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Scope Note The purpose of this study is to provide insight into the breadth and depth of mortgage fraud crimes perpetrated against the United States and its citizens during 2009. This report updates the 2008 Mortgage Fraud Report and addresses current mortgage fraud projections, issues, and the identification of mortgage fraud "hot spots." The objective of this study is to provide FBI program managers with relevant data to better understand the threat, identify trends, allocate resources, and prioritize investigations. The report was requested by the Financial Crimes Section, Criminal Investigative Division (CID), and prepared by the Financial Crimes Intelligence Unit (FCIU), Directorate of Intelligence (DI). This report is based on FBI, state and local law enforcement, mortgage industry, and open-source reporting. Information was also provided by other government agencies, including the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development-Office of Inspector General (HUD-OIG), Federal Housing Administration (FHA), the Federal National Mortgage Association, and the U.S. Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). Industry reporting was obtained from the LexisNexis Mortgage Asset Research Institute (MARI), RealtyTrac, Inc., Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), and Interthinx®. Some industry reporting was acquired through open sources. While the FBI has high confidence in all of these sources, some inconsistencies relative to the cataloging of statistics by some organizations are noted. For example, suspicious activity reports (SARs) are cataloged according to the year in which they are submitted and the information contained within them may describe activity that occurred in previous months or years. The geographic specificity of industry reporting varies as some companies report at the zip code level, and others by city, region, or state. Many of the statistics provided by the external sources, including FinCEN, FHA, and HU

Scope Note The purpose of this study is to provide insight into the breadth and depth of mortgage fraud crimes perpetrated against the United States and its citizens during 2009. This report updates the 2008 Mortgage Fraud Report and addresses current mortgage fraud projections, issues, and the identification of mortgage fraud "hot spots." The objective of this study is to provide FBI program managers with relevant data to better understand the threat, identify trends, allocate resources, and prioritize investigations. The report was requested by the Financial Crimes Section, Criminal Investigative Division (CID), and prepared by the Financial Crimes Intelligence Unit (FCIU), Directorate of Intelligence (DI). This report is based on FBI, state and local law enforcement, mortgage industry, and open-source reporting. Information was also provided by other government agencies, including the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development-Office of Inspector General (HUD-OIG), Federal Housing Administration (FHA), the Federal National Mortgage Association, and the U.S. Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). Industry reporting was obtained from the LexisNexis Mortgage Asset Research Institute (MARI), RealtyTrac, Inc., Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), and Interthinx®. Some industry reporting was acquired through open sources. While the FBI has high confidence in all of these sources, some inconsistencies relative to the cataloging of statistics by some organizations are noted. For example, suspicious activity reports (SARs) are cataloged according to the year in which they are submitted and the information contained within them may describe activity that occurred in previous months or years. The geographic specificity of industry reporting varies as some companies report at the zip code level, and others by city, region, or state. Many of the statistics provided by the external sources, including FinCEN, FHA, and HU

Scope Note The purpose of this study is to provide insight into the breadth and depth of mortgage fraud crimes perpetrated against the United States and its citizens during 2009. This report updates the 2008 Mortgage Fraud Report and addresses current mortgage fraud projections, issues, and the identification of mortgage fraud "hot spots." The objective of this study is to provide FBI program managers with relevant data to better understand the threat, identify trends, allocate resources, and prioritize investigations. The report was requested by the Financial Crimes Section, Criminal Investigative Division (CID), and prepared by the Financial Crimes Intelligence Unit (FCIU), Directorate of Intelligence (DI). This report is based on FBI, state and local law enforcement, mortgage industry, and open-source reporting. Information was also provided by other government agencies, including the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development-Office of Inspector General (HUD-OIG), Federal Housing Administration (FHA), the Federal National Mortgage Association, and the U.S. Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). Industry reporting was obtained from the LexisNexis Mortgage Asset Research Institute (MARI), RealtyTrac, Inc., Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), and Interthinx®. Some industry reporting was acquired through open sources. While the FBI has high confidence in all of these sources, some inconsistencies relative to the cataloging of statistics by some organizations are noted. For example, suspicious activity reports (SARs) are cataloged according to the year in which they are submitted and the information contained within them may describe activity that occurred in previous months or years. The geographic specificity of industry reporting varies as some companies report at the zip code level, and others by city, region, or state. Many of the statistics provided by the external sources, including FinCEN, FHA, and HU

