ARE YOU A GOOD EXAMPLE FOR CHILDREN?

There I was standing on the train platform headed to Center City when I heard the loud screaming of a child. Mind you, the child was coming down the stairs  behind her mother, which was asinine to me, as someone could have snatched her child. The mother proceeded to the platform and had a seat on a bench and ignored her screaming child. The mother had the audacity to sit in a way that she was not facing the child who had lay out on the platform screaming at the top of her lungs. After three minutes the child began to roll on the platform and just as she reached the yellow lines a man grabbed her. The mother jumps up and snatches her daughter from the man and sat her on the bench.  She then beat the little girl. I didn't hear what was said because my earphones were high as Sandusky's attorney to suggest that this pedophile was teaching young boys to properly shower and not molesting them.

We as a society need to do better to remove ourselves from a ghetto state of mind. It's absurd to allow your child to be laid out on a train platform, but on another level people need to be taught parenting skills. This cycle of the idiots teaching idiots and then teaching these idiotic behaviors to innocent minors is getting very old and very fast. We need to educate ourselves. Read some etiquette books or something. What I just saw hurt me and I hate to see young adults encourage children to become hoodlums and sluts and irresponsible. 


I'm 34 and I acted like a child. I was not perfect, but Debbie woulda kicked my ass for half the things I see teenagers doing. My mom and dad gave birth to me at 16 and my mom finished high school on time and worked every day of her life. Never took a hiatus for the sake of laziness. I watched and learned that. It's innate for me to be hard worker. And unless we get more parents exhibiting good qualities we will  continue to be viewed as the lowest class, I don't care how many black presidents are elected!


Rahiem Brooks, author of Laugh Now, First Laugh, Die Later, Con Test
Web site

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WHY DO YOU CARRY YOUR SOCIAL SECURITY CARD?

Identity theft and other fraudulent related crimes have become the nation’s fastest growing crimes. Carrying a social security card in a wallet or purse, enhances thieves ability to rape the economy, and demolish people’s credit. Last year, 11.1 million people in the United States became a victim of identity fraud at a total cost of $54 billion - up 37% since 2007.(1) The question is: How can identity theft be prevented? For most people, to lose as little as $100 would hurt them financially. There are things that can, and indeed must, be done to thwart the potential abuse of identities. One easy step is for people to stop carrying their social security cards in their wallets and purses.

Imagine losing a wallet or purse and someone not learning until after they have reported their cards lost to their financial institutions that their identity has already been compromised. If thieves have a person’s state identification, social security card, debit/ATM card, and credit cards; essentially, their financial life is in the palm of a thief’s hands. There are ways to make it difficult, or even to prevent your money from being withdrawn from the ATM, to prevent instant credit accounts from being opened in your name, and to prevent your credit cards from bring used by thieves.

Never carry a social security card in a wallet or purse, or anything else that has the number on it, i.e. a health insurance card. Many people use the last four digits of their social security number as debit/ATM card pin numbers, and that is a big mistake. One of the first things that a thief will do with a debit/ATM card is attempting to figure out the pin number to withdraw money. Seasoned thieves know that they have a limited number of tries to get cash, before the ATM retains the card, so the first number that they would try would be the last four digits of the victim’s social security number. For that reason it is best not to carry a social security card in a wallet; and second, it is not a good idea to make the last four digits of a social security number a debit/ATM pin number. Equally, because state-issued identification will be in a wallet or purse, it is not wise to make a pin number a birth date (two-digit day and two-digit month), or the year of birth, because these will be the alternate numbers that a thief would attempt to use to steal someone’s hard earned money.

On the back of credit cards in the signature panel, it is best to write “SEE ID,” so that when attempting to compare signatures on the credit slip and the card, store associates will take that precaution and ask the credit card user for identification. Typically, a potential thief won’t risk being asked for identification, unless they resemble their victim and plan to use their identification, or they obtained a fake identification in the victim’s name.

There are limited reasons to carry a social security card around in a wallet or purse daily. The card should be kept at home, and in a safe place. This number coupled with credit cards and identification can give thieves access account balances and available credit, because many creditors request your zip code and the last four-digits of a social security number to retrieve that information via the automated system. Without a social security number, it would be an arduous task for thieves to figure out how they should use stolen credit cards. Should they go to high end boutiques and make $1,000 purchases? Or to discount stores and make a $50 purchases? Keep thieves guessing, by not carrying your social security card daily, and only when it is necessary.

Without a social security number right there in a lost wallet or purse, thieves would have a hard time attempting to receive instant credit at department stores, jewelers and other retailers in someone’s good name. Thieves could shop until they dropped in a good name, before one even found out, if the social security number is there for them. Sadly, even after someone reports their credit cards lost, identity thieves could still open instant credit accounts in their name, unless the victim alerts all three credit reporting agencies2 that they have lost their financial bona fides. It is imperative to place a fraud freezes on credit reports with all three credit bureaus if fraud is suspected, or someone has lost their social security card. Hence, everyone should review their credit reports [twice a year, or more] to assure that new accounts have not been opened.

The lesson here is to be aware, and protect you from identity theft. A social security card belongs at home in a safe place, not in a wallet or purse. Everyone must be overprotective of their financial livelihoods and work to stop knaves from destroying one’s credit, and ravaging the economy.

In my novel LAUGH NOW, by 22, Kareem Bezel has done everything, including fraud, theft, receiving stolen property, theft by deception, identity theft, and embezzlement, to get there. The character shows an in depth look at these crimes and he actually does things that teaches readers to beware of thieves.

In an Amazon Review of Laugh now, author Elizabeth Funderbirk said, "This book was definitely enlightening on the dangers of Identity Theft and opened my eyes." http://www.LiteraryLiz.com/

SiStar Tea of ARC Book Club in an Amazon Review said, "This novel will entertain you and put you on point as what not to do to avoid being a victim of a faceless crime." http://www.arcbookclubinc.com/

To purchase Laugh Now and read all reviews visit: http://www.amazon.com/Laugh-Now-Rahiem-Brooks/product-reviews/0578057778/ref=sr_1_1_cm_cr_acr_txt?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1

Thanks for your time and attention to this blog,

Rahiem Brooks
Web Site
E-mail: rbrooks@prodigygoldbooks.com
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Footnotes: (1) DATA SOURCE: 2010 Identity Fraud Survey Report – Javelin [http://fightidentitytheft.com/]

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