Amazing!! We had an 8th grade 50th class reunion and was amazed at the amount of classmates that showed up. It was a most enjoyable afternoon and alot of memories.
Friday, June 03, 2005
Tuesday, March 29, 2005
Feds probe mysterious credit card charges
Complaints mount over bills for phantom DVD purchase
Federal authorities have opened an investigation into a rash of mysterious $30 and $40 charges
appearing on consumer credit cards around the country, MSNBC.com has learned. The charges
are for the purchase of DVDs and CDs from a company named "Pluto Data Ltd." Thousands of
complaints about the charges have appeared on a Web site devoted to the mystery, with
consumers saying they've never heard of the company.
Adding to the mystery -- most consumers report a 1 cent or $1 charge appearing on their cards
first, followed by the larger charge from Pluto Data or PLUTO D, NICOSIA.
Phone calls to the toll free number listed next to the charge on the credit card bills provide little
additional information. The firm answering the calls, Answer Quick Telecommunications Inc.,
located in Baton Rouge, La., says it was an answering service for Pluto Data prior to closing the
account several weeks ago. Answer Quick referred questions to local law enforcement
investigators.
Don Kelly, a spokesman for the Baton Rouge police, said his office has received 125 complaints
about the alleged fraud. "We are working with the FBI and the Secret Service," he said. He added that Answer Quick was not a suspect. "We are keeping track of the complaints and doing what we can to help them on what's going on."
Officials from the FBI in Louisiana and the Baton Rouge Secret Service office wouldn't comment
on the investigation. Dave Collett, a spokesman for Mastercard, said an investigation was ongoing, but he would not provide details. "We are auditing the merchant." Consumers who find the alleged fraudulent charge on their accounts are not liable for it, he said.
A February surprise
The mysterious charges began appearing around Valentine's Day. Many frustrated consumers
who searched the Internet for help found each other on a bulletin board service named
BroadBandReports.com. By Thursday, there were 35 pages of complaints on the site, with
hundreds of victims and over 50,000 visits, suggesting the number of victims could be larger than the 125 complaints logged by local police so far."I'm just so angry, and so is everybody else on that site," said Connie Shotkoski, of Columbus, Neb.
Rich Sinclair, a consumer in Salem, Ill., said he just found out about the alleged scam Wednesday
when he tried to buy paint at Wal-Mart and was declined. His card had been suspended a day
earlier by his credit card company after a suspicious $1 charge and a $40 charge were rung up on it, he said. He was impressed by his bank's quick action to stop the fraud -- and knows he's not liable for the charges -- but said the experience is still frustrating."I don't like it, not a bit," he said. "I use this card for charging business expenses, and it'll be 10 days before I get another card."
A proactive defense
Consumers from around the United States -- as well as several from outside the country,
including Australia and Britain -- have complained about the charges, suggesting the scope may
be widespread. Initially when consumers called Answer Quick, they were told a refund request would be filed with Pluto Data. But it's not clear if the firm has issued refunds, so many consumers elected to dispute the charge directly with their credit cards. That's a good idea, says credit card fraud expert Dan Clements. "It's better for the consumers to be proactive," Clements said. "If ... Pluto has their merchant account go belly up, (then there are) no funds to credit customers. The consumers will have to dispute to get the charges taken off."
A two-step fraud
Clements speculated that the charges resulted from a common two-step fraud: thieves steal a
batch of credit cards, then steal or set up a fake merchant account, and run a series of charges
through it. When the money is deposited into the merchant's bank account, the criminals
withdraw it and disappear. The incident is similar to a fraud involving a Web site named PharmacyCard.com, reported by MSNBC.com a year ago. Eventually, PharmacyCard officials were sued by the Federal Trade Commission, which said the site owners gleaned $10 million from 90,000 consumers before the operation was shut down. The FTC said that a firm in Nicosia, Cyprus was involved in that incident, and that money taken from consumers was headed for a bank account there. Some of the charges in the Pluto Data incident appear as "Pluto D Nicosia Cy" suggesting a Cyprus connection in this incident, as well.The longer the operators can keep this kind of credit card scam going, the better, Clements said. That's why consumers found the 1 cent or $1 charges, he said -- it created a track record so the
merchant account appeared to have a normal volume of transactions when the higher-priced
fraud began.
