Monday, April 16, 2007

Wireless Credit Card Machines

Identity Theft: Don't Be A Victim!
By Matthew Keegan

Moments after stepping out of the taxi, Rachel plunged through the entranceway of the hotel lobby eager to put behind what had been a terribly exhausting day. Flight delays due to weather had caused her LAX-MDW-BWI trip to take nearly eleven hours to complete. All she could think of was taking off her shoes to relieve her aching feet and dipping them into soothing, warm bath water.

The line at the front desk was mercifully short. One clerk caught Rachel's attention and signaled her forward — she gave him her reservation information and then dug out her American Express card for payment. As he stepped away to verify its authenticity Rachel's eyes surveyed the lobby. "They've updated everything since I was last here", she thought. Her concentration, clouded by fatigue, was now on the mission style tables, chairs, and light fixtures, which had replaced the heavy, wooden furniture previously occupying the lobby. "Here is your card and room key, ma'am," the clerk interrupted minutes later. Quickly, Rachel stuffed her card back into her wallet, gathered her bags and whisked away to her room.

Rachel was a victim of identity theft that night, but did not know it at the time. Had she kept a watchful eye on what her clerk was doing instead of studying the lobby, she might have noticed him switching cards on her. At the very least, she would have seen that the card handed to her beneath her room key was not her own.

Identity theft is an exploding problem that has increased exponentially in this technological age. Particularly since the early 1990s thieves have been taking advantage of what we would consider every day transactions: writing a check at the grocery store, ordering merchandise via the internet, applying for a credit card, using your cell phone, and more. Each transaction requires you to share personal information: your bank and credit card account numbers; your income, your Social Security Number (SSN); and your name, address, and phone numbers.

An identity thief will lift some piece of your personal information and appropriate it without your knowledge to commit fraud or theft. One of the most common methods is when the identity thief uses your personal information to open a credit card account in your name.

The Federal Trade Commission is the arm of the federal government tasked with overseeing the problem of identity theft. A special hotline number (1-877-IDTHEFT) was created for consumers to call to place your information in a database which is accessible with other law enforcement agencies and private entities, including any companies about which you may complain. Additionally, an ID Theft Affidavit — a form you can use to alert companies where a new account was opened in your name — can be filled out and given to the company. This affidavit is available online to consumers.

Identity thieves can get your personal information in a number of ways:

* They steal wallets and purse containing your i.d. and credit and bank cards.

* They steal your mail, including your bank and credit card statements, pre-approved credit offers, telephone calling cards and tax information.

* They complete a "change of address form" to divert your mail to another location.

* They rummage through your trash, or the trash of businesses, for personal data in a practice known as "dumpster diving."

* They fraudulently obtain your credit report by posing as a landlord, employer or someone else who may have a legitimate need for — and a legal right to — the information.

* They get your business or personnel records at work.

* They find personal information in your home.

* They use personal information you share on the internet.

* They buy your personal information from "inside" sources. For example, an identity thief may pay a store employee for information about you that appears on an application for goods, services or credit.

Identity thieves will then take the personal information they have obtained about you and use it in a number of different ways:

* They will call your credit card issuer and, pretending to be you, ask to change the mailing address on your credit card account. The imposter then runs up charges on your account. Because your bills are being sent to the new address, it may take some time before you realize that there is a problem.

* They open a new credit card account, using your name, date of birth and SSN. When they sue the credit card and don't pay the bills, the delinquent account is reported on your credit report.

* They establish phone or wireless service in your name.

* They open a bank account in your name and write bad checks on that account.

* They file for bankruptcy under your name to avoid paying debts they have incurred under your name, or to avoid eviction.

* They counterfeit checks or debits cards, and drain your bank account.

* They buy cars by taking out auto loans in your name.

Fortunately for Rachel, American Express covered her losses. Although she didn't find out about the theft until she reached her home in California, American Express suspended her account when a number of suspicious charges appeared and she couldn’t be reached by them to verify the charges. Their fraud department left a message on her phone answering machine instructing her to call them and, when she did, Rachel was notified that someone else was using her card. When she explained that she had the card in her possession, she checked her purse and found a card for someone else instead.

