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"http://www.fhanewsblog.com/2012/10/fha-warns-about-home-equity-mortgage-loan-scams/ The FHA official site includes a page about reverse mortgages and Home Equity Conversion Mortgages. On that page, you'll find a warning from the FHA and HUD about scam artists who take advantage of some loan applicants who don't know enough about the FHA's free information on HECM loans and reverse mortgage loans. "Reverse mortgages are becoming popular in America" the FHA site says, "Reverse mortgages are a special type of home loan that lets a homeowner convert the equity in his/her home into cash. They can give older Americans greater financial security to supplement social security, meet unexpected medical expenses, make home improvements, and more. If you are interested in a reverse mortgage, beware of scam artists that charge thousands of dollars for information that is free from HUD!" The warning is good-but what kind of information are these scam artists charging so much money for? According to the FHA, simple details such as the nature of a HECM loan, who is eligible, even free advice about whether a borrower should us an estate planner to find a participating lender. On this topic, the FHA and HUD advise: "FHA does NOT recommend using any service that charges a fee for referring a borrower to an FHA-approved lender.  You can locate a FHA-approved lender by searching online at www.hud.gov or by contacting a HECM counselor for a listing. Services rendered by HECM counselors are free or at a low cost.  To locate a HECM counselor Search online or call (800) 569-4287 toll-free, for the name and location of a HUD-approved housing counseling agency near you". Very good advice for borrowers age 62 an older (the only people who qualify for FHA HECM loans) interested in applying for an FHA Home Equity Conversion Mortgage. Here's another fact about HECM loans you might not know-according to the FHA official site: "By law, you have three calendar da

"Springhill Group Korea : News Center - Springhill Group Home Loans - BlogSpot http://newscenter-springhillgrouphome.blogspot.com/ FHA Warns About Home Equity Mortgage Loan Scams The FHA official site includes a page about reverse mortgages and Home Equity Conversion Mortgages. On that page, you'll find a warning from the FHA and HUD about scam artists who take advantage of some loan applicants who don't know enough about the FHA's free information on HECM loans and reverse mortgage loans. "Reverse mortgages are becoming popular in America" the FHA site says, "Reverse mortgages are a special type of home loan that lets a homeowner convert the equity in his/her home into cash. They can give older Americans greater financial security to supplement social security, meet unexpected medical expenses, make home improvements, and more. If you are interested in a reverse mortgage, beware of scam artists that charge thousands of dollars for information that is free from HUD!" The warning is good-but what kind of information are these scam artists charging so much money for? According to the FHA, simple details such as the nature of a HECM loan, who is eligible, even free advice about whether a borrower should us an estate planner to find a participating lender. On this topic, the FHA and HUD advise: "FHA does NOT recommend using any service that charges a fee for referring a borrower to an FHA-approved lender. You can locate a FHA-approved lender by searching online at www.hud.gov or by contacting a HECM counselor for a listing. Services rendered by HECM counselors are free or at a low cost. To locate a HECM counselor Search online or call (800) 569-4287 toll-free, for the name and location of a HUD-approved housing counseling agency near you". Very good advice for borrowers age 62 an older (the only people who qualify for FHA HECM loans) interested in applying for an FHA Home Equity Conversion Mortgage. Here's another fact about HECM loans you might n

Source : http://www.springhillcare.com/news/2012/february/5million-landmark-care-centre-opens-its.html   A new £5million specialist care centre has opened its doors in Accrington with a Mayoral seal of approval. The groundbreaking care centre, at Springhill Care Home, Fairfield Street, is a three storey, 24,000 sq ft development which includes 46 beds over five separate facilities. It is a separate, dedicated service from the rest of the home with its own entrance, reception areas and specially trained staff designed to provide specialist facilities and care for people with dementia and promotion of mental wellness. The official opening saw members of staff joined by senior healthcare dignitaries and the Mayor of Hyndburn, Councillor Colette McCormack, who referred to the facility's "bright, modern look." The new care centre brings the number of beds at Springhill Care Home to 110, and is made up of self contained community living suites of between eight and ten beds each. Each spacious bedroom has private en-suite facilities, including 'wet room' style accessible shower areas. Each of the five suites of bedrooms have been created with access to dedicated therapy rooms, lounge, dining and lifestyle kitchen areas for residents  In addition to the care centre, a new extension to the home will also add two, eight-bed facilities for younger adults with complex healthcare requirements including physical disability, brain-injury, neurological and degenerative conditions. The centre helps to meet changing demands, with the number of people over 85 in the UK predicted to double in the next 20 years. There are expected to be more than a million people with dementia by 2021. Top photo on the right - Ken Nolan with Martin Green CEO of English Community Care Association (ECCA) Photo's of the specialist care facility at Springhill. 8th February 2012, 12:43