Scope Note The purpose of this study is to provide insight into the breadth and depth of mortgage fraud crimes perpetrated against the United States and its citizens during 2009. This report updates the 2008 Mortgage Fraud Report and addresses current mortgage fraud projections, issues, and the identification of mortgage fraud "hot spots." The objective of this study is to provide FBI program managers with relevant data to better understand the threat, identify trends, allocate resources, and prioritize investigations. The report was requested by the Financial Crimes Section, Criminal Investigative Division (CID), and prepared by the Financial Crimes Intelligence Unit (FCIU), Directorate of Intelligence (DI). This report is based on FBI, state and local law enforcement, mortgage industry, and open-source reporting. Information was also provided by other government agencies, including the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development-Office of Inspector General (HUD-OIG), Federal Housing Administration (FHA), the Federal National Mortgage Association, and the U.S. Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). Industry reporting was obtained from the LexisNexis Mortgage Asset Research Institute (MARI), RealtyTrac, Inc., Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), and Interthinx®. Some industry reporting was acquired through open sources. While the FBI has high confidence in all of these sources, some inconsistencies relative to the cataloging of statistics by some organizations are noted. For example, suspicious activity reports (SARs) are cataloged according to the year in which they are submitted and the information contained within them may describe activity that occurred in previous months or years. The geographic specificity of industry reporting varies as some companies report at the zip code level, and others by city, region, or state. Many of the statistics provided by the external sources, including FinCEN, FHA, and HUD-OIG,

The Bozeman Police Department reports for Sunday included the following: People were fighting in front of an East Main Street bar. Most fled when police arrived around 1:40 a.m. The man who was assaulted did not want to press charges. Police found "a man by himself drinking a beer and playing loud video games at 5:30 a.m. on Sunday morning" on Ida Avenue after a neighbor complained about the noise. A 21-year-old Belgrade man was cited for stealing two DVDs from a Catron Street store around 1:45 p.m. Read more . . .

Repost From : http://springhillgroupbyrichparker.blogspot.com/ http://www.facebook.com/notes/springhill-group-home-loans-news-center/springhill-group-springhillgroupbyrichparkerblogspotcom/300574126678023 BLOGSPOT: Police Reports for Feb. 26, 2012 - The Bozeman Daily Chronicle: Police Reports http://springcaregroup.blogspot.com/2012/03/police-reports-for-feb-26-2012-bozeman.html The Bozeman Police Department reports for Sunday included the following: People were fighting in front of an East Main Street bar. Most fled when police arrived around 1:40 a.m.

http://bookmarks.oneindia.in/category/News/springhill-group-korea-insurer/ http://parkminho-springhillgroup.blogspot.com/ I don't know if this is related to Warren Buffett's March visit to South Korea but General Re, a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway, is planning to bid for South Korean insurer Tong Yang Life .