Visa, MasterCard and American Express absorb the cost of fraud as long as they are notified by the consumer [certain restrictions may apply — check with your card issuer for specific details]. Had Rachel used a debit card, the story might have been much different. Unlike a credit card, the debit card takes a direct hit on your bank account, meaning that you will have to absorb the loss.

So, all is well with Rachel, right? Sure, American Express overnighted a new card with a new account number for Rachel to use on her next trip, but the problem could very well have continued — and deepened — had she not taken three more steps recommended by the Federal Trade Commission:

First, contact the fraud departments of each of the three major credit bureaus. Tell them that you are a victim of identity theft. Request that a "fraud alert" be placed in your file, as well as a victim's statement asking that creditors call you before opening any new accounts or changing your existing accounts. This can help prevent an identity thief from opening additional accounts in your name.

At the same time, order copies of your credit reports from the credit bureaus. Credit bureaus must give you a free copy of your report if your report is inaccurate because of fraud, and you make that request in writing. Review your reports carefully to make sure no additional fraudulent accounts have been opened in your name or unauthorized changes made to your existing accounts.

Second, contact the creditors for any accounts that have been tampered with or opened fraudulently. Creditors can include credit card companies, phone companies and other utilities, and banks and other lenders.

Third, if possible, file a report with your local police or the police in the community where the identity theft took place. Get a copy of the police report in case the bank, credit card company or others need proof of the crime. Even if the police are unable to catch the thief, the report can be helpful when dealing with creditors.

In summation, identity theft is a problem that is causing businesses and consumers billions of dollars per year. As a result, higher interest rates and an increase in the cost of goods and services is passed on to consumers. So, do not be a victim — protect yourself from identity theft by remaining alert especially when a third party is handling your personal information.

Matthew Keegan is the owner of a successful web design and marketing company based in North Carolina, USA. He manages several sites including the Corporate Flight Attendant Community at http://www.corporateflyer.net and the Aviation Employment Board at http://www.aviationemploymentboard.net This article originally appeared in the Summer 2002 issue of the Flight Attendant News.

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http://EzineArticles.com/?Identity-Theft:-Dont-Be-A-Victim!&id=61172

Saturday, April 14, 2007

Wireless Credit Card Machines

Electronic Credit Card Processing
By Thomas Morva

The success of an online business depends on the process of accepting credit card payments. This type of payment permits you to attract both impulsive buyers and casual surfers alike. It also guarantees that you get timely payment.

Electronic credit card processing facilities handle orders directly through the Internet. This is normally a complex deal that needs the coordination of many things such as your website, your consumer?s credit card company, a payment gateway, and an account into which credits are deposited. Electronic card processing is safe and secure, and it provides the best customer service.

Three major types of electronic credit card processing are available. The first type uses a virtual machine that allows manual addition of mail. The second type involves a simple integration technique that links your site directly to the credit card and bank system. The third type uses a means for custom-linking your system to other more complex systems using a transaction gateway server.

Credit cards can be processed either in real-time or in a collective manner (batch processing). Electronic credit card processing generally has excellent real-time processing speed. The business is processed instantly and the consumer knows whether or not his card is accepted. But real-time processing has greater risk of fraud, since anybody can use a stolen card before it is reported stolen. Another disadvantage is that you cannot accept any order when the electronic credit card processor's server fails. Batch processing is ideal for smaller businesses. Here, many credit card transactions are processed jointly at a later time. The risk of fraud is moderately low.

Today, many companies offer fast, reliable and safe electronic credit card processing services. Each will work with almost all major credit cards, including Mastercard, Visa, American Express and Discover.

Credit Card Processing provides detailed information on Credit Card Processing, Online Credit Card Processing, Credit Card Processing Software, Wireless Credit Card Processing and more. Credit Card Processing is affiliated with Wireless Credit Card Terminals.