Complaints mount over bills for phantom DVD purchase
Federal authorities have opened an investigation into a rash of mysterious $30 and $40 charges
appearing on consumer credit cards around the country, MSNBC.com has learned. The charges
are for the purchase of DVDs and CDs from a company named "Pluto Data Ltd." Thousands of
complaints about the charges have appeared on a Web site devoted to the mystery, with
consumers saying they've never heard of the company.
Adding to the mystery -- most consumers report a 1 cent or $1 charge appearing on their cards
first, followed by the larger charge from Pluto Data or PLUTO D, NICOSIA.
Phone calls to the toll free number listed next to the charge on the credit card bills provide little
additional information. The firm answering the calls, Answer Quick Telecommunications Inc.,
located in Baton Rouge, La., says it was an answering service for Pluto Data prior to closing the
account several weeks ago. Answer Quick referred questions to local law enforcement
investigators.
Don Kelly, a spokesman for the Baton Rouge police, said his office has received 125 complaints
about the alleged fraud. "We are working with the FBI and the Secret Service," he said. He added that Answer Quick was not a suspect. "We are keeping track of the complaints and doing what we can to help them on what's going on."
Officials from the FBI in Louisiana and the Baton Rouge Secret Service office wouldn't comment
on the investigation. Dave Collett, a spokesman for Mastercard, said an investigation was ongoing, but he would not provide details. "We are auditing the merchant." Consumers who find the alleged fraudulent charge on their accounts are not liable for it, he said.
A February surprise
The mysterious charges began appearing around Valentine's Day. Many frustrated consumers
who searched the Internet for help found each other on a bulletin board service named
BroadBandReports.com. By Thursday, there were 35 pages of complaints on the site, with
hundreds of victims and over 50,000 visits, suggesting the number of victims could be larger than the 125 complaints logged by local police so far."I'm just so angry, and so is everybody else on that site," said Connie Shotkoski, of Columbus, Neb.
Rich Sinclair, a consumer in Salem, Ill., said he just found out about the alleged scam Wednesday
when he tried to buy paint at Wal-Mart and was declined. His card had been suspended a day
earlier by his credit card company after a suspicious $1 charge and a $40 charge were rung up on it, he said. He was impressed by his bank's quick action to stop the fraud -- and knows he's not liable for the charges -- but said the experience is still frustrating."I don't like it, not a bit," he said. "I use this card for charging business expenses, and it'll be 10 days before I get another card."
A proactive defense
Consumers from around the United States -- as well as several from outside the country,
including Australia and Britain -- have complained about the charges, suggesting the scope may
be widespread. Initially when consumers called Answer Quick, they were told a refund request would be filed with Pluto Data. But it's not clear if the firm has issued refunds, so many consumers elected to dispute the charge directly with their credit cards. That's a good idea, says credit card fraud expert Dan Clements. "It's better for the consumers to be proactive," Clements said. "If ... Pluto has their merchant account go belly up, (then there are) no funds to credit customers. The consumers will have to dispute to get the charges taken off."
A two-step fraud
Clements speculated that the charges resulted from a common two-step fraud: thieves steal a
batch of credit cards, then steal or set up a fake merchant account, and run a series of charges
through it. When the money is deposited into the merchant's bank account, the criminals
withdraw it and disappear. The incident is similar to a fraud involving a Web site named PharmacyCard.com, reported by MSNBC.com a year ago. Eventually, PharmacyCard officials were sued by the Federal Trade Commission, which said the site owners gleaned $10 million from 90,000 consumers before the operation was shut down. The FTC said that a firm in Nicosia, Cyprus was involved in that incident, and that money taken from consumers was headed for a bank account there. Some of the charges in the Pluto Data incident appear as "Pluto D Nicosia Cy" suggesting a Cyprus connection in this incident, as well.The longer the operators can keep this kind of credit card scam going, the better, Clements said. That's why consumers found the 1 cent or $1 charges, he said -- it created a track record so the
merchant account appeared to have a normal volume of transactions when the higher-priced
fraud began.
