Archive for April, 2012

A Philadelphia man showing off what he thought was an unloaded gun the day before he was to start a job as a security guard accidentally shot a friend in the face and killed her, police said.

Sandrea Smith, 35, of the 2900 block of North 26th Street, was shot once in the left cheek and died at the scene, according to police. The shooting occurred about 2:30 p.m. Saturday.

The incident happened in a bedroom of a home in the 2100 block of East Somerset Street in Kensington. Robert Jones, 36, who resides at the address, was charged with third-degree murder, involuntary manslaughter, endangering another person, and weapons charges.

Police said Jones, who thought the gun was not loaded, had taken gun-safety classes for an armed security-guard certification and had a Florida permit to carry a gun.

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Samantha Elrabadi was alone at her parents’ home in Rocky River when her cell phone rang. Impossibly, the caller ID showed the call was coming from the landline downstairs.

The 24-year-old Elrabadi answered and heard a man’s voice say, “I am in your house.”

Then the line went dead.

“I was so terrified,” Elrabadi said.

Only later — after police searched her house and found no one – did she learn from officers about phone apps that allow callers and texters to hide their identity from caller ID programs by substituting another number.

“I see no legitimate reason for this to exist,” Elrabadi said. She suspects the call made to her was a prank, but she points out that same technology could be used by a predator to lure a victim by using a trusted number. “It’s like loading a gun,” she said.

Indeed, consumers’ cell phones are increasingly being used against them – and not just by harmless pranksters.

This month, the creepy Girls Around Me app was yanked from the Apple store after it was decried as a stalker’s dream. The app, marketed to men, used geo-location information from social media sites like Foursquare to map the whereabouts of women who didn’t realize info they intended for friends could be used by complete strangers to track them down.

Scammers who once stuck to email inboxes are making the leap to mobile phones – meaning if you haven’t received a text message yet offering you a payday loan or phony Walmart gift card, your day is coming.

And thanks to bank info, account passwords and medical records we like to stow on our phones, losing an Android or Blackberry can induce the same panic as losing a wallet. Or at least it should.

The best way to protect you and your phone is to know where the dangers lie.

LOST AND STOLEN PHONES

Security experts say the biggest threat you face as a smartphone user today is loss or theft – because people are constantly leaving phones where thieves can snag them.

Symtantec, a data security company, recently planted 50 phones around the country to see what the people who found them would do. The company reported that 43 percent of the finders tried to access the banking app.

The high resale value of smartphones drives thefts. This month, in an effort to strangle the market for stolen phones, the Federal Communications Commission announced that the nation’s wireless providers would create a shared database of stolen phones to prevent black market phones from being reactivated by another carrier.

Problem solved? Not quite.

“We’re suspecting that the market will shift from the device itself to the information on it,” warns Chester Wisniewski, a senior security adviser for the IT security firm Sophos.

To protect yourself:

  • Lock your phone keypad to protect your phone and the data in it if it’s lost or stolen. Find video instructions for installing a phone password at bit.ly/celllock
  • Consider downloading an app that can find missing phones and, if necessary, remotely wipe them. Most providers offer them free. The CTIA, a trade group for the wireless industry, lists apps at bit.ly/cellfind

SPAM TEXTS

Lois Powers, who has to leave her mobile phone on around the clock for work, knows that receiving spam texts is a drag, and not just because you have pay for it.

“In the middle of the night, I’m getting these text messages,” Powers said. She gets mainly offers for phony gift cards – texts that have no affiliation with the retailers whose names they borrow.

Robert Siciliano, an ID theft consultant with security provider McAfee, said most spam texts are phishing scams, but some may contain malware.

Responding to unwanted commercial text messages – even to ask texters to stop contacting you — may only result in more texts.

When the FTC shut down a loan modification spam operation last year, the agency found that the spammer sold the numbers of people who responded – even those who asked to be removed – to other companies as “debt collection leads.”

Amy Storey of the CTIA said the industry is working to stop spam at the source, but to do that it needs consumers to report unwanted texts.