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Friday, April 13, 2007

Wireless Credit Card Machines

Credit Card Processing Accessories
By Kent Pinkerton

Credit card processing accessories include a magnetic stripe reader, a keypad to enter prices and other information, and a small display. The printer can be either built-in or a separate unit. Traditional credit card terminals have different types of displays. Larger displays allow you see more information at once. Displays are usually measured in lines and columns. An 8 x 20 display has 8 lines of text in 20 columns. Backlit display is a standard feature in most new terminals. It lets you to see the terminal even in low light.

Keypads vary in size and number of keys. Larger keypads are very easy to use. There are many types of printers including dot matrix receipt printers, thermal receipt printers, and inkjet receipt printers. Credit card processing terminals are available with integrated fast thermal printer with automatic feeding system. Some of them have four users programmable function soft keys which help better interaction and built-in fast printer.

Credit card processing terminals are compact machines. Accessories such as integrated smart card readers, plug-in battery charger, and power cords are essential components. For virtual credit card terminals, phone or fax, software, computer, and internet connections are necessary. A credit card processing terminal that has a PIN pad can accept debit cards. Card reader cleaners and surge protectors are other credit card processing accessories. Printer paper, ribbons and ink cartridges, mounts and stackers, manual imprinters and imprinter slips, power packs, and cables are also indispensable credit card processing accessories.

There are a number of manufacturers who provide credit card processing accessories. They supply customers various quality solutions to suit their growing needs. Most of them are warranted against defects in material and workmanship for a period of years from the date of shipment.

Credit Card Terminals provides detailed information on Credit Card Terminals, Credit Card Terminal Systems, Wireless Credit Card Terminals, Credit Card Processing Terminals and more. Credit Card Terminals is affiliated with Credit Card Processing Software.

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Thursday, April 12, 2007

Wireless Credit Card Machines

Online Merchant Account - Costs and Alternatives
By Bruce Zhang

Merchant Account Basics

A Merchant Account is a commercial bank account established by a merchant to receive payment via credit cards. Three parts are required to accept credit cards. Besides a merchant account, you need a local bank checking account to deposit funds and a processing solution, such a terminal or web-based store front to take credit card payments. Online merchant account, or ecommerce merchant account, is a merchant account that can take credit orders on the Web.

Cost of Merchant Account

An online merchant account will boost your online sales, but merchant account incurs various types of cost. A merchant account usually requires a one-time setup fee between $50 - $100. Some merchant account providers waive the setup fee in promotion period or in conjunction with other services. Other costs include gateway fee, statement fee, annual fee, transaction fees and discount rate fees.

Accept Credit Card without Merchant Account

When you first start an online business and have limited resources, the alternative would be to use the services of a credit card processor. You can enjoy the benefits of processing credit card transactions online without the requirements of a merchant account and high costs involved. Paypal, WorldPay, PaySystems and Clickbank are some of popular credit processing services. Popular shopping carts or online storefronts, such as eBay Store, Yahoo! Store and Microsoft bCentral, offer built-in credit card processing capability.

International Merchant Account

International merchant accounts, or Offshore Merchant Accounts, are merchant accounts that allow the merchants to accept payments from around the world-- regardless of where your business or customers are located. Comparing to an online merchant account, two major services that come with an International merchant account are Multiple-Currency Support and International Fraud Protection.

Wireless/Mobile Merchant Account

Mobile merchants used to face unique issues when accepting credit card payments. With the advancement of high-speed wireless networks and mobile technology, mobile businesses are no longer limited in their payment options to just cash or checks.

Many mobile merchant account (http://www.4th-media.net/online_payment/mobile_merchant_account.php) service providers waive application fee and setup fees to attract more businesses. However, the use of wireless service provider does incur the expense of the terminal hardware, activation fee, monthly service fee, and transaction cost.