MASSIVE CREDIT CARD FRAUD PERPETRATED AGAINST VISA/MASTERCARD CLIENTS
Starting in mid-February 2005, mysterious charges are appearing on thousands of Visa/MasterCard accounts for phantom purchases. These charges are by a company called Pluto Data Ltd, located in either the UK or Cypress
For_Immediate_Release:
Starting in mid-February 2005, mysterious charges have appeared on thousands of Visa/MasterCard accounts for online “phantom” purchases. These charges have been by a company called Pluto Data Ltd, possibly originating in either the UK or Cypress.
To date, thousands of cardholders have found first a ping amount of either .01 or $1.00 followed within hours or days by a purchase for either $29.99 or $39.99. The product is supposedly a DVD of varying titles. Shipping addresses are all over the US and phone numbers typically from still a different state.
The company acting as their call center, AnswerQuick in Baton Rouge, LA says they are innocent and have terminated Pluto Data's account.
We called our credit card company and the were not aware of this fraud. How could they miss it when it is all over the internet.
Request a new card immediately
Starting in mid-February 2005, mysterious charges are appearing on thousands of Visa/MasterCard accounts for phantom purchases. These charges are by a company called Pluto Data Ltd, located in either the UK or Cypress
For_Immediate_Release:
Starting in mid-February 2005, mysterious charges have appeared on thousands of Visa/MasterCard accounts for online “phantom” purchases. These charges have been by a company called Pluto Data Ltd, possibly originating in either the UK or Cypress.
To date, thousands of cardholders have found first a ping amount of either .01 or $1.00 followed within hours or days by a purchase for either $29.99 or $39.99. The product is supposedly a DVD of varying titles. Shipping addresses are all over the US and phone numbers typically from still a different state.
The company acting as their call center, AnswerQuick in Baton Rouge, LA says they are innocent and have terminated Pluto Data's account.
We called our credit card company and the were not aware of this fraud. How could they miss it when it is all over the internet.
Request a new card immediately
Wednesday, February 16, 2005
Throw Syria out of Lebanon!!
The ramifications of Hariri's assassination
The assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri in a massive bombing in central Beirut on Monday sends a loud and deadly message - but the nature, origin, destination and intent of the message all remain painfully unclear to many observers. What is crystal clear, though, is that this crime will send out important political ripples in at least three dimensions.
The two most immediate dimensions are internal Lebanese politics and the Syrian-Lebanese relationship. The third dimension is the relationship between Syria and external powers - the U.S. and France most notably, the UN and the Europeans more broadly. The speed, clarity and intensity with which Lebanese opposition groups Monday blamed Syria and its allied Lebanese government for the killing spoke volumes about the troubled Syrian-Lebanese axis being the central political context in which this whole matter must be analyzed. That became obvious immediately after the bombing, as affirmed by the behavior of the three principal protagonists - the Syrian government, the Lebanese opposition and the United States government.
The events of Monday have unleashed political forces that could transform both Lebanon and, via the Syrian connection, other parts of the Middle East. The already intense backlash to the assassination may lead to an accelerated Syrian withdrawal from Lebanon, and faster reform movements inside both Lebanon and Syria.
The fact that within just hours of the murder five distinct parties were singled out as possible culprits - Israel, Syria, Lebanese regime partisans, mafia-style gangs, and anti-Saudi, anti-U.S. Islamist terrorists - also points to the wider dilemma that disfigures Lebanese and Arab political culture in general: the resort to murderous and destabilizing violence as a chronic option for those who vie for power, whether as respectable government officials, established local warlords, or freelance political thugs.
