Day: March 20, 2014

“One-Ring” Cell Phone Scam Can Ding Your Wallet

~February 10, 2014 by Colleen Tressler, Consumer Education Specialist~

Who’s calling now? That number doesn’t ring a bell. Hold the phone, says the Federal Trade Commission. You could be a potential victim of the growing “one-ring” cell phone scam.

Here’s how it works: Scammers are using auto-dialers to call cell phone numbers across the country. Scammers let the phone ring once — just enough for a missed call message to pop up.

The scammers hope you’ll call back, either because you believe a legitimate call was cut off, or you will be curious about who called. If you do, chances are you’ll hear something like, “Hello. You’ve reached the operator, please hold.” All the while, you’re getting slammed with some hefty charges — a per-minute charge on top of an international rate. The calls are from phone numbers with three-digit area codes that look like they’re from inside the U.S., but actually are associated with international phone numbers — often in the Caribbean. The area codes include: 268, 284, 473, 664, 649, 767, 809, 829, 849 and 876.

If you get a call like this, don’t pick it up and don’t call the number back. There’s no danger in getting the call: the danger is in calling back and racking up a whopping bill.

If you’re tempted to call back, do yourself a favor and check the number through online directories first. They can tell you where the phone number is registered.

If you’ve been a victim of the “one-ring” scam, try to resolve the charges with your cell phone carrier. If that doesn’t work, file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission and the Federal Communications Commission.

And as a general rule: Read your phone bill often — line by line. If you don’t recognize or understand a charge, contact your carrier.

I’ve got to go now; my cell phone is ringing.

GOP CELEBRATES 160 YEAR ANNIVERSARY

An important milestone for one of the two major political parties in the United States. Exactly 160 years ago today (March 20, 1854) the Republican Party, commonly known as the GOP – an acronym for the Grand Old Party – was founded.

The party’s history began in a little schoolhouse in Ripon, Wisconsin, in 1854, where some 50 anti-slavery, abolitionists gathered to fight the expansion of slavery. The name “Republican” alludes to Thomas Jefferson’s Democratic-Republican Party and its commitment to the rights of life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness.

The GOP’s unofficial symbol – the elephant – represents Republican strength.

This Jersey Girl finds it interesting that the current Republican establishment (politicians in Washington) find it easier to cave in to the liberal demands of Obama & his Democratic minions; thus enslaving Americans to the government by way of “entitlements”. This is in total opposition to the original purpose and mission of the original abolitionists who founded the party in 1854. ~dfh

In all, there have been 18 Republican Presidents. The first was Abraham Lincoln, who vigorously supported the 13th Amendment, abolishing slavery throughout the United States. The most recent Republican President was George W. Bush, serving between 2001 and 2009. The Republican party’s platform is generally based on American conservatism, in contrast to the Democratic Party, whose members endorse more liberal policies. The GOP currently holds a majority of seats in the US House of Representatives and a minority – in the US Senate.

The party’s platform is generally based upon American conservatism] in contrast to the Democratic Party, whose members endorse more liberal policies. American conservatism of the Republican Party is not wholly based upon rejection of the political ideology of liberalism; some principles of American conservatism are based on classical liberalism. Rather, the Republican Party’s conservatism is largely based upon its support of classical principles against the social liberalism of the Democratic Party that is considered American liberalism in contemporary American political discourse.

Unlike the Democrats, members of the Republican party advocate tax cuts, free trade and are in favor of reducing illegal migration. They speak for strengthening the role of religion in public life, morality and family values, as well as the rejection of homosexuality and abortion. The Republican Party’s core principles are as relevant today as they were back at the Party’s founding. We have one Party in this country that is Democrats who believe in the continued expansion of centralized government. They believe in expanding the size and the scope of the federal government and in increasing presence and the role of government in American’s daily lives, in their ability to conduct business and go about achieving whatever they deem happiness to be. The Republican Party is the Party of people as opposed to being a party of government. The GOP believes in freedom, self-determination and the ability of every individual to achieve success however they define success without government in their lives.

 Every government interference in the economy consists of giving an unearned benefit, extorted by force, to some men at the expense of others. — Ayn Rand