Heads up: New credit card fraud alert
in Banking, Insurance & Loans ·
I don't fall for those calls... even though my phone shows the caller ID, I just tell them I'll head down to Chase and handle the issue in person... 🙂
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Posts by Kenneth Smith70
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Heads up: New credit card fraud alert
in Banking, Insurance & Loans ·
Heads up, there’s a new way people are getting fleeced with their credit cards. If you get a call from someone claiming they're from the Mastercard Security Department, watch your back so you don't end up losing everything... Here’s the play: some scammer calls you pretending to be with Mastercard Security. They already have your basic info—name, address, even bits of your card number. They tell you there was "unauthorized activity" on your account and they just want to "verify" things. Then comes the kicker: they mention your specific card from Chase or Bank of America and ask if you actually bought some random item for a certain amount at a store or online. You say, "No way." That's when they claim they need to make sure the card isn't lost or stolen, and they ask you to read them those last three digits on the back. That’s the whole point of this scam —they just want that 3-digit security code on the back of your card.
Personal loan ads: Legit or scam?
in Banking, Insurance & Loans ·
In the States, lending is basically left to banks and credit unions under the watchful eye of the Federal Reserve. Legally, interest rates—whether upfront or late fees—usually cap out around 14 percent, though that fluctuates... You gotta disclose the total cost as an APR, and if you miss a payment, creditors aren't allowed to just tack unpaid interest onto the principal... annoying, right?
You can grab cash on the gray market if you want, but just know you're playing with fire... Dealing with lenders in that zone? Totally sketchy. You never know if they're even legal or ethical, and then there's the whole mess with interest rates being rigged or them faking their entire identity just to look like some legit Wall Street outfit...
Sure, you find some honest folks even in the shady side hustles, but mostly? It's just scammers using every dirty trick in the book to bleed you dry... they're out to empty your pockets on purpose.
Basically, it's all about those predatory loans where the actual interest rate absolutely shreds any legal limit... but you won't see it on paper because they just list the "legal" rates in the contract. The usury is buried right in the principal. You ask for five grand, and suddenly the contract says you owe six or seven... sneaky bastards...
Two years ago, the Federal Reserve launched a bunch of investigations to track down those predatory loan sharks who flood the streets with flyers and newspaper ads... Everyone suspected the big banks were pulling the strings, but the investigators only managed to nail the individuals fronting the loans. In other spots, it was companies disguising high-interest loans as fake business transactions by holding onto people's checks or credit cards. And don't even get me started on the credit unions... they were another massive player in that whole shady lending market...
The top two sharks—both the big players and the small-time outfits—are just as active today as they were two years ago. Honestly, maybe even more so now that banks have tightened the screws on personal loans... You only have to look at the classifieds or check your mailbox to see it. It’s all those "Fast Cash for Credit Card Holders" ads everywhere, plastered with those big-name logos like American Express and Master... typical.
And then there's all that crap they print... "Cash in five minutes, instant payout, no collateral, zero hidden fees, same-day funding, direct deposit, best rates in town, fast and discreet, 100% safe, 100% legal, even if you're on a blacklist!" Please... it's all total garbage. Pure manipulation. Just bait to get you in the door... And notice how they conveniently leave out the APR? If you actually sit down and crunch the numbers from their flyer, the interest rate hits almost 40 percent—way past what’s legal here in the States... Total scams...
Then there's those credit unions... total joke. Instead of actually helping people out, half of them in America have just turned into legalized scams... The feds tried to shut them down, but thanks to some legal loopholes, they're still crawling around out there...
Back in January 2007, the Credit Union Act kicked in and gave those cooperatives three choices: flip into savings banks, become official credit unions under the Federal Reserve, or just shut down entirely. But because the law was such a mess, it left this massive loophole... the old Savings and Credit Cooperative Act got scrapped, but suddenly there was zero oversight for any groups already in liquidation—that was supposed to be on the Treasury's plate. Naturally, some of these "cooperatives" jumped right through that gap to keep predatory lending to citizens going without anyone watching them... typical...
New updates to the credit union laws just dropped this February... finally fixing that massive oversight so these old-school cooperatives can finally kick rocks. And get this—they’re already cooking up a consumer credit law to clean up the rest of that shady "gray market" mess out there... about time...
