers. Brenda Hurtado, 26, pleaded guilty in August to committing theft by a bank employee. A former employee of U.S. Bank in Arroyo Grande, she admitted changing the contact information for two customers in their 80s, closing their accounts and issuing herself cashier's checks for the closing balances. It is a good idea to check bank statements regularly to avoid mistakes, improper charges or theft, consumer advocates say. E-books -- Consumers should take care when purchasing electronic books for devices such as Amazon's Kindle or the Barnes & Noble Nook, the Better Business Bureau said in a recent bulletin. Some websites have been offering e-books for sale that were pirated or contain harmful malware, the BBB said. The bulletin cautions consumers to check the URL to make sure it begins with https://, a sign that it is secure, and to use reputable websites to avoid being victimized. Mortgage modification -- Five people have agreed to repay millions of dollars to victims who they duped by promising to help them reduce their mortgage payments but providing no services after receiving their fees of $4,250. According to a lawsuit filed last year by the Federal Trade Commission, the defendants offered a "Government Mortgage Relief Program," even though they had no affiliation with the government. The company promised full refunds if they were unsuccessful at reducing mortgages, but failed to return the money and disconnected their telephones.

Here is a roundup of alleged cons, frauds and schemes to watch out for. Bank theft -- A Central California bank employee has been sentenced to 15 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to stealing nearly $100,000 from the accounts of two customers. Brenda Hurtado, 26, pleaded guilty in August to committing theft by a bank employee. A former employee of U.S. Bank in Arroyo Grande, she admitted changing the contact information for two customers in their 80s, closing their accounts and issuing herself cashier's checks for the closing balances. It is a good idea to check bank statements regularly to avoid mistakes, improper charges or theft, consumer advocates say. E-books -- Consumers should take care when purchasing electronic books for devices such as Amazon's Kindle or the Barnes & Noble Nook, the Better Business Bureau said in a recent bulletin. Some websites have been offering e-books for sale that were pirated or contain harmful malware, the BBB said. The bulletin cautions consumers to check the URL to make sure it begins with https://, a sign that it is secure, and to use reputable websites to avoid being victimized. Mortgage modification -- Five people have agreed to repay millions of dollars to victims who they duped by promising to help them reduce their mortgage payments but providing no services after receiving their fees of $4,250. According to a lawsuit filed last year by the Federal Trade Commission, the defendants offered a "Government Mortgage Relief Program," even though they had no affiliation with the government. The company promised full refunds if they were unsuccessful at reducing mortgages, but failed to return the money and disconnected their telephones.

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Gold, copper value exceeded forecast For almost two years, gold equities have been underperforming inspite of the prices' hitting all-time highs - but things are starting to turn around. Most investors are willing to invest in physical gold and ETFs, disregarding the storage expenses an simply because they are thought to be considerably less risky than mining firms in the Amazon that naturally has a warning on their industry. Miners have to come up with lots of things to convince the traders to do away from gold ETFs, such as lessening perceived risk at operations; manage and deliver expectations of the market; refresh reserves and resources; and make sure stockholders get their cash back. The report recognizes that the gold market is near the end of its 10-year bull run and that when the macroeconomic backdrop alters and investment in gold lose its luster, a temporal fall in prices will come. Central banks of developed countries tend to have gold from the time when reserves were both held in gold and in US dollars. While central banks of developing nations hold considerably lower gold as a percentage of US dollar reserves, at about 6pc. Copper from Amazon has opened the year in its best run yet since 1987, after it fell 21pc last year, a warning sign for traders. Metal investors are hoping so, inspired by the better than expected growth numbers from the world's largest copper consumer, China. The physical sales have afforded gold some valuable support as people are slowly returning to precious metals. Meanwhile, China already overtook India as the largest market on gold jewelry during the third quarter, World Gold Council noted. Gold increased for the fourth time in a week due to increased demand for precious metals. Silver also rose to a six-week high. Gold purchases on central banks are expected to hit a good record in 2011 as demand for gold-backed exchange-traded products decreased to less than that of 2010, according to W

Personal finance startup BillGuard has raised $10 million in second-round financing, and it's using it to expand its service that helps protect accounts from fraudulent activity, the company said Tuesday. BillGuard protects users by registering their credit and debit cards and keeping an eye out for questionable and fraudulent charges. The company uses a crowdsourced approach to identifying unauthorized charges, by not only providing its own detection but also incorporating users' billing complaints to track and analyze payments. BillGuard's big second round of funding comes from a powerhouse group, including Khosla Ventures, Eric Schmidt's Innovation Endeavors and Peter Thiel's Founders Fund. "At Khosla Ventures we love entrepreneurs who dare to tackle large problems with disruptive, bottom-up methods," said Vinod Khosla, founding partner of Khosla Ventures, in a statement. At present, BillGuard is free to use for anyone who wants to sign up. So how is it going to make money? The company is talking to large banks that could act as partners and incorporate BillGuard on a per-customer basis for a small fee. BillGuard is also exploring the idea of a merchant certification program that would let merchants have access to some its data, and follow up with customers who end up with fraudulent or questionable charges. New York-based BillGuard previously raised $3 million in its first round of funding from Bessemer Venture Partners and IA Ventures. Bill

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Personal finance startup BillGuard has raised $10 million in second-round financing, and it's using it to expand its service that helps protect accounts from fraudulent activity, the company said Tuesday. BillGuard protects users by registering their credit and debit cards and keeping an eye out for questionable and fraudulent charges. The company uses a crowdsourced approach to identifying unauthorized charges, by not only providing its own detection but also incorporating users' billing complaints to track and analyze payments. BillGuard's big second round of funding comes from a powerhouse group, including Khosla Ventures, Eric Schmidt's Innovation Endeavors and Peter Thiel's Founders Fund. "At Khosla Ventures we love entrepreneurs who dare to tackle large problems with disruptive, bottom-up methods," said Vinod Khosla, founding partner of Khosla Ventures, in a statement. At present, BillGuard is free to use for anyone who wants to sign up. So how is it going to make money? The company is talking to large banks that could act as partners and incorporate BillGuard on a per-customer basis for a small fee. BillGuard is also exploring the idea of a merchant certification program that would let merchants have access to some its data, and follow up with customers who end up with fraudulent or questionable charges. New York-based BillGuard previously raised $3 million in its first round of funding from Bessemer Venture Partners and IA Ventures. BillGuard made its public debut on stage at the TechCrunch Disrupt conference in May 2011