Springhill Group: DPRK jams GPS of ROK Airlines GPS jamming signals coming from North Korea has forced South Korea to order its military and civilian air transports to switch on alternative navigational devices to avoid disruption. A statement from the ministry has confirmed that they were able to warn airlines and pilots of the 241 affected South Korean flights along with the 11 foreign airlines like Thai Airways, AirPhil, FedEx, Japan Airlines and Cathay Pacific Airways. But even as the GPS jamming signals continued, South Korea sees no serious threat to navigational safety. Korea Communications Commission confirmed that the GPS jamming signals have been coming from a city on North Korea side of the border. "We've traced the jamming signals to the direction of Kaesong," a commission deputy director told Springhill Group. According to the transport agency, planes that suffered from GPS signal jamming were instructed to use the alternative navigation systems and were not delayed in their schedules. The signal jamming appears to be focused on air traffic at Gimpo and Incheon airports, both of which are around 30 miles from the border. Despite the GPS disruption, Springhill Group reports that there was no serious threat to flight safety as airplanes are capable of using other navigation devices like inertial navigation system and very-high-frequency omni-directional range (VOR). Meanwhile, military communications and transportation were not greatly affected as they do not primarily depend on the GPS system. North Korea did not admit anything so the reason for the GPS jamming remains unclear as fears that another nuclear test might follow is escalating. Likewise, it is not known for just how long the jamming will continue as during last year's South Korea-US military drill, the radio signal jamming from Pyongyang has lasted for ten days. At any rate, South Korea is always on the lookout for any provocation from its neighbor, especially as a n

Springhill Group : Facebook might be reading your text messages The online community is all abuzz on Sunday after an explosive report has accused Facebook of snooping in smartphone users' text messages. Though Facebook admitted to reading SMS of users who have downloaded their app, they said they are only doing so as part of a limited testing phase prior to launching their own messaging service and not to deliberately expose users to fraud. The Facebook app running on Android is authorized to process, read, receive and write SMS, something they have declared in their terms beginning from the 1.7 version. Facebook said this is in anticipation of new features that will integrate Facebook tools with user texts. Now, if Facebook eventually introduces a feature that will be applicable to those permissions, they are ensuring the users even now that it will be accompanied by proper educational and guiding materials. Facebook retorted that users should be aware that it said it might access their messages, contained under "Permissions" - that long article you are expected to have read before downloading/using the app. Unfortunately, 70% of smartphone users do not seem to have the time for reading the terms and conditions attached to an app. Other popular companies that are using smartphones to access data and other personal details of users include Yahoo Messenger, Badoo, Google and Flickr. Several companies can reportedly control smartphone features remotely, which includes taking images and video using the camera, as in the case of YouTube. Also, details like contacts list, location and browser history are accessed and can be passed on to third-parties like advertisers. According to a statement issued by Facebook, it does not read user text messages and described the Sunday Times report as 'completely wrong' on their terminology and the impression they have made. But Facebook gave an explanation anyway: "…we have done some testing of pr

Mortgage fraud is crime in which the intent is to materially misrepresent or omit information on a mortgage loan application to obtain a loan or to obtain a larger loan than would have been obtained had the lender or borrower known the truth. In United States federal courts, mortgage fraud is prosecuted as wire fraud, bank fraud, mail fraud and money laundering, with penalties of up to thirty years imprisonment.As the incidence of mortgage fraud has risen over the past few years, states have also begun to enact their own penalties for mortgage fraud. Mortgage fraud is not to be confused with predatory mortgage lending, which occurs when a consumer is misled or deceived by agents of the lender. However, predatory lending practices often co-exist with mortgage fraud. Types Occupancy fraud: This occurs where the borrower wishes to obtain a mortgage to acquire an investment property, but states on the loan application that the borrower will occupy the property as the primary residence or as a second home. If undetected, the borrower typically obtains a lower interest rate than was warranted. Because lenders typically charge a higher interest rate for non-owner-occupied properties, which historically have higher delinquency rates, the lender receives insufficient return on capital and is over-exposed to loss relative to what was expected in the transaction. In addition, lenders allow larger loans on owner-occupied homes compared to loans for investment properties. When occupancy fraud occurs, it is likely that taxes on gains are not paid, resulting in additional fraud. It is considered fraud because the borrower has materially misprepresented the risk to the lender to obtain more favorable loan terms. Income fraud: This occurs when a borrower overstates his/her income to qualify for a mortgage or for a larger loan amount. This was most often seen with so-called "stated income" mortgage loans (popularly referred to as "liar loans"), where the borrower, or a l

