The other day, I got an email from the IRS. Apparently, there was something wrong with my tax return. I was really surprised by this because I had submitted my tax return electronically and gotten an email from Turbo Tax saying my return was accepted. Why would they accept it, and then send me an email saying there was a problem. Then I started getting suspicious. They wanted me to email back my social security number and the account number where I wanted my direct deposit.

I started doing a search and found out that the IRS doesn’t contact you by email. I was almost a victim of phishing. It’s a good thing I found this press release entitled, “Affinion Security Center Annual Survey Finds That Consumers Are More Worried About Tax and Employment Identity Theft.” To read the entire release, click here.

Affinion Security Center would like to help educate consumers with the following tips on how to prevent identity theft during tax season:

When Preparing Your Return

Be Aware of Suspicious Emails and Phone Calls Regarding Your Tax Refund, Tax Filing or Any Stimulus Checks – Check the IRS website for tips on how to spot scammers and thieves posing as the IRS and a list of known phishes.
Be Diligent When Choosing Your Tax Preparers – Ensure that you are working with a credible firm and be extra cautious about new or seasonal offices. Check the IRS website for more tips on how to choose a tax preparer.
Secure your computer – Many people file taxes electronically. If you are one of those, be sure to install updated firewalls and anti-spyware protection to help keep your personal data out of the hands of thieves.

During and After Filing

Mail securely – If you file via mail, be sure to mail your return directly from the post office - do not leave your tax return in your unlocked mailbox or at the curb for pickup by your local mail carrier. Your personal information will be vulnerable until it is retrieved by the postal carrier. It is wise to send tax information by first class mail with a tracking number.
Safeguard Sensitive Information in Home and Outside – Frequently the greatest threat to personal information comes from service providers or in-home workers or acquaintances. Keep paperwork in a safe location. When carrying this information out of the house, be sure to keep it on you or make sure if you leave it in the car, it is not visible.
Micro-Shred Your Documents – Cross-cut shredders just don’t “cut” it these days. Use a micro-cut shredder for maximum security. The shred size on micro-cut machines is much smaller – documents are literally turned into dust, offering the highest level of security. And since even a seven year- old receipt can be used by a thief, shredding is still one of the simplest ways to prevent identity theft.

About Affinion

Nathaniel Lipman is President and CEO of Affinion Group. Affinion ensures company value by providing insurance, package enhancement and loyalty programs. Affinion participates in direct marketing through their own subset of “affinity marketing” which involves marketing to customers of specific institutions. Through this specific type of marketing, members can promote their brand while also experiencing additional benefits. Affinity partner receive tailored marketing plans specific to their company needs. They also offer identity theft protection. Through Nathaniel Lipman’s leadership, the Affinion Group has grown to be the world’s leader in membership services, insurance providers, loyalty programs, value-added checking programs, and security services.

Payday loans are a great way to take care of immediate financial situations that may arise. Although they are not for long-term or consistent use, their purpose does satisfy the need to handle financial matters right away. Paying off medical bills or getting car repairs are two main reasons people pursue payday loans. They are relatively easy to quality for by simply providing proof of income and employment. The loan amounts are also flexible from a few hundred dollars to a few thousand dollars, depending on the customer’s level of qualification.

Why Payday Loans are Viewed Negatively

Payday loans companies are in business to yield a profit, provide customer service and to offer a product and a service that people need and want. Because of the nature of the payday loan industry, people often mistakenly believe that the loans aren’t as serious as other obligations. The nature of the payday loans industry grants loans based on a customer’s verbal and written agreement and proof of income. That’s usually all that’s needed for the customer to gain access to the cash they need. Because the loans are reasonably easy to obtain, there are some cases of loan non-payment and default. When this happens, the loan company has to implement fees on the customer in an attempt to recuperate their costs. These fees are generally very high and increase over time. Customers can become disgruntled about these fees and start to feel negative about the process of payday loans.

Dispelling Bad Ideas About Payday Loans

The actual process of payday loans is not a negative concept. Negativity sprouts when customers don’t understand or appreciate the impact of their negligence in handling the loan re-payment. If it is treated like a serious business transaction, there would be fewer incidences of unhappy customers and the perception that payday loans are bad would be dispelled.

Acquiring emergency cash for financial surprise situations is not always easy. Although there are numerous online emergency cash companies where you can get fast cash, people often consider this as a last option instead of a first consideration. They often look to other sources of emergency cash that are not always advantageous for their financial future.

Bad Ideas or Places to Find Cash

Some people think cash is cash, no matter where it comes from. However, obtaining emergency cash should not be approached lightly. There are some places where it is NOT a good idea to get the emergency cash that a person needs for their situations. They include:

1. Using their 401(k) plan. This is not a good idea because of the hefty fees that come with accessing the cash in this system. Once it is taken out, it’s usually accompanied with a steep fee for using the cash and has a strict time line on returning it before even more fees are assessed.