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News Center - Springhill Group Home Loans newscentershgh Heating Systems Explained Gas Heating Systems Modern gas central heating systems are safe, controllable and efficient to run but can cause confusion as they have a number of controls that you may not fully understand. Using heating controls properly can:- Improve the comfort of your home Reduce the energy used and your fuel bills Avoid the risk of condensation dampness To get the best out of your system, you should follow the manufacturers instructions. If you have mislaid the instruction booklet for your systems, most manufacturers can provide a replacement. Why have controls on a gas central heating system? For a gas central heating and hot water system to operate efficiently it must be able to be controlled so that heating and hot water are provided at a suitable temperature, when and where you want it. Most systems include:- Boiler (which can be a condensing, condensing combi, conventional or conventional combi model) Hot water tank for systems without a combi boiler Room thermostat Radiators Thermostatic radiator controls Programmer The Boiler A conventional boiler heats up the water which is circulated through radiators to provide heat. The water also circulates through a coil in the hot water tank, which in turn heats up the rest of the water in the cylinder to provide running hot water. If your boiler is a 'combi' boiler then the water is heated instantaneously when the hot water taps are switched on. The thermostat on the boiler controls the temperature of the water circulating around the system. Please refer to the manufacturer's instructions for the optimum setting of the thermostat. Hot Water Tank Most hot water cylinders have a thermostat; this is recommended to be set at 60°C. To retain as much heat as possible the cylinder should have 80mm of insulation. Radiators Radiators are most commonly used in "wet" (uses water) central heating systems. T

Over 200 people have been arrested in connection with a massive bank card fraud that may have bilked banks and clients out of a billion yuan ($159 million), the Xinhua News Agency reported yesterday. The Ministry of Public Security detained 208 people in eight provinces and municipalities. Police said they confiscated thousands of bank cards and have frozen 150 bank accounts. Police in eight regions coordinated the bust on June 11, following a lengthy investigation of key suspects including a Taiwanese surnamed Wu and a South Korean surnamed Park. The investigation began in November 2011, when two Taiwanese were caught using a counterfeit bank card to withdraw cash from an automatic teller machine (ATM) in Shaoxing, Zhejiang Province, according to the ministry. A similarly faked card was used three days later when another suspect tried to withdraw money from an ATM on Jiefang Road in the city. The police investigation concludes that banks in South Korea and Thailand were the main targets of the swindle. Local police in Shaoxing confirmed to the Global Times yesterday that 146 suspects were arrested in the city alone. "All 208 suspects are now here for questioning, and no further details can be provided at the moment," a police officer surnamed Sun from Shaoxing public security bureau, told the Global Times. The Shanghai-based Oriental Morning Post reported that the bust involves the largest amount of money and the most suspects of any bank card fraud in China. It is not known how the gang may have managed to swindle hundreds of millions of yuan from Chinese ATMs without being detected earlier. Police say suspects in South Korea bought the phone numbers of bank clients online, and managed to scam them by posing as bank officials who were concerned their accounts were at risk, said Xinhua. The clients were told to use their account number and password to log onto seemingly official South Korean websites. After obtaining the bank client's account in