South Korea announced steps Thursday to bolster its sagging property market, including easing restrictions imposed on some districts of the capital. Seoul in 2003 restricted mortgage loan-to-value ratios to 40 percent and banned buyers from spending more than 40 percent of their income on repayments in three southern Seoul areas seen as most attractive to speculators. From now on, the same rules will apply citywide, with buyers able to borrow up to 50 percent of a property's value and spend up to 50 percent of their income on repayments. House prices in the Seoul metropolitan area have been falling for 10 successive months, with the latest April reading showing a 0.3 percent month-on-month decline. The government said it would also cut taxes on capital gains from property in the three districts, and would offer low-interest loans to a wider range of potential home-buyers in the capital. "We're rolling back excessive regulations adopted back in the early 2000s when the property market was overheating," the land ministry said in a statement. "Despite an increase in home supply... transactions in the housing sector are shrinking, while new apartment sales are also sluggish, hit by (economic) uncertainties." You can also visit us @ http://newscenter.springhillgrouphome.com/

(Source: Dirk Godder dpa, Hamburg, Germany (MCT) - President Lee Myung Bak apologized to South Koreans Tuesday for the involvement of his elder brother and former aides in corruption cases. "Fellow Koreans, disgraceful incidents have recently happened to my family and people surrounding me and caused so much anxiety," he said. "I bow my head and extend my apology for causing anxiety to the people due to these incidents," said Lee, who is in the final year of his presidency. He said he would "take full responsibility" for the scandals but added he would continue to carry out his duties as president. His brother Lee Sang Deuk, an influential former legislator seen as the president's mentor, is being detained on corruption charges. Prosecutors alleged that he received 600 million won (524,000 dollars) from two troubled savings banks to help them avoid regular audits. His detention this month was the latest in a string of corruption scandals involving people close to the president. They have damaged Lee Myung Bak's reputation as he prepares to leave office in February. Presidents can only serve one five-year term. dpa dg lns tlo Author: Dirk Godder. You can also visit us @ http://springhillgrouphome.com/

(Source: Dirk Godder dpa, Hamburg, Germany (MCT) - President Lee Myung Bak apologized to South Koreans Tuesday for the involvement of his elder brother and former aides in corruption cases. "Fellow Koreans, disgraceful incidents have recently happened to my family and people surrounding me and caused so much anxiety," he said. "I bow my head and extend my apology for causing anxiety to the people due to these incidents," said Lee, who is in the final year of his presidency. He said he would "take full responsibility" for the scandals but added he would continue to carry out his duties as president. His brother Lee Sang Deuk, an influential former legislator seen as the president's mentor, is being detained on corruption charges. Prosecutors alleged that he received 600 million won (524,000 dollars) from two troubled savings banks to help them avoid regular audits. His detention this month was the latest in a string of corruption scandals involving people close to the president. They have damaged Lee Myung Bak's reputation as he prepares to leave office in February. Presidents can only serve one five-year term. dpa dg lns tlo Author: Dirk Godder. You can also visit us @ http://springhillgrouphome.com/

California's attorney general announced more than $4 million in penalties have been levied against defendants in a national loan modification scam. Half of the money will go to consumers who were duped. Over 1,000 customers were caught in the ploy and paid a total of more than $2 million in modification services to Orange County-based Statewide Financial Group Inc., according to a release Tuesday from the office of Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris. "These defendants took advantage of vulnerable people in extremely difficult circumstances, including many who faced imminent loss of their homes," Harris said. "The significant financial penalties imposed by the court let scammers know that severe consequences will flow to those who defraud California consumers." The attorney general's office shut down the business in 2009, which had been in operation since January 2008. The business' owners -- Zulmai Nazarzai, Hakimullah Sarpas and Fasela Sheren (who went by the name Sharon Fasela) -- were all found liable in Orange County Superior Court for violating California's Unfair Competition Law and False Advertising Law. You can also visit us @ http://newscenter.springhillgrouphome.com/