The madness is not just in the murder of a fine man and a true Lebanese and Arab patriot; it is in the ongoing legacy of rampant and often brutal political violence that at once defines, disfigures and demeans political elites and perhaps even Arab society as a whole. That madness has now been even more deeply institutionalized and anchored in the modern history of this region due to the impact of the American-British invasion of Iraq and the new wave of violence it has spurred. One of the reasons why the Lebanese-Syrian relationship has become increasingly contentious in the past year is the consequence of American pressure on Syria to be more cooperative on Iraq. The circle of violence that engulfs the Middle East is as vast and intertwined as it is senselessly destructive.
But this murder was not primarily about our wider Arab dilemma. Regardless of who carried it out, the murder and its fallout have focused attention on a tortured Lebanese-Syrian relationship that is problematic in its own right, and that has become the crucible for testing new forms of American and Western political intervention in the Arab world.
It was not at all surprising that opposition forces in Lebanon quickly came together and openly pinned responsibility for the assassination on Syria and its allied Lebanese government. For the most significant political development in Lebanon in recent months, in my view, has been the Lebanese opposition's coalescing around an increasingly clear and sharp rejection of Syria's military presence in the country and its political interference in domestic Lebanese affairs. This position became more focused and vocal last autumn after the Syrian-backed extension of Lebanese President Emile Lahoud's term by an additional three years. American-French diplomatic pressure on Syria and the passage of UN Security Council Resolution 1559 demanding Syrian withdrawal from Lebanon are all part of that same thrust.
This escalated almost instantly to a new level of intensity and importance in the hours after Hariri's death: The opposition not only blamed Syria, but also held the Lebanese government responsible and asked it not to participate in Hariri's funeral Tuesday. In Arab political culture, I cannot think of a more acerbic, angry and insulting gesture than asking the incumbent political leadership to stay away from the funeral of a leading statesman who almost single-handedly (working with the Syrians!) rebuilt Beirut and Lebanon. The Lebanese opposition has taken its battle with the Lebanese and Syrian governments to a new level, with unpredictable consequences.
As fascinating as the opposition's speedy accusations against Syria was Syria's equally swift rejection of the accusations. Damascus marshaled an unprecedented array of its officials who spoke to the mass media simultaneously on three continents, and who pointed the finger at Israel and others who are accused of wanting to destabilize Lebanon. Not losing a beat or a step, the U.S. State Department and White House weighed in at the same moment with their not-very-veiled linkage of Hariri's killing with the need for Lebanon to enjoy total sovereignty from Syrian influence and control.
Investigations may or may not identify and prosecute the killers of Hariri, as was the case in half a dozen other assassinations of Lebanese leaders in recent decades. Despite the quick accusations against Syria, the regime in Damascus, like all other accused parties, will get its moment in the court of public opinion, and in the deliberations of the UN Security Council, where the contested Syrian-Lebanese relationship is likely to be debated. The reality now is that Hariri's assassination, regardless of who did it, has vastly speeded up and intensified the efforts of Lebanese political forces that are demanding that Syria get its troops and political operatives out of Lebanon.
The ramifications of Hariri's assassination
The assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri in a massive bombing in central Beirut on Monday sends a loud and deadly message - but the nature, origin, destination and intent of the message all remain painfully unclear to many observers. What is crystal clear, though, is that this crime will send out important political ripples in at least three dimensions.
The two most immediate dimensions are internal Lebanese politics and the Syrian-Lebanese relationship. The third dimension is the relationship between Syria and external powers - the U.S. and France most notably, the UN and the Europeans more broadly. The speed, clarity and intensity with which Lebanese opposition groups Monday blamed Syria and its allied Lebanese government for the killing spoke volumes about the troubled Syrian-Lebanese axis being the central political context in which this whole matter must be analyzed. That became obvious immediately after the bombing, as affirmed by the behavior of the three principal protagonists - the Syrian government, the Lebanese opposition and the United States government.