So, what's the bottom line? Only borrow from actual banks or credit unions—places that actually follow federal laws. Before you go spending money you don't have, run the numbers yourself or grab a pro to figure out the real cost. Look at what you actually bring home and what you need to survive... make sure those monthly payments won't wreck your budget.
If you can't get a loan through official channels, just earn it instead! Seriously, check this out if you want to see how messy things get when you deal with shady lenders.
You can grab cash on the gray market if you want, but just know you're playing with fire... Dealing with lenders in that zone? Totally sketchy. You never know if they're even legal or ethical, and then there's the whole mess with interest rates being rigged or them faking their entire identity just to look like some legit Wall Street outfit...
Sure, you find some honest folks even in the shady side hustles, but mostly? It's just scammers using every dirty trick in the book to bleed you dry... they're out to empty your pockets on purpose.
Basically, it's all about those predatory loans where the actual interest rate absolutely shreds any legal limit... but you won't see it on paper because they just list the "legal" rates in the contract. The usury is buried right in the principal. You ask for five grand, and suddenly the contract says you owe six or seven... sneaky bastards...
Two years ago, the Federal Reserve launched a bunch of investigations to track down those predatory loan sharks who flood the streets with flyers and newspaper ads... Everyone suspected the big banks were pulling the strings, but the investigators only managed to nail the individuals fronting the loans. In other spots, it was companies disguising high-interest loans as fake business transactions by holding onto people's checks or credit cards. And don't even get me started on the credit unions... they were another massive player in that whole shady lending market...
The top two sharks—both the big players and the small-time outfits—are just as active today as they were two years ago. Honestly, maybe even more so now that banks have tightened the screws on personal loans... You only have to look at the classifieds or check your mailbox to see it. It’s all those "Fast Cash for Credit Card Holders" ads everywhere, plastered with those big-name logos like American Express and Master... typical.
And then there's all that crap they print... "Cash in five minutes, instant payout, no collateral, zero hidden fees, same-day funding, direct deposit, best rates in town, fast and discreet, 100% safe, 100% legal, even if you're on a blacklist!" Please... it's all total garbage. Pure manipulation. Just bait to get you in the door... And notice how they conveniently leave out the APR? If you actually sit down and crunch the numbers from their flyer, the interest rate hits almost 40 percent—way past what’s legal here in the States... Total scams...
Then there's those credit unions... total joke. Instead of actually helping people out, half of them in America have just turned into legalized scams... The feds tried to shut them down, but thanks to some legal loopholes, they're still crawling around out there...
Back in January 2007, the Credit Union Act kicked in and gave those cooperatives three choices: flip into savings banks, become official credit unions under the Federal Reserve, or just shut down entirely. But because the law was such a mess, it left this massive loophole... the old Savings and Credit Cooperative Act got scrapped, but suddenly there was zero oversight for any groups already in liquidation—that was supposed to be on the Treasury's plate. Naturally, some of these "cooperatives" jumped right through that gap to keep predatory lending to citizens going without anyone watching them... typical...
New updates to the credit union laws just dropped this February... finally fixing that massive oversight so these old-school cooperatives can finally kick rocks. And get this—they’re already cooking up a consumer credit law to clean up the rest of that shady "gray market" mess out there... about time...
So, what's the bottom line? Only borrow from actual banks or credit unions—places that actually follow federal laws. Before you go spending money you don't have, run the numbers yourself or grab a pro to figure out the real cost. Look at what you actually bring home and what you need to survive... make sure those monthly payments won't wreck your budget.
If you can't get a loan through official channels, just earn it instead! Seriously, check this out if you want to see how messy things get when you deal with shady lenders.
Anthony Kim18 said:The absolute best movie kiss ever? It’s from 'Brokeback Mountain'.
Believe it or not, that intense moment between Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger in Brokeback Mountain actually took the top spot in a recent poll by Netflix. Coming in at number two was that classic scene from Breakfast at Tiffany's featuring Audrey Hepburn and George Peppard. Then you've got that steamy kiss between the real-life power couple, Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, from Mr. and Mrs. Smith sitting at third. There was even one more guy-on-guy kiss on the list, though it was more about brotherhood than romance—the iconic moment between Holly Golightly and John Cazale in The Godfather.