To protect yourself:

  • Do not respond to spam. If you’re tempted by an offer of free stuff, at least check the offer with the retailer through its web site rather than clicking on a link.
  • Report spam texts to your wireless provider by forwarding the text 7726 (it spells “SPAM” on a phone keypad). You’ll get back a text back asking for the number the spam came from, which you’ll need to respond to in order to complete the complaint.
  • Additionally, report spam texts to the Federal Communications Commission at fcc.gov/complaints.
  • Put your cell phone on the Do Not Call Registry to protect yourself against texting’s ugly cousin, the robocall. It won’t end illegal robocalls, but it may make reporting them easier. Add a number to the registry and report violations at donotcall.gov or dial 888-382-1222 from the wireless phone you want to register.
  • Don’t blindly trust Caller ID. Senders can spoof numbers on phones so calls and texts appear to be from someone else, even someone you know. Make sure your kids know this, too.

MALWARE

Malware can do the same bad things to your phone that it can do to your computer — capture information about you, use your phone to deliver bad stuff to others or make your phone inoperable.

You can infect your phone by downloading infected apps or clicking on infected emailed links.

In the same way you can’t always trust that the person calling you is the one identified on your Caller ID, you can’t trust that a mobile alert is really from your bank.

“Anytime you’re doing something financially related,” Wisniewski said, “your Spidey-sense should be tingling.”

To protect yourself:

  • Consider getting a reputable antivirus program for your phone, particularly if you have a vulnerable phone, like an Android, Siciliano says.
  • If you supect your phone is infected, back up the data and contact the manufacturer to reset it at the factory settings.
  • Opt for a new phone rather than a used one. Used phones, Siciliano has found, often come with viruses.
  • Don’t click on emailed links. If you get a text or email from your bank, go to the bank’s website and log in to get the message rather than risking clicking an infected link.

PRIVACY

Phones feel like private devices, so it’s easy to forget that when we use them to post photos or status updates we may be transmitting more information than we intend.

Most phones and social media sites, like Twitter and Facebook, let you turn off the location device, Wisniewski said, and some apps may give you that choice as well.

But if you update your phone, the settings may automatically reset.

“You’re not being paranoid if you’re looking at these things occasionally,” he said.

It’s creepy stuff for adults, but doubly creepy for parents whose kids carry phones.

Apps you load on your phone may collect, store and share information about you, including where you are, the places you frequent, your contact list, who you’ve called, and other data you keep on your phone.

Last year, consumers were mortified to learn that several apps, including Color, could remotely activate phones to eavesdrop on conversations in homes and offices.

It’s not always easy to find out what info apps are accessing.

When the FTC looked at mobile apps marketed to children, staffers could find very little information about data collection.

“We do not have a law that says you have to have a privacy policy,” says Patricia Poss, chief of the FTC’s mobile technology unit. Rather, FTC rules require that if a company has a privacy policy, it can’t be misleading.

The agency plans a workshop on mobile privacy in May to figure out ways app providers can craft short, meaningful disclosures that are easily read on a cell phone’s small screen.

The goal, Poss said, is “making sure consumers understand, when they are using new technology, what things they’re sharing and what they signed up for.”

To protect yourself:

  • Know what questions to ask about an app before you download it. See the FTC’s consumer guide to apps at ftc.gov/opa/2011/06/mobileapps.shtm And don’t let kids install apps on their own.
  • Set the privacy settings on your phone, social media and other apps to a level you’re comfortable with.
  • Recheck your settings occasionally, especially after you update, upgrade or make a change in service, any of which could cause the settings to revert.
  • Don’t let children download apps until you check them out.

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NY cops fire 84 shots at suspect, who lives

NEW YORK — Two Harlem cops yesterday fired a staggering 84 shots at an armed thug after he squeezed off one round at them — but the punk incredibly survived and was charged with slaying his sleeping kid sister and trying to kill their mother, authorities said.

The 3:30 a.m. explosion of gunfire terrified residents near 155th Street and Frederick Douglass Boulevard.

“It was like a shootout in the movies!” said one shocked tenant of the Polo Grounds Houses.

Steven Murray’s mother, Christine Fryar, 44, who was shot three times by her son, was shown his photo at Harlem Hospital and told cops, “That’s my son! That’s the animal who shot me and killed my daughter!” authorities said.

Murray, 28, suffered 14 bullet wounds during the mayhem after refusing police orders to drop his .22-caliber “Saturday Night Special,” officials said.