BusinessWeek Articles - LIFESTYLE - A certain "SehwanJung" in South Korea has been sending a number ofdesperate requests for funds over Twitter: "I am in urgentneed of money. Can you lend me 500,000 dollars?I will makeit up to you later." A diabolical plot, indeed, though Mr.Jung's scam is unlikely to work. For one, people can seeeverything someone sends on Twitter and quickly realize he'ssent the exact same message over and over. For another, heis tweeting almost exclusively to celebrities, includingChanning Tatum, Rosario Dawson, Carly Simon, journalistNicholas Kristof (who today sarcastically answered, "Sure!"),and the foreign minister of Bahrain, Sheikh Khalid binAhmed Al Khalifa and Group of Springhill South Korea. "Now this one is a real winner," says Dan Ring, aspokesperson for Boston-based data protection companySophos. "Sehwan Jung's list of celebrities is almost asentertaining and as random as his actual request, andit's one of the more optimistic requests out there. I hopethere's no way someone will fall for this." The "Sehwan gambit" joins the following examples asone of the laziest scams in Internet history. * "JOHN" fails to mention what he even wants to conyou out of:Subject: what are you saleGreetings,My name is JOHN, i am highly interested inbuying your{ what you want to sale } from you ,I willlike you to give me the FINAL ASKING price and thelastes condition,also i will like you to scan the pics forme for proper verifycation. This scammer doesn't even attempt to establish a personalconnection before offering $18 million:Beloved,I am Elizabeth Etters, a Christian.I picked your email randomlyfor an inheritance of $18M. Please contact me for more details via[redacted]. * One malware attack came in the form of a bogus Christmascard-sent on March 19:Date: 2010-03-19 09:27:15"You have just received a Christmas greeting card! To see yourcustom card and who sent it, please check the attachment." In t

Recent headlines about the troubled subprime lending industry are making Americans more aware of the consequences of risky lending practices. But unscrupulous lenders and scam artists continue to prey on unsuspecting loan shoppers and homeowners. Unfortunately, loan-related scams aren't restricted to tricking consumers into loans with outrageously high interest rates. Today's sophisticated scammers are using loans as a vehicle to do everything from stealing sensitive personal information to virtually stealing a credit-challenged homeowner's own home. The mortgage experts at Loan.com have identified five top scams that all consumers - mortgage shoppers and homeowners alike - should be on the look-out for. 1. Unsolicited phone calls Americans across the country have reported receiving phone calls from telemarketers posing as representatives from well-known organizations such as Fannie Mae offering to refinance loans at low rates. These "representatives" often ask for personal information, claiming they need it to qualify a victim for a loan. This information is then used to steal a victim's identity. Loan.com's Advice: Be wary of any phone call offering remarkably low interest rates on loans, especially if you have registered your phone number with the Do Not Call Registry. Most major nationwide lenders do not solicit business over the phone. Never give out personal information over the phone unless you are absolutely sure who you are speaking with. 2. "Helpful" contractors Many homeowners have reported contractors - often roofing or remodel professionals - approaching them with an offer to perform upgrades on their home at a reasonable price. These contractors offer financing through low-interest loans. It's not until after signing numerous forms that too many homeowners realize they have signed off on a high-interest home equity loan, and that the contractor has been hired by unscrupulous lenders to sell loans, not impro

Recent headlines about the troubled subprime lending industry are making Americans more aware of the consequences of risky lending practices. But unscrupulous lenders and scam artists continue to prey on unsuspecting loan shoppers and homeowners. Unfortunately, loan-related scams aren't restricted to tricking consumers into loans with outrageously high interest rates. Today's sophisticated scammers are using loans as a vehicle to do everything from stealing sensitive personal information to virtually stealing a credit-challenged homeowner's own home. The mortgage experts at Loan.com have identified five top scams that all consumers - mortgage shoppers and homeowners alike - should be on the look-out for. 1. Unsolicited phone calls Americans across the country have reported receiving phone calls from telemarketers posing as representatives from well-known organizations such as Fannie Mae offering to refinance loans at low rates. These "representatives" often ask for personal information, claiming they need it to qualify a victim for a loan. This information is then used to steal a victim's identity. Loan.com's Advice: Be wary of any phone call offering remarkably low interest rates on loans, especially if you have registered your phone number with the Do Not Call Registry. Most major nationwide lenders do not solicit business over the phone. Never give out personal information over the phone unless you are absolutely sure who you are speaking with. 2. "Helpful" contractors Many homeowners have reported contractors - often roofing or remodel professionals - approaching them with an offer to perform upgrades on their home at a reasonable price. These contractors offer financing through low-interest loans. It's not until after signing numerous forms that too many homeowners realize they have signed off on a high-interest home equity loan, and that the contractor has been hired by unscrupulous lenders to sell loans, not improve