California's attorney general announced more than $4 million in penalties have been levied against defendants in a national loan modification scam. Half of the money will go to consumers who were duped. Over 1,000 customers were caught in the ploy and paid a total of more than $2 million in modification services to Orange County-based Statewide Financial Group Inc., according to a release Tuesday from the office of Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris. "These defendants took advantage of vulnerable people in extremely difficult circumstances, including many who faced imminent loss of their homes," Harris said. "The significant financial penalties imposed by the court let scammers know that severe consequences will flow to those who defraud California consumers." The attorney general's office shut down the business in 2009, which had been in operation since January 2008. The business' owners -- Zulmai Nazarzai, Hakimullah Sarpas and Fasela Sheren (who went by the name Sharon Fasela) -- were all found liable in Orange County Superior Court for violating California's Unfair Competition Law and False Advertising Law. You can also visit us @ http://newscenter.springhillgrouphome.com/

Springhill Group: DPRK jams GPS of ROK Airlines GPS jamming signals coming from North Korea has forced South Korea to order its military and civilian air transports to switch on alternative navigational devices to avoid disruption. A statement from the ministry has confirmed that they were able to warn airlines and pilots of the 241 affected South Korean flights along with the 11 foreign airlines like Thai Airways, AirPhil, FedEx, Japan Airlines and Cathay Pacific Airways. But even as the GPS jamming signals continued, South Korea sees no serious threat to navigational safety. Korea Communications Commission confirmed that the GPS jamming signals have been coming from a city on North Korea side of the border. "We've traced the jamming signals to the direction of Kaesong," a commission deputy director told Springhill Group. According to the transport agency, planes that suffered from GPS signal jamming were instructed to use the alternative navigation systems and were not delayed in their schedules. The signal jamming appears to be focused on air traffic at Gimpo and Incheon airports, both of which are around 30 miles from the border. Despite the GPS disruption, Springhill Group reports that there was no serious threat to flight safety as airplanes are capable of using other navigation devices like inertial navigation system and very-high-frequency omni-directional range (VOR). Meanwhile, military communications and transportation were not greatly affected as they do not primarily depend on the GPS system. North Korea did not admit anything so the reason for the GPS jamming remains unclear as fears that another nuclear test might follow is escalating. Likewise, it is not known for just how long the jamming will continue as during last year's South Korea-US military drill, the radio signal jamming from Pyongyang has lasted for ten days. At any rate, South Korea is always on the lookout for any provocation from its neighbor, especially as a n

Springhill Group: DPRK jams GPS of ROK Airlines GPS jamming signals coming from North Korea has forced South Korea to order its military and civilian air transports to switch on alternative navigational devices to avoid disruption. A statement from the ministry has confirmed that they were able to warn airlines and pilots of the 241 affected South Korean flights along with the 11 foreign airlines like Thai Airways, AirPhil, FedEx, Japan Airlines and Cathay Pacific Airways. But even as the GPS jamming signals continued, South Korea sees no serious threat to navigational safety. Korea Communications Commission confirmed that the GPS jamming signals have been coming from a city on North Korea side of the border. "We've traced the jamming signals to the direction of Kaesong," a commission deputy director told Springhill Group. According to the transport agency, planes that suffered from GPS signal jamming were instructed to use the alternative navigation systems and were not delayed in their schedules. The signal jamming appears to be focused on air traffic at Gimpo and Incheon airports, both of which are around 30 miles from the border. Despite the GPS disruption, Springhill Group reports that there was no serious threat to flight safety as airplanes are capable of using other navigation devices like inertial navigation system and very-high-frequency omni-directional range (VOR). Meanwhile, military communications and transportation were not greatly affected as they do not primarily depend on the GPS system. North Korea did not admit anything so the reason for the GPS jamming remains unclear as fears that another nuclear test might follow is escalating. Likewise, it is not known for just how long the jamming will continue as during last year's South Korea-US military drill, the radio signal jamming from Pyongyang has lasted for ten days. At any rate, South Korea is always on the lookout for any provocation from its neighbor, especially as a n