The events of Monday have unleashed political forces that could transform both Lebanon and, via the Syrian connection, other parts of the Middle East. The already intense backlash to the assassination may lead to an accelerated Syrian withdrawal from Lebanon, and faster reform movements inside both Lebanon and Syria.
The fact that within just hours of the murder five distinct parties were singled out as possible culprits - Israel, Syria, Lebanese regime partisans, mafia-style gangs, and anti-Saudi, anti-U.S. Islamist terrorists - also points to the wider dilemma that disfigures Lebanese and Arab political culture in general: the resort to murderous and destabilizing violence as a chronic option for those who vie for power, whether as respectable government officials, established local warlords, or freelance political thugs.
The madness is not just in the murder of a fine man and a true Lebanese and Arab patriot; it is in the ongoing legacy of rampant and often brutal political violence that at once defines, disfigures and demeans political elites and perhaps even Arab society as a whole. That madness has now been even more deeply institutionalized and anchored in the modern history of this region due to the impact of the American-British invasion of Iraq and the new wave of violence it has spurred. One of the reasons why the Lebanese-Syrian relationship has become increasingly contentious in the past year is the consequence of American pressure on Syria to be more cooperative on Iraq. The circle of violence that engulfs the Middle East is as vast and intertwined as it is senselessly destructive.
But this murder was not primarily about our wider Arab dilemma. Regardless of who carried it out, the murder and its fallout have focused attention on a tortured Lebanese-Syrian relationship that is problematic in its own right, and that has become the crucible for testing new forms of American and Western political intervention in the Arab world.
It was not at all surprising that opposition forces in Lebanon quickly came together and openly pinned responsibility for the assassination on Syria and its allied Lebanese government. For the most significant political development in Lebanon in recent months, in my view, has been the Lebanese opposition's coalescing around an increasingly clear and sharp rejection of Syria's military presence in the country and its political interference in domestic Lebanese affairs. This position became more focused and vocal last autumn after the Syrian-backed extension of Lebanese President Emile Lahoud's term by an additional three years. American-French diplomatic pressure on Syria and the passage of UN Security Council Resolution 1559 demanding Syrian withdrawal from Lebanon are all part of that same thrust.
This escalated almost instantly to a new level of intensity and importance in the hours after Hariri's death: The opposition not only blamed Syria, but also held the Lebanese government responsible and asked it not to participate in Hariri's funeral Tuesday. In Arab political culture, I cannot think of a more acerbic, angry and insulting gesture than asking the incumbent political leadership to stay away from the funeral of a leading statesman who almost single-handedly (working with the Syrians!) rebuilt Beirut and Lebanon. The Lebanese opposition has taken its battle with the Lebanese and Syrian governments to a new level, with unpredictable consequences.
As fascinating as the opposition's speedy accusations against Syria was Syria's equally swift rejection of the accusations. Damascus marshaled an unprecedented array of its officials who spoke to the mass media simultaneously on three continents, and who pointed the finger at Israel and others who are accused of wanting to destabilize Lebanon. Not losing a beat or a step, the U.S. State Department and White House weighed in at the same moment with their not-very-veiled linkage of Hariri's killing with the need for Lebanon to enjoy total sovereignty from Syrian influence and control.
Investigations may or may not identify and prosecute the killers of Hariri, as was the case in half a dozen other assassinations of Lebanese leaders in recent decades. Despite the quick accusations against Syria, the regime in Damascus, like all other accused parties, will get its moment in the court of public opinion, and in the deliberations of the UN Security Council, where the contested Syrian-Lebanese relationship is likely to be debated. The reality now is that Hariri's assassination, regardless of who did it, has vastly speeded up and intensified the efforts of Lebanese political forces that are demanding that Syria get its troops and political operatives out of Lebanon.
Saturday, February 12, 2005
AND SHE GETS TO KEEP HER COMPUTER!!!
Read the last line!