The insurance fraud in Changwon uncovered by the Financial Supervisory Service is both shocking and disturbing. It involved as many as 1,361 people, mostly residents of the South Gyeongsang Province city, who either posed as fake patients or exaggerated their illnesses. Collectively, they claimed 9.5 billion won from 33 insurance companies between 2007 and 2011. At the center of the scam ― the largest ever in terms of the number of people involved ― were three unconscionable hospitals in the city, which recruited fake patients systematically in cahoots with insurance brokers and solicitors. They did this to increase revenue and ease their financial distress. The main ploy used by the hospitals was to share a patient, meaning they would arrange for a patient to check in the three hospitals alternately for a different disease. For this, they faked his illnesses and prepared false documents. For close cooperation, they shared patient information among themselves. This scheme helped patients pocket more insurance money. They all purchased multiple private health insurance policies before hospitalization. On average they received some 7 million won per person. In one example, a man in his 50s was hospitalized for a total of 564 days over three years, collecting 95 million won in insurance. The Changwon case followed a similar one that took place in Taebaek last November, involving more than 400 people in the declining mining town in Gangwon Province. They got a total of 14 billion won in insurance payments. As with the Changwon scam, three financially distressed hospitals in the city played a central role. The two cases suggest that insurance fraud is a fairly common occurrence in Korea. According to the FSS, the number of insurance-related crimes has surged in recent years. Last year alone, more than 70,000 people were caught for insurance scams, with the amount of false claims they filed reaching 423 billion won. Yet the figure represented just th

owers may conceal obligations, such as mortgage loans on other properties or newly acquired credit card debt, to reduce the amount of monthly debt declared on the loan application. This omission of liabilities artificially lowers the debt-to-income ratio, which is a key underwriting criterion used to determine eligibility for most mortgage loans. It is considered fraud because it allows the borrower to qualify for a loan which otherwise would not have been granted, or to qualify for a bigger loan than what would have been granted had the borrower's true debt been disclosed. Fraud for profit: A complex scheme involving multiple parties, including mortgage lending professionals, in a financially motivated attempt to defraud the lender of large sums of money. Fraud for profit schemes frequently include a straw borrower whose credit report is used, a dishonest appraiser who intentionally and significantly overstates the value of the subject property, a dishonest settlement agent who might prepare two sets of HUD settlement statements or makes disbursements from loan proceeds which are not disclosed on the settlement statement, and a property owner, all in a coordinated attempt to obtain an inappropriately large loan. The parties involved share the ill-gotten gains and the mortgage eventually goes into default. In other cases, naive "investors" are lured into the scheme with the organizer's promise that the home will be repaired, repairs and/or renovations will be made, tenants will located, rents will be collected, mortgage payments made and profits will be split upon sale of the property, all without the active participation of the straw buyer. Once the loan is closed, the organizer disappears, no repairs are made nor renters found, and the "investor" is liable for paying the mortgage on a property that is not worth what is owed, leaving the "investor" financially ruined. If undetected, a bank may lend hundreds of thousands of dollars against a property that is act