“He would not go down,” a law-enforcement source said of Murray.

The uniformed cops — a sergeant and police officer — unleashed the barrage of bullets from 70 feet away. They each reloaded their pistols twice.

“[Murray] still had the gun in his hand. He wouldn’t obey orders. He was pointing [the gun] at the cops, and he wouldn’t respond,” the source said. “After he finally went down, he still had the gun in his hand, and he was still moving.”

Authorities said problems within the family reached a boiling point Monday. Murray’s tragic half-sister, Annie Fryar, 13, was uncharacteristically absent from nearby PS 46.

Murray had just moved back from North Carolina to live with his mother and his sister in the 12th-floor, one-bedroom apartment.

He and his mom were butting heads because he wasn’t working or contributing to the upkeep of the cramped home, and she wanted him to move out, said NYPD spokesman Paul Browne.

After missing school, Annie, who often tried to play peacemaker between the pair, went outside Monday evening, but “had to go upstairs because her brother was getting drunk, and her mom and her brother were arguing” again, said her friend Donette Skinner, a sixth-grader.

Building resident Peter Martinez, 42, said he had seen Murray in the lobby just before midnight Monday and, “He was very spooky-looking.

“He was almost homeless the way he dressed and kept his hair,” the neighbor said.

“What made it strange was that he had black gloves [on]. The look on his face made it seem like he was plotting something.”

Martinez recalled a conversation between Murray and his little sister last week in which he heard the suspect hiss to the girl, “You told Ma I brought that girl to the house.”

Annie denied it and looked afraid, Martinez said.

Annie’s mom and brother got into another argument at around 2 a.m. yesterday, and the woman retreated into her bedroom, Browne said.

About an hour later, Murray inexplicably fired two shots into his sister’s head — once near her right eye and then just above, in her forehead — as she slept on a pull-out bed the two shared in the living room, cops said.

Their mother ran out from the bedroom, and Murray allegedly turned the .22 on her, hitting her twice in the hand and once in her head. The last shot miraculously failed to penetrate her skull.

“I heard, ‘Pop! Pop! Pop!’ It was so loud, I thought it was in my apartment,” said an upstairs neighbor. “I heard a woman say, ‘You shot my daughter!’ And she started crying.”

Christine Fryar fled back to her room and called her husband, who lives in The Bronx, and sister.

“I’ve been shot, and I think Annie’s dead!” Fryar told them, according to Browne.

She then saw Murray in the hallway reloading his revolver, police said, and retreated back to her bedroom — desperately blocking the door to keep him out.

Murray finally gave up and fled.

Two cops from the 30th Precinct were investigating an unrelated shooting about 10 blocks away when they heard about the carnage and sped to the scene.

The sergeant and officer spotted the gun-toting Murray lurking near the southbound off ramp of the Harlem River Drive at Eighth Avenue, police said.

“Stop! Drop the gun!” the cops repeatedly said over their cruiser’s loudspeaker, Browne said.

Murray turned and allegedly fired a single shot — which struck the patrol car. The two cops exited the car and opened fire.

The police officer fired 45 shots — one round in his gun’s chamber, two 15-round magazines and all but one round in his third magazine. He told investigators he thought he was out of ammo. The sergeant also fired one shot he kept in the chamber, two 15-shot magazines and eight rounds from his third magazine, Browne said.

After Murray crumpled to the ground from his wounds, there were still four rounds in his small, .22-caliber Röhm Sontheim Brenz, police said.

He was in critical but stable condition last night after undergoing surgery at Harlem Hospital.

Murray has a long arrest record that includes assaulting cops in The Bronx and North Carolina, along with robbery, weapons possession and possession of stolen property. NYPD officials said they know of no outstanding warrants against him.

In the 2006 Sean Bell shooting, five cops fired 50 shots at several suspects. Asked whether the number of shots in this case was warranted, Browne said only, “There were numerous shots fired, and this was the circumstance under which they fired.”

Annie’s death devastated her young friends.

“I didn’t think it was going to get carried away like that,” said a weeping Donette Skinner. “It makes no sense to me. You would have to have so much hatred to shoot your own mother and sister.”