Copyright @2005, Bruce Zhang

Bruce Zhang has over 10 years experience in developing ecommerce and e-business application such as literature fulfillment (http://www.4th-media.net/order_fulfillment/literature_fulfillment.php) and supply chain management applications.

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http://EzineArticles.com/?Online-Merchant-Account---Costs-and-Alternatives&id=27610

Wednesday, April 11, 2007

Wireless Credit Card Machines

150 Highest Paying Adsense Keywords Revealed!
By Kevin Miller

So you want to make money with Adsense but the first thing that you need to do is select the right keywords and phases to put in the content of your pages. Knowing the right keywords to use is critical to you making lots of money because that will determine how much you get paid for every click. In this article, I will reveal to you the top 150 keywords that can generate large sums of money for you. Now you can easily make money online. The top paying keyword goes for around $75 per click, while the bottom keyword go for around $21.62 per click. Use this information to your advantage.

Rank Keyword

1 mesothelioma

2 cheap auto insurance

3 consolidate student loan

4 life insurance quote

5 cheap car insurance

6 refinance home

7 car insurance quote

8 refinancing

9 online car insurance

10 online insurance quotes

11 criminal defense lawyer

12 debt consolidation

13 refinance home mortgage

14 medical malpractice lawyer Michigan

15 bad credit home loan

16 loan refinance

17 tax attorney

18 online insurance quote

19 laptop data recovery

20 medical malpractice Michigan

21 car insurance rates

22 equity home loan

23 register domain name

24 data recovery service

25 life insurance rates

26 auto insurance rates

27 cheapest car insurance

28 domain register

29 dui attorney

30 lawyer medical malpractice

31 home loan

32 credit card consolidation

33 car accident lawyer

34 free debt consolidation

35 car insurance

36 term life insurance

37 second mortgage

38 hard drive data recovery

39 dui lawyer

40 refinance leads

41 raid data recovery

42 home loans

43 mortgage loan leads

44 refinance

45 mortgage internet leads

46 domain registration

47 credit card debt consolidation

48 low rate mortgage

49 mortgages

50 fitness franchise

51 debt consolidator

52 california home loan

53 medical malpractice new york

54 credit card machines

55 digital asset management

56 malpractice attorney

57 help desk software

58 criminal defense attorney

59 domain names

60 mortgage loan

61 accept credit cards

62 mortgage broker leads

63 best mortgage rate

64 online credit card processing

65 personal injury lawyer

66 mesothelioma attorney

67 fixed rate mortgage

68 accident attorney

69 conference calling

70 sub prime mortgage leads

71 home improvement loans

72 domain hosting

73 defense attorney

74 credit card 0 apr

75 data recovery

76 credit card merchant account

77 credit card acceptance

78 injury lawyer

79 currency trading

80 mortgage leads

81 merchant credit card

82 business intelligence

83 injury attorney

84 network marketing software

85 sales leads

86 online college degree

87 leads lists

88 mba online degree

89 debt counseling

90 malpractice attorneys

91 debt management

92 domain web hosting

93 crm software

94 edi software

95 credit card service

96 lawyers malpractice

97 cheap web hosting

98 web content management tool

99 Chicago medical malpractice

100 ecommerce web hosting

101 mortgage rate

102 subprime mortgage leads

103 mortgage rates

104 balance transfer credit card

105 safeco insurance

106 annuity leads

107 mortgage leads for sale

108 attorneys medical malpractice

109 debt consolidation leads

110 stock trading online

111 inexpensive web hosting

112 web content management software

113 virtual web hosting

114 credit card processor

115 life insurance

116 medigap insurance

117 web hosting reseller

118 hosting

119 california mortgage

120 orlando medical malpractice

121 online trading

122 crm online

123 special finance leads

124 direct mail lists

125 asbestos lung cancer

126 business sales leads

127 debt free

128 asset management software

129 debt solution

130 low interest credit card

131 card credit debt

132 exclusive mortgage leads

133 whole life insurance

134 mortgage interest rate

135 discount web hosting

136 debt relief

137 lawyer houston

138 online associate degree

139 web site content management

140 lawyers medical malpractice

141 credit card machine

142 orange county search engine optimization

143 wireless credit card

144 adjustable rate mortgage

145 asset management technology

146 debt help

147 online bachelor degree

148 duplication dvd