The insurance fraud in Changwon uncovered by the Financial Supervisory Service is both shocking and disturbing. It involved as many as 1,361 people, mostly residents of the South Gyeongsang Province city, who either posed as fake patients or exaggerated their illnesses. Collectively, they claimed 9.5 billion won from 33 insurance companies between 2007 and 2011. At the center of the scam ― the largest ever in terms of the number of people involved ― were three unconscionable hospitals in the city, which recruited fake patients systematically in cahoots with insurance brokers and solicitors. They did this to increase revenue and ease their financial distress. The main ploy used by the hospitals was to share a patient, meaning they would arrange for a patient to check in the three hospitals alternately for a different disease. For this, they faked his illnesses and prepared false documents. For close cooperation, they shared patient information among themselves. This scheme helped patients pocket more insurance money. They all purchased multiple private health insurance policies before hospitalization. On average they received some 7 million won per person. In one example, a man in his 50s was hospitalized for a total of 564 days over three years, collecting 95 million won in insurance. The Changwon case followed a similar one that took place in Taebaek last November, involving more than 400 people in the declining mining town in Gangwon Province. They got a total of 14 billion won in insurance payments. As with the Changwon scam, three financially distressed hospitals in the city played a central role. The two cases suggest that insurance fraud is a fairly common occurrence in Korea. According to the FSS, the number of insurance-related crimes has surged in recent years. Last year alone, more than 70,000 people were caught for insurance scams, with the amount of false claims they filed reaching 423 billion won. Yet the figure represented just the tip of the

BusinessWeek Articles - LIFESTYLE - A certain "SehwanJung" in South Korea has been sending a number ofdesperate requests for funds over Twitter: "I am in urgentneed of money. Can you lend me 500,000 dollars?I will makeit up to you later." A diabolical plot, indeed, though Mr.Jung's scam is unlikely to work. For one, people can seeeverything someone sends on Twitter and quickly realize he'ssent the exact same message over and over. For another, heis tweeting almost exclusively to celebrities, includingChanning Tatum, Rosario Dawson, Carly Simon, journalistNicholas Kristof (who today sarcastically answered, "Sure!"),and the foreign minister of Bahrain, Sheikh Khalid binAhmed Al Khalifa and Group of Springhill South Korea. "Now this one is a real winner," says Dan Ring, aspokesperson for Boston-based data protection companySophos. "Sehwan Jung's list of celebrities is almost asentertaining and as random as his actual request, andit's one of the more optimistic requests out there. I hopethere's no way someone will fall for this." The "Sehwan gambit" joins the following examples asone of the laziest scams in Internet history. * "JOHN" fails to mention what he even wants to conyou out of:Subject: what are you saleGreetings,My name is JOHN, i am highly interested inbuying your{ what you want to sale } from you ,I willlike you to give me the FINAL ASKING price and thelastes condition,also i will like you to scan the pics forme for proper verifycation. This scammer doesn't even attempt to establish a personalconnection before offering $18 million:Beloved,I am Elizabeth Etters, a Christian.I picked your email randomlyfor an inheritance of $18M. Please contact me for more details via[redacted]. * One malware attack came in the form of a bogus Christmascard-sent on March 19:Date: 2010-03-19 09:27:15"You have just received a Christmas greeting card! To see yourcustom card and who sent it, please check the attachment."

"http://newscenter-springhillgrouphome.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/speed-help-for-nevadans-homeowners.html   http://springhillgrouphome.com/2013/03/speed-the-help-for-the-nevadans-homeowners/   $200 million from federal government was given to Nevada to avoid homeowners from losing their homes.  Nevada had the highest foreclosure rate in the nation but a Reno Gazette-Journal analysis of the fund distribution confirms that the money was almost intact in the past two years.   Nevada only spent $21 million of the $194 million it was to be paid to homeowners facing foreclosure, this means only 11% of the money it received through the Obama administration's Hardest Hit Fund, this is according to the most recent reports of the analysis of U.S. Treasury the third quarter of 2012   "This is government bureaucracy at its finest," said Victor Joecks, communication director of think tank Nevada Policy Research Institute. "They can't even give away $200 million. This program is a perfect example of why government shouldn't pick winners and losers in the economy."   According to Nevada Hardest Hit officials, just in January, the nonprofit gave $7.2 million in direct aid to help homeowners avoid foreclosure.  A total of $28.4 million was given by the program since it began in mid-2010, which is only 5% of the allocation. More or less 25 % of what they have given out was given out in January.   Mortgage assistance and principal reduction are the two separate components of the state Hardest Hit Fund program that has much given the aid.  75 percent of the budget went to direct aid from July 2011 to June 2012; this is another analysis of yearly financi