The slain child had been a member of the school choir and active in its Peer Mediation program.

“She was always there to cheer us up, the type of person who wants to be by your side,” said Aaliyah Anderson, 13. “Her family is pretty nice, [but] I never heard her talk about her brother.”

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CHICAGO (CBS) – Is there a secret plan to evacuate some residents of Chicago in the event of major trouble during the NATO summit next month? CBS 2 has uncovered some evidence that there is. It comes from the Milwaukee area branch of the American Red Cross.

CBS 2 News has obtained a copy of a Red Cross e-mail sent to volunteers in the Milwaukee area.

It said the NATO summit “may create unrest or another national security incident. The American Red Cross in southeastern Wisconsin has been asked to place a number of shelters on standby in the event of evacuation of Chicago.”

According to a chapter spokesperson, the evacuation plan is not theirs alone.

“Our direction has come from the City of Chicago and the Secret Service,” she said.

Officials at Chicago’s Office of Emergency Management and Communication said the directive did not come from them.

The U.S. Secret Service did not return calls for comment.

Some downtown residents told CBS 2’s Mike Parker that the news has them on edge.

Brad Klein said it is “very unnerving. I feel a little bit unsafe, just a bit more than a little bit. It doesn’t make me feel like I want to be in the city during the NATO conference.”

An executive with the Service Employees International Union, who trains members in preparation for the summit, thinks such a plan might be “over the top.”

SEIU Local 1 training director Tom Dobry said, “This could be a lot like Y2K – a lot of hype and buildup. People will say, ‘that was it?’ Not a big deal.”

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Family Of Missing Girl Gets Scammed

ST. LOUIS, MO (KTVI)– Goldia Coldon continues to hold out hope in the search for her daughter Phoenix.

It was on December 18, 2011 when the 23 year old UMSL student went missing. Her 1998 Chevy blazer was found in East St. Louis with the engine running. Her glasses, purse, driver`s license and shoes were found inside. Phoenix’s phone and bank activity stopped.

The family has been working with private detectives and police to follow up on leads and one tip from Texas ended up costing them their life savings, health and now their home.

“They called in a tip saying that they thought that their relative might have our daughter.” said Goldia Coldon.

According to the family’s private investigator a man claiming to be Phoenix’s father created a fake Facebook page using her picture. The unnamed man also said he knew where the 23 year old was. The family invested money in pursuit of what appeared to be a good lead, but it all turned out to be a lie.

“It’s a scary thing because we thought that he might have Phoenix with him. The person he was presenting as his long lost daughter was a picture of Phoenix,” said Coldon.

The family continues to work with the Black and Missing Foundation and others in the search. They’ve also started a fund to help find Phoenix.

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What is the top target of cyber attacks?

Customer, student, employee and patient information is most at risk for cyber attacks today, and defending that data is a top concern for IT professionals this year, according to a survey published by CDW.

Concern about data loss is well founded: One in four organizations has experienced a data loss in the last two years. Many organizations report breaches jeopardizing their network, email or other sensitive information, CDW found in its poll, which examines data security concerns across industries, including medium and large businesses, financial services and healthcare organizations and higher education institutions.

One IT professional at a financial services company noted: “Security is harder every day due to the ease with which personal information is gained.”

Data loss comes at a cost: A Ponemon Institute study published in March found that organizations suffering a data loss in 2011 paid an average of $5.5 million per breach, which translates into an average of $194 per record lost.

“The damage resulting from data loss – to the bottom line and to an organization’s reputation – is very real,” said Christine Holloway, vice president of converged infrastructure solutions, CDW. “Perhaps it should come as no surprise that IT professionals view data loss as the greatest business risk to organizations this year. As telework and access to mobile computing grows, preventing data loss is increasingly important – and increasingly complex.”

CDW’s survey shows that the number of people accessing business networks increased by an average of 41 percent during the last two years. Inadequate security policies contribute to security challenges: While most organizations allow employees to access their networks with personal mobile devices, security policies for employee-owned devices are often less strict than for employer-owned devices.

Twenty-seven percent of IT professionals said they do not have security policies for employee-owned mobile devices.

Organizations that give their data security an “A” grade layer nearly all available data loss prevention measures, including encrypted storage, backup and email gateway; endpoint data loss prevention and security solutions; full-disk encryption; and Web security filters.

