Co-workers stealing your food? Fight back with food camouflage! Spots on the outside of the bag make the contents look moldy, so thieves skip your food.

The only thing you have to worry about is someone chunking it thinking that its old.

(via Lifehacker, via skforlee)

Originally posted on pfhacks.com: Stop Co-Workers From Stealing Food

Here is a great little tip for those worried about Identity theft.  Leave a little room after your signature and write "See ID", on the white strip on the back of your credit/debit card.  If the person taking your card does their job correctly, this little extra step may stop a thief from illegally using your card.

I say "if they do their job correctly" because both Visa and Mastercard require that the signature on a receipt match the signature on the card.  When performing this comparison the merchant should notice the request for additional identification.  You may even try writing the "See ID" in a different color ink, to draw extra attention

While researching this piece, I found a lot of conflicting information on wether or not the card has to be signed. Several sites recommended writing "Check ID" on the back of the card and nothing else.  This makes sense to me, since by signing you are giving a thief a handwriting sample to use in forging your name.  However, I think the evidence is pretty clear on this subject: you are required to sign the card.  Not only is the wording "Not Valid Unless Signed" – or something similar – on the back of all cards,  I found this information on Visa’s risk management site:

Dealing with unsigned cards

If the signature panel is left blank…

1. Request a signature. Ask the cardholder to sign the card and provide current government identification, such as a driver’s license or passport (if local law permits).
2. Check the signature. Be sure that the cardholder signature on the transaction receipt matches the one on the card and the additional identification.
3. Complete the transaction. If the signatures appear reasonably the same and the authorization request is approved, continue the transaction. If the cardholder refuses to sign the card, do not accept the card.

If the card has a "See ID" in place of a signature…

1. Request a signature. Ask the cardholder to sign the card and provide current government identification, such as a driver’s license or passport (if local law permits).
2. Check the signature. Be sure that the signature on the card matches the one on the transaction receipt and the additional identification.

If the signatures appear reasonably the same and the authorization request is approved, go ahead and complete the transaction.

That’s about as clear as it gets: "Request a signature".

Some of you may be saying: "What’s the big deal? Liability on fraudulent credit card charges is limited in most cases". This is true, but think about all the time it will consume – not to mention the sheer aggravation – to clean up a big fraud. Small precautionary steps can save you big time in the event of identity theft.

Another item to consider: some banks are now offering credit/debit cards that feature your photo. These give you both the convenience of a charge card and photo id in one package.

By using these two hacks, you will greatly reduce the risk that your card will be used for fraudulent transactions should it be lost or stolen.

Originally posted on pfhacks.com: Credit Card Hack: Write "SEE ID" On The Back

I had the student ID in a second wallet where I put cards, memberships, etc. that I use infrequently, so I don’t clog up my ultra-slim wallet. This back-up wallet is stored in my backpack.

As I look at my own wallet, I have a number of cards that I use very infrequently that just take up space. I could have a second, “backup wallet”, that I could leave in my car, or a bag when I travel. Not only would this free up space in my primary wallet, I could keep an alternate form of photo id in the second wallet to use in case my primary was stolen.

Tim: Great Tip!

Here is a link to Tim’s blog: The Four Hour Work Week. I really enjoyed The Four Hour Work Week, and recommend it. A lot if his ideas are a little “out there”, but the book will change your mindset about how you work. You will find yourself cutting things out of your workday that do not add benefit in proportion to the time they take.

Originally posted on pfhacks.com: Keep a Backup Wallet

I hate gift cards.  

Stores love them because they get income up front without having to immediately produce a good or service, they receive interest income on that income until the card is redeemed, and they know that a sizable portion will never be redeemed.  Additionally, after a period of time, the stores will begin to charge a penalty against un-redeemed cards that will eventually decrease their value to zero.

I know that over the years I have lost at least $200 worth of gift cards – they are just too easy to put in a drawer, and disappear from memory.  So, I developed a system to track my gift cards and their balances.

Spreadsheet

Every time I receive a gift card, I enter it into my tracking system.  The tracking system is a simple Google Spreadsheet that lists the issuer of the card, the balance on the card, and the date received.  I don’t typically track the penalty date, but if I have had a card for a while, I will lookup the terms on the sore’s web site.

I keep the physical cards in a single envelope in my filing cabinet, so that I know can retrieve them easily.

Quicken or Microsoft Money

An alternative method for users of Quicken or Microsoft Money would be to create an asset account and track your cards in that manner.

This method has the added bonus of being “in your face” so that it lessens your chance of forgetting you have a card.

Originally posted on pfhacks.com: Managing Gift Cards

It details some of the tactics that companies are using to artificially inflate individuals credit scores, including piggy-backing on stranger’s loans.  This practice, using "seasoned primary accounts", attaches an individual with poor credit to a loan just as it is paid off and closed.  Positive credit score improvement flows through to the individual with poor credit within 30 to 45 days.  TradeLine Solutions, one of the companies selling this service, charges a $1,399 fee, for one loan, piggy-backing on additional loans, costs more, but they give you a discount with each additional loan.

Regarding the legality of the practice, TradeLine’s CEO, Ted Stearns, was quoted in the article thusly:

The program’s concept, he said, is similar to someone’s buying a car and taking over somebody else’s car loan or lease account at the time of purchase — except, in this case, there is no balance on the account. The original borrower is unaware that a new name is being attached to the account, he said. Mr. Stearns defended his program. “I am a legal entity that conducts business throughout the state of California and the entire continental U.S.”

Re-read the fourth and fifth lines carefully: "The original borrower is unaware that a new name is being attached to the account". 

Does anybody else find that statement frightening?

A similar "loophole" to using "seasoned primary accounts", is in the process of being closed by the major credit bureaus.  It involved adding individuals with poor credit to credit card accounts owned by individuals with good payment histories as "authorized users".  The new authorized user would pickup the positive benefits of the account in good standing. 

When a number of lenders complained about the practice, Fair Isaac (the company that developed the credit scoring system) changed their formula so that authorized users no longer receive benefits to their credit score.

The big takeaway from this article is that these services are in a very gray legal area.  While companies such as TradeLine insist that they are not breaking any laws, Credit Bureaus and lenders view the practice as a form of loan fraud.

While it may be tempting to engage a service like this, you can raise your score naturally, and legally, over time.  I detailed some steps in this post: Seven Ways to Improve Your Credit Score.

Originally posted on pfhacks.com: Beware of Companies Offering to Raise Your Credit Score