ST. PETER'S CHURCH HIT BY EXPLOSION March 31, 1936: Dozens of windows were shattered in surrounding buildings and a number of persons were knocked off their feet by a terrific blast in the boiler room of St. Peter church. Firemen think gas accumulated in the flue, ignited and exploded. No damage was done to the furnace and boiler. Carl Schrattenberger, engineer, who was firing the boiler at the time, escaped without injury. He was hurled 15 feet. Persons in the vicinity said a huge cloud of smoke rolled out of the chimney. The force of the blast was felt up to six blocks away. 1964: Representatives of city employees' unions said the proposed $338,000 increase in the city's pay plan was not enough. The unions recommended, instead, an increase of at least 10 percent. The proposal sent to the Personnel Board by Personnel Director Ernest W. Howard called for an annual increase of about 5 percent. It would give raises to about 80 percent of the city's 1,700 employees. 1987: People wanting to establish a day shelter for the homeless would be required to obtain a city permit under a proposal to be reviewed by the City Planning Board. The board also would consider a redevelopment plan for the Lackawanna leather-processing plant a 2420 Z St. The plan called for the city to provide a $250,000 tax-increment loan to help expand the plant. The homeless shelter permit proposal came from City Councilman Walt Calinger. He said the city needed to have some controls over the establishment of shelters. 1996: The gypsy-moth spraying in the previous May that cost the City of Bellevue $15,000 seemed to have taken care of the moth infestation. Only one male moth was found in traps set during the summer. "We're looking real good there," said Stephen Johnson, an entomologist with the Nebraska Department of Agriculture. Johnson said that if traps laid out for the next two years didn't contain any moths, the problem would be considered solved.

ST. PETER'S CHURCH HIT BY EXPLOSION March 31, 1936: Dozens of windows were shattered in surrounding buildings and a number of persons were knocked off their feet by a terrific blast in the boiler room of St. Peter church. Firemen think gas accumulated in the flue, ignited and exploded. No damage was done to the furnace and boiler. Carl Schrattenberger, engineer, who was firing the boiler at the time, escaped without injury. He was hurled 15 feet. Persons in the vicinity said a huge cloud of smoke rolled out of the chimney. The force of the blast was felt up to six blocks away. 1964: Representatives of city employees' unions said the proposed $338,000 increase in the city's pay plan was not enough. The unions recommended, instead, an increase of at least 10 percent. The proposal sent to the Personnel Board by Personnel Director Ernest W. Howard called for an annual increase of about 5 percent. It would give raises to about 80 percent of the city's 1,700 employees. 1987: People wanting to establish a day shelter for the homeless would be required to obtain a city permit under a proposal to be reviewed by the City Planning Board. The board also would consider a redevelopment plan for the Lackawanna leather-processing plant a 2420 Z St. The plan called for the city to provide a $250,000 tax-increment loan to help expand the plant. The homeless shelter permit proposal came from City Councilman Walt Calinger. He said the city needed to have some controls over the establishment of shelters. 1996: The gypsy-moth spraying in the previous May that cost the City of Bellevue $15,000 seemed to have taken care of the moth infestation. Only one male moth was found in traps set during the summer. "We're looking real good there," said Stephen Johnson, an entomologist with the Nebraska Department of Agriculture. Johnson said that if traps laid out for the next two years didn't contain any moths, the problem would