Fiorina Exiting Hewlett-Packard With More Than $42 Million
Carleton S. Fiorina, the former chief executive of Hewlett-Packard, will receive a severance package worth about $21.4 million, and stands to gain at least $21.1 million more.
The additional amount reflects the estimated value of her pension, stock options and Hewlett stock holdings, which the company did not include in her severance package.
Ms. Fiorina was forced to resign Tuesday after the board concluded that she failed to reverse Hewlett's sagging stock price and accelerate the company's turnaround after the merger with Compaq Computer.
She will receive $14 million in severance pay, according to terms of the agreement submitted yesterday in regulatory filings.
She will also receive a $7.38 million bonus for meeting certain performance goals in 2004 and the first quarter of this year, even though on Wednesday the board singled out Ms. Fiorina's failure to accelerate the company's strategy.
In addition, Hewlett agreed to pay her $50,000 for legal, financial and career counseling and will continue her health and personal security benefits for about a year.
Paul Hodgson, a senior compensation analyst at the Corporate Library, questioned the severance in light of her initial pay package. Ms. Fiorina received a $3 million signing bonus along with a restricted stock grant worth more than $65.5 million at the time to woo her away from Lucent Technologies, according to filings.
"And as she leaves," he said, "she gets $21 million, when in fact, stockholders have gotten negative returns."
More than $21.1 million in additional compensation was not reflected in the severance package.
Because the company's share price has fallen more than 50 percent since Ms. Fiorina took over in July 1999, most of her six million vested options have no current market value. Only a small portion of the 700,000 options granted in 2003 have value and are worth about $1 million, which was not reflected in the filings.
Ms. Fiorina also received restricted grants of about 826,000 shares during her tenure, that along with her other Hewlett holdings, now have a market value of $18.2 million.
In addition, Ms. Fiorina will receive a pension of at least $200,000 a year that was not included in the company's severance calculations. The pension could be worth at least $2 million, compensation specialists said. She will also keep her computer, receive technical support for three months, and have access to a secretary for six months.
Read the last line!
Fiorina Exiting Hewlett-Packard With More Than $42 Million
Carleton S. Fiorina, the former chief executive of Hewlett-Packard, will receive a severance package worth about $21.4 million, and stands to gain at least $21.1 million more.
The additional amount reflects the estimated value of her pension, stock options and Hewlett stock holdings, which the company did not include in her severance package.
Ms. Fiorina was forced to resign Tuesday after the board concluded that she failed to reverse Hewlett's sagging stock price and accelerate the company's turnaround after the merger with Compaq Computer.
She will receive $14 million in severance pay, according to terms of the agreement submitted yesterday in regulatory filings.
She will also receive a $7.38 million bonus for meeting certain performance goals in 2004 and the first quarter of this year, even though on Wednesday the board singled out Ms. Fiorina's failure to accelerate the company's strategy.
In addition, Hewlett agreed to pay her $50,000 for legal, financial and career counseling and will continue her health and personal security benefits for about a year.
Paul Hodgson, a senior compensation analyst at the Corporate Library, questioned the severance in light of her initial pay package. Ms. Fiorina received a $3 million signing bonus along with a restricted stock grant worth more than $65.5 million at the time to woo her away from Lucent Technologies, according to filings.
"And as she leaves," he said, "she gets $21 million, when in fact, stockholders have gotten negative returns."
More than $21.1 million in additional compensation was not reflected in the severance package.
Because the company's share price has fallen more than 50 percent since Ms. Fiorina took over in July 1999, most of her six million vested options have no current market value. Only a small portion of the 700,000 options granted in 2003 have value and are worth about $1 million, which was not reflected in the filings.
Ms. Fiorina also received restricted grants of about 826,000 shares during her tenure, that along with her other Hewlett holdings, now have a market value of $18.2 million.
In addition, Ms. Fiorina will receive a pension of at least $200,000 a year that was not included in the company's severance calculations. The pension could be worth at least $2 million, compensation specialists said. She will also keep her computer, receive technical support for three months, and have access to a secretary for six months.
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