Springhill Group : Facebook might be reading your text messages The online community is all abuzz on Sunday after an explosive report has accused Facebook of snooping in smartphone users' text messages. Though Facebook admitted to reading SMS of users who have downloaded their app, they said they are only doing so as part of a limited testing phase prior to launching their own messaging service and not to deliberately expose users to fraud. The Facebook app running on Android is authorized to process, read, receive and write SMS, something they have declared in their terms beginning from the 1.7 version. Facebook said this is in anticipation of new features that will integrate Facebook tools with user texts. Now, if Facebook eventually introduces a feature that will be applicable to those permissions, they are ensuring the users even now that it will be accompanied by proper educational and guiding materials. Facebook retorted that users should be aware that it said it might access their messages, contained under "Permissions" - that long article you are expected to have read before downloading/using the app. Unfortunately, 70% of smartphone users do not seem to have the time for reading the terms and conditions attached to an app. Other popular companies that are using smartphones to access data and other personal details of users include Yahoo Messenger, Badoo, Google and Flickr. Several companies can reportedly control smartphone features remotely, which includes taking images and video using the camera, as in the case of YouTube. Also, details like contacts list, location and browser history are accessed and can be passed on to third-parties like advertisers. According to a statement issued by Facebook, it does not read user text messages and described the Sunday Times report as 'completely wrong' on their terminology and the impression they have made. But Facebook gave an explanation anyway: "…we have done some testing of pr

Springhill Group : Facebook might be reading your text messages The online community is all abuzz on Sunday after an explosive report has accused Facebook of snooping in smartphone users' text messages. Though Facebook admitted to reading SMS of users who have downloaded their app, they said they are only doing so as part of a limited testing phase prior to launching their own messaging service and not to deliberately expose users to fraud. The Facebook app running on Android is authorized to process, read, receive and write SMS, something they have declared in their terms beginning from the 1.7 version. Facebook said this is in anticipation of new features that will integrate Facebook tools with user texts. Now, if Facebook eventually introduces a feature that will be applicable to those permissions, they are ensuring the users even now that it will be accompanied by proper educational and guiding materials. Facebook retorted that users should be aware that it said it might access their messages, contained under "Permissions" - that long article you are expected to have read before downloading/using the app. Unfortunately, 70% of smartphone users do not seem to have the time for reading the terms and conditions attached to an app. Other popular companies that are using smartphones to access data and other personal details of users include Yahoo Messenger, Badoo, Google and Flickr. Several companies can reportedly control smartphone features remotely, which includes taking images and video using the camera, as in the case of YouTube. Also, details like contacts list, location and browser history are accessed and can be passed on to third-parties like advertisers. According to a statement issued by Facebook, it does not read user text messages and described the Sunday Times report as 'completely wrong' on their terminology and the impression they have made. But Facebook gave an explanation anyway: "…we have done some testin