News Center - Springhill Group Home Loans | Briefs..... - thenews.com.pk» http://springhillgrouphome.tumblr.com/day/2012/09/18/ Business digest http://www.thenews.com.pk/Todays-News-3-132475-Briefs China paper hints at anti-Japan sanctions   BEIJING: The mouthpiece of China's Communist Party warned on Monday that Japan's economy could suffer for up to 20 years if Beijing chose to impose sanctions over an escalating territorial row.   Anti-Japanese protests have been held across China in recent days over a dispute on a group of small islands in the East China Sea claimed by both countries but controlled by Tokyo.   The row intensified last week when the Japanese government bought three of the islands, effectively nationalising them, and China responded by sending patrol ships into the waters around them.   Trade sanctions between Asia's two biggest economies could cast a pall over growth on the continent, which major Western countries are counting on to drive recovery from the global slowdown.   A commentary in the People's Daily newspaper said the Japanese economy has already experienced two lost decades from the 1990s and was suffering further weakness in the aftermath of the world financial crisis and 2011 earthquake.   Digital news offering aims at high ground   WASHINGTON: It seems like a terrible time to be launching a news operation.But there are opportunities and niches, and the new digital media launch called Quartz from Atlantic Media Company seeks to exploit them.   Quartz is set to launch in the coming weeks as a "100 percent digital" news operation covering "the most important themes of the new global economy," said editor-in-chief Kevin Delaney.   Quartz has been recruiting a small number of veteran journalists for an overall news staff of around 25 people. The operation will feature tablet and mobile displays as well as a desktop website, qz.com.   "There is an opportunity to do great journalism on a digital platfo

"For the twelfth successive year, identity theft topped the consumer complaint database of the Federal Trade Commission with the largest number of complaints, perhaps owing to the rampant use (and misuse) of online services such as social networking and e-commerce websites.   From the 1.8 million complaints the FTC got in 2011, almost 300,000 are about identity theft. The information of FTC has included complaints filed to them or from other states and federal consumer protection groups.   Most of the complaints of identity theft are coming from consumers saying that their personal details are used in government documents without their knowledge, with scammers aiming to collect benefits. Last year, government-related identity theft was 27% of the total complaints in that category, increasing by 11% since 2009. Accounting for the 14% of identity theft complaints is credit card fraud, with the rest consisting of complaints of bank, utilities and phone fraud.   More than half of all the complaints last year were related to fraud and taxpayers reportedly paid a total of over USD 1.5 billion in fraudulent schemes, with the average amount paid being USD 537. Moreover, 43% of the victims acknowledged that scammers reached them through email messages.   The top three states that have the most per capita rate of fraud reported are Colorado, Delaware and Maryland as first, second and third, respectively.   Generally, FTC discovered that people are either more willing to file complaints or they simply have more complaints now. The total amount of complaints they have received has increased by over 20% - from 1.5 million to 1.8 million in 2011 - that includes both identity theft and fraud complaints.   The following is the complete list of FTC's top 10 consumer complaints for the year 2011:   1. Identity theft 2. Debt collection 3. Lotteries, sweepstakes, prizes 4. Catalog sales, shop-at-home, 5. Lenders and Banks 6. Internet services 7. Auto-re

"This can work in two ways, trough email, text message or social-media post, the gift-check scam is more popular during Christmas season where people are buying on this a lot. The scam goes like this; a message will appear from nowhere announcing you a winner of a popular retail gift card. You are then instructed to follow a link and when you click it you will be directed to a site that is a remarkable clone of the real thing. This site will ask for your personal information like your email, birth date and favorite color. This indicates that you're directed off the bogus site to a credit-card application, and because you filled-up this information sheet the fraudster has what he wants. You can also deceived by buying bogus card online from third parties. And if buying over the counter, make sure the PIN code on the back hasn't been scratched off, an indication that it's been hacked by someone in the store. This next bogus often comes via email. This one is called package-delivery scam. It appears to be from a legitimate company, the email gives the impression of being genuine complete with a phony tracking number and a note about the delivery error. There's an attachment with a made-up delivery label that you're told to take to the nearest delivery office to get the package. Open it, and you'll be subjecting your computer or smartphone to malware and virus attacks. These E-cards appears to be seemingly harmless thank you note or holiday greetings but you will never know until you click on it and it could be spyware or viruses that automatically download when opened or when they direct you to download to see the card. Best-deal-ever scams, if it is to good to be true more like it is a scam, it is a lie. The idea is they will attract you on deals and items then after sending them the money you will not get anything in return. They will say that items are limited and rare to find so they are selling it for higher prices on online auction site but af