Saturday, November 20

Catch them if you can; if not, file a 1099

Frank Abagnale, famously portrayed in Catch Me If You Can, has been a consultant and lecturer on fraud prevention ever since...well, you know. He's got a website where he sells products such as his $75 Document Verification & Currency Transaction Manual containing, among other things, "authentic full color specimens of all U.S. and Canadian driver's licenses and license plates".

Rob Rodin turned me on to a document Abagnale authored, sponsored by the Union Bank of California, imposingly titled Check Fraud, Identity Theft and Embezzlement. It's full of good, prosaic advice (interspersed with pitches for UCB services) on preventing the named frauds, such as to avoid using polymer film typewriter ribbon when writing manual checks — easily lifted by a forger with scotch tape.

Mostly prosaic advice, as I said. But there is one amusing suggestion:

If an embezzlement or check fraud loss does occur, whenever possible, file a 1099 on the perpetrators and let them deal with the IRS of the rest of their natural lives.

Sunday, November 14

I'd prefer not to.

I know I haven't been blogging. Sorry to disappoint you. I'll be back soon, I promise.

Wednesday, November 3

Top Ten Reasons to be Glad He Won

  1. No need for expensive wedding presents for gay friends.
  2. Impoverished elderly means cheaper domestic help.
  3. $4/gallon gas makes roads less crowded.
  4. Investment strategy a no-brainer: short the dollar.
  5. Heating bills should go down as globe warms.
  6. Ends sleepless nights worrying about IVF clinic zygotes.
  7. "Left Behind" will make a great mini-series.
  8. Islamic youth have something to be enthusiastic about.
  9. Fewer drug side-effects for millions of Americans.

....and the #1 reason to be glad he won:

  1. French more pissed-off at us than ever.

I figured out who to blame...

John McCain.

The people have spoken, goddamn them.

Charles Pierce quoting Mo Udall on Altercation.