2. Using stocks, bonds and certificates of deposit. These are also not ideal places to get emergency cash. By design, these systems are for future, long-term investment. Early withdrawal or cashing anything in can cause with steep fees and assessments.

3. Using personal credit cards. Although you certainly can gain fast access to cash by going this route, the drawback is the high interest rate that is placed on the credit card balance for a cash withdrawal from the card. The credit card company treats cash withdrawals and purchases with a separate interest rate, so the benefit of fast cash access quickly minimizes in light of the high interest rate.

It is best to work with emergency cash loan companies to get cash in a hurry. You’ll pay back the loan quickly, usually before one to two paydays.

All businesses have to stay mindful of their expenses and what costs directly affect their bottom line. In order for any business to stay financially sound, they have to frequently analyze which areas they can reduce costs and expenses. For many businesses of varying sizes, printing is a costly expense. They frequently search for ways to reduce the printing expense and still get a professional, high quality job done. Using discount printing is one way companies gravitate to in order to reduce their printing costs. With the technological explosion of the World Wide Web, accessing discount printing sources is easier, more convenient and definitely more flexible.

Increasing Production by Using Discount Printing Sources

Discount printing sources online allows companies to efficiently manage their printing projects and campaigns from their offices. Before this convenience became available, taking a printing project to a local print shop was the norm. If it wasn’t taken to a print shop, then it was sent by either postal mail or overnight mail to a printing company. This significantly slowed down production, affected sales and for some industries, impacted delivery costs to their customers (waiting on sales brochures, etc.). By using discount printing, companies can receive and deliver their products in a timely fashion without risking a loss of business.

Shipping Files Over Computer Lines

Companies can ship their projects through a computer file to a discount printing warehouse in a matter of minutes. Some print jobs can be handled in a matter of hours or days at a maximum and even shipped back to the customer via computer files. Because there is a relatively low cost with this procedure, this makes discount printing a preferred method and a more cost-efficient way for businesses to do business. It’s a win-win situation for both the online printing company and the customer.

Debt Consolidation is not a new idea. People have been using it for many years, and with great success. There are many benefits of using debt consolidation, many of which people are not aware. Instead of using debt consolidation for instances like reducing credit debt, to eliminate bills or other financial situations, debt consolidation can be used to get ahead in any financial situation, instead of getting out of trouble.

Leveraging Debt to Make Things Better

The connotation associated with debt consolidation is that there is overwhelming debt. In many cases, that is the case. However, not all cases are in financial trouble or need immediate assistance. Families should consider using debt consolidation to further their income and expense situation. By doing this, they are better able to leverage what they do each month and how they use their income.

Ways to Use Debt Consolidation

There are a couple of ingenious ways that families can use debt consolidation for other purposes. Instead of gathering all of the bills together to eliminate the overwhelming debt, the consumer should assemble their debts and take a good look at their income and expenses. They should begin eliminating things that are unnecessary and take up any amount of income each month. One example would be to reduce monthly entertainment like going to the movies and watching movies at home instead. Another option would be to get a debt consolidation loan, merge the current bills and use the extra money leftover each month to pay towards the mortgage or to put into savings. Whether a person “needs” a debt consolidation loan or not is not as important as what they actually do with their income once it is freed up. If they use the extra money towards creating a better financial picture, they will be successful in setting other financial goals in their lives.

The increasing balances of credit card debt can be a stressful situation. Watching credit card balances gradually increase and getting daily phone calls from creditors can be overwhelming. Sometimes, credit card debt can grow until it’s unmanageable for the consumer. To help consumers with rising credit card debt, credit counseling companies work with them to help reduce their debt and keep their credit scores from plummeting. Although the main job of credit counseling companies is to help reduce debt, they also offer suggestions and tips on improving your credit rating and protecting yourself from further financial damage.

The Growth of Credit Counseling Companies

Credit counseling has seen a surge in popularity in recent years with the steady growth of consumer debt. A significant recession and an increase of living expenses caused many consumers to become flooded with debt, including credit card debt and monthly living costs. These factors can be so overwhelming for some, causing many consumers to seek credit counseling for ways to help curb their spending and reduce their monthly expenses.

Debt Reduction Makes Life a Little Easier

Credit counseling factors in several things when they offer solutions for debt reduction. They look at the amount of credit debt the consumer owes. They also look at how much income the consumer has, and how much of that income can be comfortably applied towards debt reduction. A good credit counseling company will manage those factors successfully and give the consumer a viable way to eliminate their debt and still have money for household and other living expenses. Credit counselors will also work with the consumer after their debt elimination process is over to help them find ways to avoid overwhelming debt again. They will either construct a working budget based on their income or give them applicable tips to help them avoid getting into financial trouble again.