Organizations with “A” security are also more likely than others to require employee-owned mobile devices to comply with defined security procedures before they are granted network access.

Data loss prevention solutions help to protect personal, financial and research and development data, and they also flag any data being handled in a way that deviates from established security policies. CDW recently achieved Master Specialist designation in data loss prevention from Symantec. The designation recognizes investment and deep expertise in delivering advanced consulting and technical services in Symantec data loss prevention.

“No organization appears to be immune from data loss – blue-chip companies, small business, schools and governments have been affected,” said Rick Hanson, senior director of sales, Symantec. “Prevention is essential. Organizations that layer security solutions to address network endpoints, data at rest and data in motion are more aware of potential security threats, less susceptible to breaches and better able to respond when a breach occurs.”

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PHOENIX — Experts say many American couples stayed together during the recession because they couldn’t afford to go their separate ways.

Now the improving economy could trigger a spike in divorces, which can be a nightmare as the April 17 tax deadline approaches.

The Roosevelt Institute found that states with a higher increase in unemployment saw larger drops in divorce rates between 2005 and 2009.

There’s evidence that the mild economic recovery of 2011 has led to a rebound of divorces and if the unemployment rate continues to fall that trend can be expected to continue.

Bill Brunson, a spokesman for the Internal Revenue Service, said even after divorce, if an audit finds prior tax fraud during the marriage, both parties are on the hook for the full tax amount owed.

“Generally, that’s the case because both spouses benefited from that income,” he said.

But in certain circumstances a husband or wife may not have to pay tax, interest and penalties.

“The couple is no longer together and one spouse had no benefit or knowledge of the other spouse’s income, the IRS will work with them,” said Brunson.

The tax burden can be lifted if a former spouse can establish being the victim of abuse or domestic violence and did not challenge the tax returns truthfulness for fear of retaliation.

“You’ve got reasonable cause for the IRS to look at that and understand those are unique circumstances,” said Brunson.

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Michigan Lotto Winner Faces Welfare Fraud Charges

In a rather bizarre story, a Michigan woman was arraigned on welfare fraud charges Tuesday after she continued to obtain food stamps after winning a lotto jackpot, according to Yahoo News.

25-year-old Amanda Clayton of Lincoln Park, MI was arrested Monday on 2 felony charges.

If convicted, she could face as much as 4 years in prison.

Clayton did not comment after her arraignment at Lincoln Park’s 25th District Court.

However, her defense attorney Stanley Wise said he hopes to have charges against his client dismissed at her court hearing next Tuesday.

Yet, Wise did not disclose how he plans to free his client from potential jail time.

“She’s upset but she’ll be fine,” Wise added

Clayton won a $1 million jackpot on a Michigan game show called”Make Me Rich!” Instead of taking periodic payments, she chose to immediately take a $735,000 lump-sum pre-tax payment.

Clayton’s story came to the forefront when she told Detroit’s WDIV that she believed that it was permissible to keep using food stamps because she was unemployed.

According to state law, it was Clayton’s responsibility to report her drastic wealth increase to the state’s Department of Human Services within 10 days of receiving the award.

She has since been dropped from the state provided food program.

“It’s simply common sense that million dollar lottery winners forfeit their right to public assistance,” said Attorney General Bill Schuette in a statement Tuesday. “We will continue to work with local, state and federal authorities to uphold state laws intended to ensure wise stewardship of taxpayer dollars.”

Further, Clayton was not the first Michigan lottery winner to continue to receive food stamps, as Leroy Fick, 60, continued to do so after winning an $850,000 lump sum prize in 2010.

However, Fick reported his winnings, but was permitted to continue to receive government assistance because at that time lump-sum awards were excluded from ordinary income under the state program.

The state has since reformed the program by prohibiting any person with more than $5,000 in assets, excluding a car, from participating in the food program.

The change in law is the reason that Clayton has been charged.

I am not exactly sure what Clayton’s legal defense is going to be here. The only fathomable defense that I can think of is ignorance?

However, you can bet that when she received the money from the game show that she received paperwork telling her that she must report her winnings to the state.

