Phished!

I can't believe it but I got phished! In other words, my identity, at least as pertains to Paypal, was stolen.

Paypal says to be careful not to click on any links in suspicious emails. I got an email that said it was from Paypal and it looked real. It said to confirm some information. I wondered it about it, because I had just used Paypal and didn't think they needed to confirm any info for me, but went ahead and clicked on the link anyway. I made no changes.

But that was enough for them to get my account. Suddenly an item was charged to my Paypal account that I knew I did not order. I was distressed because that was my only 2nd transaction through Paypal, and it was an unauthorized one!

I called Paypal and then had me change my password and security codes. They are going to refund my money. So I am happy now.

Paypal says anytime they send you an email, it will have your first and last name on it. This is important because the phishing email addressed me only as "Dear Paypal User." Be careful of this, as they made that illegal charge only one day later. At least I caught it quickly, and there was no real harm done to me. But unbelievable that this happens.

Things Look Up for Loopot

First, thanks to all who sent good wishes my way for little Loopot, my cat. He had been ill, drinking water all of the time, and using the litter box all of the time.

I took him to the vet on Saturday, holding my breath. The vet checked him and said she thought it was one of three things: thyroid, diabetes, or kidney problems, the latter being the worst case scenario.

It turns out it is diabetes, and I think we caught it early. She wants to try to treat him with just a food diet first, and if that doesn't work out, then go to insulin. He also has a bladder infection that we are treating.

I have to say that after the first day of the new diet and the antibiotic, he is acting more back to normal. I am so happy. The food diet is not cheap--the cans are $1.50 at the vet, and $1.30 at Pet Smart, but it is cheaper than doing the diet and the insulin!

When she called me with the news, tears stung my eyes, I was so relieved. I know he has diabetes, which isn't "nothing," but I was afraid it was kidney disease, which is much worse.

Part of the problem of being in debt is not having money available at times like this. If he had needed an operation, I probably could not have done it. So I feel relieved that at least for right now, all I have to do is buy some special food. And keep working at getting out of debt.

Getting the Best Insurance Rate

Insurance is on my mind right now. In my current job, I have life insurance but not very much. I am single, no kids, so I don't really need a lot of life insurance, but sometimes you still want it to be part of your mix.

I have approached my "relative" boss about giving us some more options for insurance, but he seems unimpressed with the idea. I don't understand--it would cost him or the company nothing it seems, as we would tap into our association's group rates.

Well, anyway, I have good health insurance, but measly life insurance, and no disability. Just for the heck of it, I thought I would check some Websites to see what some prices might be.

For me, term life would probably be the better choice, as I am not really looking at life insurance as a way to save money. But for those who do want to use life insurance as a way to accumulate cash value, they might want to check out their whole life insurance.

Right now, I am more concerned about disability insurance, so I filled out a form on that . We'll see what I get back. I'd rather do it through our company, but that may not be an option.

Poor Little Loopot

My poor little cat, Loopot, is not well. I am not sure what is wrong. The last couple of weeks he has been drinking immense amounts of water, eating even more than he normally does, and going to the bathroom all of the time. It didn't really occur to me that there was really a problem until about 2 weeks ago. I really didn't have the money to take him to the vet, but I did this past Saturday. I had to take money out of my law review course money. I know that is not good. I was trying to wait until my next payday to take him to the vet, but last week, he seemed worse, and I just couldn't not take him. I'll just have to make up that money another way.

The vet says he probably either has a thyroid problem, diabetes, or kidney problems. Thyroid would be the best scenario. I guess diabetes would be the next, and the kidney problems the worst. I will find out tomorrow or Tuesday. He is very alert, so that is good.

I am really worried about Loopot. Prayers please that whatever wrong is fixable (and it would be better if it were not real expensive.) But sometimes you just have to spend the money.

Merchant Accounts

As consumers, we are always wanting to get the best credit card rate, if we choose to use credit cards at all.

But merchants are also looking for the best rates--better credit card processing transaction rates. Depending on what kind of businesses they are in, merchants can have an easier or harder time getting a good rate.

For example, brick and mortar retail stores are not considered very risky, because retailers can swipe the customers' cards and get the consumers' signatures on credit card purchases, which prevents a lot of chargebacks. So it is pretty likely that some companies would give a retail store a good retail store processing rate.

On the other hand, some internet retailers might be considered risky and have a harder time getting a good rate, because they cannot swipe customers' cards or get their signatures, which can lead to a lot of chargebacks.

For companies that are considered very risky or that have been rejected by a solution provider, they might consider applying for merchants services off shore. There are some drawbacks to using offshore processing providers, but Ms. Merchant Account states they work only with the most reputable international credit card processing agencies to protect their customers from fraud and other bad practices.

Online Promotional Codes

On my local news tonight I found out some valuable info just in time for Black Friday! Go to your search engine and type in "Online Promotional Codes." A list of links will come up that can take you to online promotional codes. These are the codes that you type in when you order online. There are some great deals, and for great stores like J. Crew, Victoria Secret and even Walmart.

I didn't have time to really study the lists of stores and codes, but I am glad to know it is there. I will definitely peruse them before I do my Christmas shopping in about a week or two.

Happy shopping and saving!

When Creditors are Evil

There have been too many stories lately about creditors breaking the law and getting away with it.

I do want to emphasize that I think people who have debt need to pay it back. Period. But not at the hands of creditors who will stop at nothing to get their money back.

First I read an article on the Web (sorry I cannot find the link) about how many people who have filed bankruptcy are now being hounded again about the very debts that were supposed to discharged under bankruptcy. Unbelievable!

The article went on to say that the creditors are slow at reporting the discharge on purpose, so other companies that have bought the debt go back in, and sometimes people pay the debt years later when they don't have to. The article went on to give some devastating examples of this.

Then I read another article about how creditors are now freezing bank accounts with social security money in it, when that is prohibited by the federal government!

http://finance.yahoo.com/expert/article/moneyhappy/53832

We are talking about elderly people who then have no money for food, rent, medicine, etc. The problem is exacerbated by people who have direct deposit of their checks. While direct deposit has been a help to many, in some cases such as this, it can be a nightmare. It can take a long time to switch back to getting a regular check in the mail, and by that time, bank fees and overdraft charges have probably eaten everything up.

We need to do something about the creditors who overstep the law and get away with it. Maybe the law needs to be updated to exact steep punitive damages on companies who break the law in this way. Our elderly people deserve better.