Affiliate programs can be found in companies ranging from book sales (Amazon) clear to hotel rooms and airlines (Travelocity). After submitting your website for review and reviewing the terms and guidelines (your site usually needs to be tied in with the offered product in some way), the company sends you a special code to place on your site. This code, when seen by your site’s visitors, appears as a box allowing them to do things such as buy a book or book a hotel room directly from your site. Companies then track these referring sales, using the unique code, on a monthly or quarterly basis. Upon review, you are sent a check for your percentage of sales commissions.

For the best success, it helps if your content is directly tied in to the product being offered. If you have a website about all the great things to do in Florida, for example, then you might want to collaborate with a travel company. If you review new books or music on your blog, then you may want to join one of Amazon’s affiliate programs. Whether you’re earning a side income to support your coffee habit, or looking to make big money, it’s all possible depending on your content and how you use the services!

Simple Choice Funerals – When a loved one passes away there is nothing worse than having to pick up the costs of funeral expenses, so this plan is a great way to help deal with funeral arrangements if you are between the ages of 50 and 80. The simple choice funeral plan provides transport of the deceased, support for loved ones, a dignified resting place, and cremation expenditures and arrangements.

50 Plus Protector Plan – This plan is very closely related to the first plan mentioned in this article and again allows you to leave a cash lump sum behind that will be able to grow 5% with each year you keep to the plan. Starting at just £7 per month it’s an easy affordable way of covering the costs of bills and mortgage payments when a loved one has passed away. Once again with this plan you will receive a free gift.

EasyCover – Does what it says on the tin, it is a simple plan that has been setup allowing you to decide how much cover you would like and how long you would like the cover to run for. Starting at £8 per month, you can take this plan out if you are aged between 18 and 89.

Bonus CashBuilder Plus Plan – This SunLife plan runs for the duration of 15 years and monthly premiums start from £10 with a maximum of £100 that will help those aged between 15 and 55 save for the future. This plan also offers bonuses and a profits fund.

The United States of America may be regarded as the prized land with opportunities galore for the ambitious men and women but recent economic facts have thrown some critical issues out in the open that might change the mindset of the rest of the world about the country’s economic equality, which is gradually dividing a society that could have serious repercussions in the long-term. According to a Congressional report, the increase in incomes of the top 1% of Americans has exceeded the total income of the poorest 20%. This particular data show how a massive proportion of wealth is getting concentrated in the hands of the ultra-rich with very little being distributed among the lower sections of the society.

The income inequality in the United States of America has become a hot Presidential campaign topic with the Democrats blaming the President Bush-led Republican government of compromising local job opportunities by allowing American companies to outsource jobs overseas. According to Trudy Renwick, an economist with the Fiscal Policy Institute in New York, factors such as globalization, decline in manufacturing jobs, immigration, increase in low-wage service jobs and weakening of trade unions in addition to rising housing crisis have hurt the economic stability. Furthermore, dramatic rise in domestic and international stock markets have provided many opportunities for the rich to invest plenty of money in those institutions for a hefty return thus concentrating the wealth into a particular society.

Talking about the political side, the Democrats have promised, if they come to power next year, to make America’s rich pay a large sum in the forms of tax so that the poor could be benefited. But if we look a bit further, we would see that the problem of economic inequality is a bit more related to the country’s foreign policy. America’s frequent post 9/11 war involvements have put intense pressure on the country’s economy. Large funds get invested in America’s wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and at a time when Washington faces stiff economic rivalries from the likes of China and India, the country must make sure that it keeps pace with the those challenges. As a developed nation, the US is expected to set trends but at the moment the land of opportunity is in danger of becoming a land of gross inequalities with the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer.

Image Credit: Writingonthewall, Tailsinc

Source: IHT

French President Nicholas Sarkozy has announced a new policy proposing the ban of advertisements from the public television and compensating for the lost revenue by taxing new tele-communicative means, such as the internet and mobile phones.

Experts believe, this move can probably change the media scenario of the country. Popularity of the internet is viewed as a nation’s educational as well as economic growth and productivity.

Taxing a service, which is of benefit to the country seemed to be a wrong decision made by the French President and is condemned by many.

This tax on the internet connection is an unprecedented event and the Mr. Sarkozy acknowledged this in his speech on Tuesday. At a time when traditional means of communication, like the television and radio are losing popularity, giving way to modern means such as Internet, such a move is expected to further modernize communication.

However, in defense, President Sarkozy said,

I want us to profoundly review the requirements of public television and to consider a complete elimination of advertising on public channels.

To compensate for the losses incurred due to vanished advertising revenue he suggested,

Those channels could be financed by a tax on advertising revenues of private broadcasters and an infinitesimal tax on the revenues of new means of communication like Internet access or mobile telephony.

Those in favor of this move believe that the infinitesimally small charges wouldn’t hinder the growing number of Internet users, which is already higher in France than those of other countries. This proposal awaits approval by both the houses of the Parliament, after which, it can be declared as a policy which is expected to be by the 1st of September.

However, how successful this move will be in terms of French economic growth, is what we are eagerly waiting to see.

Image: Telegraph

Via: iht