149 mortgage

150 automotive direct mail

Congratulations, you now know the top 150 highest paying Adsense keywords. I guess now you think that all you need to do is insert some of these keywords into your website and you will start to make lots of money, right? Wrong, wrong, wrong. I hate to tell you this, but I must: the 150 keywords above will be worthless to 90% of Adsense users. Why do I say that? Well, facts show that 90% of webmasters that use Adsense barely make $180 per month. This is mainly due to the fact that they don’t know the secrets to making money with Adsense. Top Adsense earners know these Adsense money making secrets and are using them to earn around $15,500 per month just by having Adsense ads on their site. You must learn these powerful Adsense money making secrets if you want to earn thousands monthly with Adsense. 97% of Adsense top earners won’t reveal these secrets to you for fear of competition. The hardest task that you will face is finding out what are the Adsense money making secrets and how to implement them .

I highly recommend that you visit http://adsense-videos.mcs9.com - There you will find 9 amazing videos and that will reveal to you the Adsense money making secrets that top Adsense earners are using. By using these secrets, you’ll be able to earn $19,150 per month from Adsense.

Also check out http://www.instantwealthgenerator.com. - There you will find over 750 hot-selling products that you can sell to your visitors. These products are most purchased items online. They also come with sales tools. There are no loyalty fees that you’ll ever need to pay. You keep 100% of the profits. You’ll also learn an incredible way in which you can make thousands of dollars weekly by having other people promote the products for you.

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Tuesday, April 10, 2007

Wireless Credit Card Machines

Is Your Wireless Network Secure?
By Jeremy Whittaker

Networking professionals are encouraging people to think
twice about wireless network security. You might be
thinking I use WEP-128 bit encryption with MAC address
filtering, I’m safe. Or you may be you’ve never even heard
of WEP, if this is the case you might want to unplug your
wireless access point immediately. But then again look at
the bright side at least you don’t have the false sense of
security that your network is secure. Perhaps you are the
smart guy who knows how insecure wireless networks are. You
too are at just an equal risk!

Your computer consultant might be partially right when they
say WEP will protect your network. It will protect your
network from casual snooping but that is about it. Last
year the FBI was able to crack a WEP protected network in
less than 3 minutes with tools widely available on the
internet. Since then it’s been downhill for WEP.

At this point you might be thinking, “Oh well, someone gets
on my network and uses the internet”. This is completely
false. If someone has gone through the process of getting
on your network chances are the only thing they want is not
internet access. Any computer security professional will
tell you that physical access to the network is 95% of the
security battle. Once this has been accomplished you can
consider all of your data compromised. Customer invoices,
customer data, credit card numbers and passwords to
financial institutions will all be in the hands of a hacker.

One in many methods can be used to gain access to your
personal data, whether it’s through Key loggers, Trojans, or
just by sniffing your plaintext network traffic.

Maybe, just maybe, I have not convinced you of the
insecurities of wireless networks. Let me tell you about
another attack that hackers can use to gain access to your
network. Let’s say your access points are completely locked
down, to your knowledge. A user from your network goes and
flips on their laptop while sitting in an airport terminal
waiting for a plane. They see an available insecure
wireless network so they click on it and connect. None of us
have ever done this before right, itching to check their
email one last time before heading out of town? Unbeknownst
to them they have just clicked on a fake honeypot wireless
network, set up by a rogue hacker that before they can even
realize their machine is already being scanned. Picture for
a moment that user could be anywhere, even sitting at a desk
in your network. Just as long as the rogue access point is
stronger than your AP’s radio signal you’re security is
done.

May be you fall into the category of never setting up
wireless networks because you read about their insecurities.

How then can you be at risk? Just consider for a moment
that a user in your organization fires up his wireless card.