😁 whatever... a gay kiss? 👎 seen the movie... nothing even close to being life-changing or passionate about that kiss, just that it was a gay kiss so people think it's deep or something... 😁
Loneliness and schizophrenia: How do you cope?
in Psychology ·
Schizophrenia basically breaks down into different types—paranoid, disorganized, and catatonic.
1) Paranoid schizophrenia is all about those constant delusions, whether it's being persecuted, feeling grandiose, or crazy jealousy. You get hallucinations too, and it usually hits later, once you're hitting your thirties.
2) Then there's disorganized schizophrenia... characterized by disjointed thinking, weird facial expressions, or just acting totally out of sync with reality. Hallucinations and delusions pop up only occasionally here. This one usually shows up in your twenties, and honestly, the behavior is pretty hard for people around them to ignore.
3) With catatonic schizophrenia, it’s mostly extreme physical stuff—either they're completely frozen and won't talk, or they're moving so much it becomes dangerous for them or everyone else.
1) Paranoid schizophrenia is all about those constant delusions, whether it's being persecuted, feeling grandiose, or crazy jealousy. You get hallucinations too, and it usually hits later, once you're hitting your thirties.
2) Then there's disorganized schizophrenia... characterized by disjointed thinking, weird facial expressions, or just acting totally out of sync with reality. Hallucinations and delusions pop up only occasionally here. This one usually shows up in your twenties, and honestly, the behavior is pretty hard for people around them to ignore.
3) With catatonic schizophrenia, it’s mostly extreme physical stuff—either they're completely frozen and won't talk, or they're moving so much it becomes dangerous for them or everyone else.
Loneliness and schizophrenia: How do you cope?
in Psychology ·
Schizophrenia is this heavy-duty psychiatric disorder... basically a chronic mental illness that messes with your ability to think straight and perceive reality, leading to weird behavior and some pretty rough feelings.
The term itself comes from Greek—*schizo* meaning split and *phrenos* meaning mind—so you could call it a "split mind."
The first red flag is usually a breakdown in how someone processes thought and perception, where they can't tell what's happening inside their head from what's actually going on outside. People dealing with it might deal with hallucinations or just spout stuff that makes zero sense in the real world. If there's no clear organic cause for these symptoms and it’s wrecking their job or social life, that's when a diagnosis sticks. Research shows it's a mix of biological and sociocultural factors, though newer studies point toward neurobiology, biochemistry, and genetics.
Some people are skeptical about the whole schizophrenia label, mostly because doctors lack objectivity during diagnosis. There isn't some objective bio-test for it yet; it all comes down to what the patient says mixed with what a psychiatrist or a caregiver observes.
Despite the name, schizophrenia isn't about having a split personality—don't confuse it with dissociative identity disorder, which Hollywood loves to obsess over. And no, schizophrenia doesn't mean someone is inherently aggressive.
One specific type or branch of schizophrenia involves an intense, panicky fear of certain people or things.
The term itself comes from Greek—*schizo* meaning split and *phrenos* meaning mind—so you could call it a "split mind."
The first red flag is usually a breakdown in how someone processes thought and perception, where they can't tell what's happening inside their head from what's actually going on outside. People dealing with it might deal with hallucinations or just spout stuff that makes zero sense in the real world. If there's no clear organic cause for these symptoms and it’s wrecking their job or social life, that's when a diagnosis sticks. Research shows it's a mix of biological and sociocultural factors, though newer studies point toward neurobiology, biochemistry, and genetics.
Some people are skeptical about the whole schizophrenia label, mostly because doctors lack objectivity during diagnosis. There isn't some objective bio-test for it yet; it all comes down to what the patient says mixed with what a psychiatrist or a caregiver observes.
Despite the name, schizophrenia isn't about having a split personality—don't confuse it with dissociative identity disorder, which Hollywood loves to obsess over. And no, schizophrenia doesn't mean someone is inherently aggressive.
One specific type or branch of schizophrenia involves an intense, panicky fear of certain people or things.