Yet, in order to succeed on a fraud charge the state must prove that Clayton intentionally tried to circumvent the state law by continuing to obtain government aid.

It does not seem that it would be worth it to sacrifice jail time for the few dollars that the food stamp program saved her.

It looks like it could come down to the government’s argument that she must have known to report out of common sense versus Clayton’s belief that she did not have to because she was unemployed.

What do you think?

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Tenant Background Screening Tips and Tricks

Apply these tenant screening tips thoroughly and rest assured, you can find one. The best source for quality tenants may come from word-of-mouth referrals, or someone that can vouch for them – so spread your message in your community first. Thereafter you need to use the notice boards in the school, sports club, company, vet etc. If you still have no applicants, you are able to advertise in the community or regional newspaper. Many sites offer the opportunity to list your house (with photographs) to get a nominal fee as well as totally free of charge.Telephone Tenant screening Tips

Here is your first contact with a prospective tenant and you may already form a broad impression. Make notes over the conversation to attach later with their application form. Confirm the rental price, features and address from the property.

  • Ask their factors behind their interest in your house and for leaving their current place.
  • Ask what number of people will occupy the device and the period of rental they may be interested in.
  • The longer the time, the better – you do not need a regular turnover of tenants.
  • Ask how close their work environment is and for the time they have been employed there.
  • All these questions will be taken care of in detail in the application (and specified in your Free Real-estate Contract Forms and Agreements) but if you already get vague answers you ought to heed the warning signals.
  • Showing the home and property

    Lets presume a criminal record is male – does he arrive by the due date, is he courteous and presentable and does he make an effort to make a good impression for you. Does he ask pertinent questions. Have a look at the condition of the car through which he arrived.

    Good tenant screening tips: You may even arrange to meet all the prospective tenants on-page at the same time to show it. This will save you time, put pressure on applicants and stop them from looking to haggle over the rent. Indeed, by the way, how do you calculate the most beneficial Rental Price ?

    Does he find fault unjustly to be able to try and knock down the rental or are his concerns genuine and may they be addressed.

    If he expresses a pastime to rent, you are able to give him a rental application (most important tool within your tenant screening tips when you Be a Landlord ) but make sure he understands you have other applications to take into consideration and give him the closing date for applications. Talk about for proof of identity, compare the photo and go into the information into the space provided within the application form.

    The Application Form

  • The next information will be required:
  • Full identification such as ID/Social Security and or drivers license
  • Full identification details for more occupants
  • Rental history – current and prior
  • Employment details – current and prior
  • Credit information such as bank details, car financing details as well as other credit references for example furniture or clothing accounts
  • Friend and family details
  • Permission to confirm all details

Tenant screening Tips after Application

Upon having a couple of applications you’ll be able to compare them and after that verify the details of candidates on your own shortlist. Take your time and accomplish this thoroughly! Do not use the phone numbers supplied about the form blindly (in case his friend poses as his employer and provide him a glowing reference) but use the telephone directory to ensure his place of work etc.

A vacant apartment does be expensive for you but a marginal tenant will cost you more in the long run. Do not be influenced by sad stories – if this starts off like this it’s going to most likely only get worse.

Set yourself a checklist by which to rate applicants. You may allocate points to every one category that meets your criteria, therefore a rejected applicant accuses you of discrimination you are able to show clearly how another applicant was better qualified.

As said before – keep a written record (date, time, intended theme) of all conversations between yourself and applicants and fix it to their forms which will later go into the tenant file.

Credit Assessment

Have a credit check completed by a reputable professional company. The fees charged for a real service are very less space-consuming than unpaid rent or property damages, which can force you to use our free Eviction Forms.Try not to be rushed into a decision by any applicant or through your fear of losing a job candidate and not renting your unit quickly. Once you made your decision, notify all applicants whether successful or otherwise.

Encourage rental payments by direct debit order is a second of the good tenant screening tips (you can forget “the check is in the mail”) which ensures the rent is paid on time and leaves only the services/utilities bill to be settled separately.

Check into your property and visit regularly (the tenant will grant you reasonable access inside Free Property Rental Agreement and free property contract forms). This gives you the opportunity to check up on occupants, damages or other unwanted activities without violating the Renters Rights. Furthermore, it offers your tenant the opportunity to discuss any maintenance problems personally and knowing that you you can visit frequently may keep tenants on their toes.