Springhill Group: DPRK jams GPS of ROK Airlines GPS jamming signals coming from North Korea has forced South Korea to order its military and civilian air transports to switch on alternative navigational devices to avoid disruption. A statement from the ministry has confirmed that they were able to warn airlines and pilots of the 241 affected South Korean flights along with the 11 foreign airlines like Thai Airways, AirPhil, FedEx, Japan Airlines and Cathay Pacific Airways. But even as the GPS jamming signals continued, South Korea sees no serious threat to navigational safety. Korea Communications Commission confirmed that the GPS jamming signals have been coming from a city on North Korea side of the border. "We've traced the jamming signals to the direction of Kaesong," a commission deputy director told Springhill Group. According to the transport agency, planes that suffered from GPS signal jamming were instructed to use the alternative navigation systems and were not delayed in their schedules. The signal jamming appears to be focused on air traffic at Gimpo and Incheon airports, both of which are around 30 miles from the border. Despite the GPS disruption, Springhill Group reports that there was no serious threat to flight safety as airplanes are capable of using other navigation devices like inertial navigation system and very-high-frequency omni-directional range (VOR). Meanwhile, military communications and transportation were not greatly affected as they do not primarily depend on the GPS system. North Korea did not admit anything so the reason for the GPS jamming remains unclear as fears that another nuclear test might follow is escalating. Likewise, it is not known for just how long the jamming will continue as during last year's South Korea-US military drill, the radio signal jamming from Pyongyang has lasted for ten days. At any rate, South Korea is always on the lookout for any provocation from its neighbor, especially

Springhill Group: DPRK jams GPS of ROK Airlines GPS jamming signals coming from North Korea has forced South Korea to order its military and civilian air transports to switch on alternative navigational devices to avoid disruption. A statement from the ministry has confirmed that they were able to warn airlines and pilots of the 241 affected South Korean flights along with the 11 foreign airlines like Thai Airways, AirPhil, FedEx, Japan Airlines and Cathay Pacific Airways. But even as the GPS jamming signals continued, South Korea sees no serious threat to navigational safety. Korea Communications Commission confirmed that the GPS jamming signals have been coming from a city on North Korea side of the border. "We've traced the jamming signals to the direction of Kaesong," a commission deputy director told Springhill Group. According to the transport agency, planes that suffered from GPS signal jamming were instructed to use the alternative navigation systems and were not delayed in their schedules. The signal jamming appears to be focused on air traffic at Gimpo and Incheon airports, both of which are around 30 miles from the border. Despite the GPS disruption, Springhill Group reports that there was no serious threat to flight safety as airplanes are capable of using other navigation devices like inertial navigation system and very-high-frequency omni-directional range (VOR). Meanwhile, military communications and transportation were not greatly affected as they do not primarily depend on the GPS system. North Korea did not admit anything so the reason for the GPS jamming remains unclear as fears that another nuclear test might follow is escalating. Likewise, it is not known for just how long the jamming will continue as during last year's South Korea-US military drill, the radio signal jamming from Pyongyang has lasted for ten days. At any rate, South Korea is always on the lookout for any provocation from its neighbor, especially as a

Springhill Group : Facebook might be reading your text messages The online community is all abuzz on Sunday after an explosive report has accused Facebook of snooping in smartphone users' text messages. Though Facebook admitted to reading SMS of users who have downloaded their app, they said they are only doing so as part of a limited testing phase prior to launching their own messaging service and not to deliberately expose users to fraud. The Facebook app running on Android is authorized to process, read, receive and write SMS, something they have declared in their terms beginning from the 1.7 version. Facebook said this is in anticipation of new features that will integrate Facebook tools with user texts. Now, if Facebook eventually introduces a feature that will be applicable to those permissions, they are ensuring the users even now that it will be accompanied by proper educational and guiding materials. Facebook retorted that users should be aware that it said it might access their messages, contained under "Permissions" - that long article you are expected to have read before downloading/using the app. Unfortunately, 70% of smartphone users do not seem to have the time for reading the terms and conditions attached to an app. Other popular companies that are using smartphones to access data and other personal details of users include Yahoo Messenger, Badoo, Google and Flickr. Several companies can reportedly control smartphone features remotely, which includes taking images and video using the camera, as in the case of YouTube. Also, details like contacts list, location and browser history are accessed and can be passed on to third-parties like advertisers. According to a statement issued by Facebook, it does not read user text messages and described the Sunday Times report as 'completely wrong' on their terminology and the impression they have made. But Facebook gave an explanation anyway: "…we have done some testing of pr