See’s a wireless network that is named XYZCorp after your
company. So they connect to it and immediately a script is
hammering their machine for security vulnerabilities. Once
again they connected to a rogue access point setup by a
hacker. Now you might be thinking. “C’mon you must have to
be a computer genius to find and run these tools.” Think
again, thanks to the kind people over at remote-exploit.org
all these tools can be downloaded in one big happy ISO file.

Burned to a CD as an image and bang you’re done, ready to
take a drive to the nearest business and start sniffing
credit card numbers. Everything wrapped into a nice package
just waiting for the next script kiddy to start running the
programs. You may be thinking ok this is a major problem so
what should I do? Give up my organizations ability to use
wireless networks? This isn’t exactly what we are saying.
A newer wireless security technology has taken over in 2004
called WPA. It is more secure than WEP. And so far tools
are not as readily available to hack your network. But
consider the following. WEP was ratified in the late 1990’s
less than six years later it was exploited. This is typical
of almost every computer technology. It is only a matter of
time before technologies are exploited. Just always
remember Security is a multi-tiered companywide
responsibility. From providing physical security to web
site security all matters should be considered serious and
not taken lightly. So before you grab a wireless access
point and slap it in your network, I urge you to think
twice.

You may think you are in a sinking boat because you are a
small organization not able to implement the latest
technologies and afford the newest access points. Or maybe
you cannot afford to pay an IT staff over 100k-200k a year
to maintain your medium size network. Executives at
N2
Network Solutions say you should consider IT outsourcing or
IT consulting. You can get Industry certified engineers on
a project by project basis. Contractual relationships are
also available to dump the responsibility of your network
into their hands for a fraction of the price. To keep your
small to medium size network performing like a Fortune 500
machine invest the capital and secure your assets.

Jeremy Whittaker is a Senior Consultant for N2 Network Solutions, a leader in Phoenix IT Outsourcing, providing computer services and Phoenix IT Consulting.

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http://EzineArticles.com/?Is-Your-Wireless-Network-Secure?&id=256379

Monday, April 9, 2007

Wireless Credit Card Machines

Credit Card Processing Terminals
By Thomas Morva

Today, about 80% of customers choose credit cards to pay for online products and services. If an online firm doesn?t possess credit card payment facilities, certainly it loses consumers and sales. Credit card payments are safe and secure, and they guarantee the best customer service. Besides, these payments give a more professional look to any business.

Several different types of credit card processing terminals are available in today's market. These terminals are also referred to as point of sale (POS) terminals. Their type and style depend on the kind of business and style of credit card processing. Prices also vary according to their functions and the technology they use.

Card readers with a small keypad and display are the most basic form of the POS. These are the most economical type of terminals. A credit card processing terminal first checks the customer?s card information. After that, it withdraws money for the purchase from his account and places it directly into the merchant account.

Most merchants prefer a terminal without an attached printer, while retail merchants usually go for a terminal with an integrated printer. There are also wireless machines that are more costly, but the processing volume supports their cost. Wireless credit card processing terminals are mainly used for businesses that continually change their location. Door-to-door salesmen, taxi cab drivers, and seasonal shop owners are the main other consumers of wireless terminals.

Manual credit card processing is a difficult task and it is more time consuming too. The finest choice is to automate your manual credit card processing machine, if possible. Credit card processing machines use different software packages that provide for instant processing, and encrypted SSL (secure socket layer) for safe deals. Of course, any leaks or losses of personal information immediately break the credibility of a business.

Some latest credit card processing terminals can handle multiple merchant accounts. Examples include Nurit 2085, Omni 3750, Nurit 3020, Omni 3740, and Verifone Tranz 380x2. All these terminals provide retailers a fast, low-cost way to approve and process credit card sales.

Credit Card Processing provides detailed information on Credit Card Processing, Online Credit Card Processing, Credit Card Processing Software, Wireless Credit Card Processing and more. Credit Card Processing is affiliated with Wireless Credit Card Terminals.

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