You don’t have to become personal friends along with your tenants but building up a trusting relationship goes a long way to a good landlord/tenant partnership. If the property investment portfolio is certainly that you do not have the time for it to do all this, you’ll be able to hand over these duties to a reputable Property Management Company.

Picking the appropriate tenant will eliminate 80% of your future headaches. That’s why landlord tenant screening and owning a tenant background check is important. Our landlord tenant screening tips will disclose how to run a landlord criminal record check and choose the best tenants to your rental property.

In general 3 outside of 10 tenants can be harmful ones and it is critical which you weed them out. As being a landlord, you are looking for people who will pay the rent by the due date and play nice in line with the rules of your rental agreement. Landlord tenant screening does feel like a lot of work however it’s actually quite simple when you know the right steps. Our tenant screening tips and guide will reveal how to weed out any rotten tenants and opt for the perfect one for the property today:

If you’re a landlord or property manager, landlord tenant screening and building a tenant background check should be one of your most important task. Learn the way you can pick responsible, trouble-free tenants today with this particular 3-part tenant screening tips and guide.

Are You Screening New Tenants? Grab Your Free Rental Application

If you’re a landlord looking for new tenants, our tenant application will help you screen them easily and quickly. This guide will not just give you a free sample of our rental application but we’re going to also show you tips on how to dig up hidden gems of information from it.

What are Your Landlord Tenant Rights When selecting and Rejecting Tenants?

Many landlords and property managers have no concept what exactly are their rights on the subject of choosing tenants for his or her property. Our tenant screening tips and guide could make your life a lot easier by telling you exactly you can and can’t do. You will also discover the most common and valid advantages for rejecting someone as your tenant. Your landlord criminal history check is an essential tool for weeding out rotten renters but do you know that you can land yourself in hot soup should you be accused of discrimination? Learn how to carry out your landlord criminal history check legally with our tenant screening tips.

Found Your Perfect Tenant? Now you have for Your Landlord Lease Agreements

Through with your landlord criminal record check and snagged your perfect tenant? Then learn information about your critical lease agreement plus the clever ways you can apply it to maximise your rental profits and hang up the ground rules for any smooth lease. Building a credit check and tenant criminal history check on your potential applicant is critical because it is the surest strategy to know whether he or she is likely to pay the rent promptly. If you want a quick and painless way of getting your hands on your tenant’s credit history, then Tenant Screening Background Check will what you need nicely.

Out of all the landlord tenant screening companies that we have reviewed, Tenant Screening Background Check stands apart because of its excellent customer care and highly informative website. The credit reports from Tenant screening Criminal record search also scores kudos for being easy to read and helpful – They are going the extra mile to include their own personal recommendation and advice with every credit score.

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Anonymous is one heck of a dangerous hactivist group. The collective has managed to break into and disseminate thousands of classified and downright dirty emails and records, take down dozens of major sites, all the while managing to be pretty much unstoppable.

But new evidence from a failed attack on the Vatican shows just how the supposedly leaderless organization operates.

The attack on the Vatican was a 25 day seige designed to disrupt the visit of the Pope to Madrid for World youth Day. Traffic to the Vatican’s website was 34 times greater than average, but the servers were able to cope with the strain.

But the interesting part about the attack is that, for most of the time, Anonymous wasn’t attacking. It was investigating.

Computer forensics show that a small group of individuals, who are probably skilled hackers, spent 19 of the 25 days searching the site for any holes that could be exploited to break into the system. Only when this strategy failed did Anonymous progress with the Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack against the vatican, meaning that all those DDoS attacks we’ve seen are probably just because Anonymous couldn’t get in to steal information.

When trying to crack the system failed, Anonymous turned to Facebook and its cloud of willing participants, then launched a DDoS attack. As said Cole Stryker, an expert on the internet imageboard 4Chan, which seems to have a significant crossover with Anonymous: “Anonymous is a handful of geniuses surrounded by a legion of idiots.”

Basically, the evidence shows that Anonymous is a small group of hackers cloaking themselves in the veil of thousands of other people. Anonymous isn’t nearly so anarchic nor leaderless as it seems to be.

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