See Monkey Do

March 29, 2009

Offshore Sports Betting Keeps Risk Takers Surfing the Web

Filed under: Coin Flips, Gamblers Lair, Sports — admin @ 12:57 am

World wide web based sports wagering web pages are mainly regulated through three agencies. They are OSGA (the Offshore Gaming Association), the IGC (Interactive Gaming Council) and the Fidelity Trust Gaming Association FTGA. internet sports bet

The Offshore Gaming Association are a nonpartisan agency which oversees the overseas sports gaming trade in an enterprise to also grant gambling fanatics the ability to readily track down reputable websites to play games of destiny on, without concern. The association labors to maintain the concerns of consumers, additionally they charge no joining dues. The agency is a competent and non-biased third party agency who reveal equitable points of view, founded around customer feedback, objective studies, phone conversations, prompts also to supply inside communication.

The IGC is a nonprofit organisation. The council was founded to provide a platform for involved individuals to address concerns moreover to communal worries in the multinational interactive sports gambling industry, to ensure honest and also dutiful business standards and methods that endeavor to improve buyer faith in net based sports gaming products and benefits, and in addition to help as the sports gambling industry’s generic practise interpreter moreover the Interactive Gaming Council operates as an information center.

The IGC have built up a reputation for encouraging honor, candor and in addition solidity thanks to the ethical code it exhibits, and in addition its allure to legitimate business concerns. The Interactive Gaming Council regularizes offshore sports gambling via advocating a specific 10-point basic policy manual and also charges sports gambling web sites fees to feature their logo. Dispirited clients may, if they desire, state any of their conflicts to the Interactive Gaming Council.

The Fidelity Trust Gaming Association has been set up in a venture to present a standard to reform the procedures of on-line sports gambling trading operations. The Interactive Gaming Council trust that through partnering only with respected enterprises, they can cultivate an affiliation of the most honest and most competent cyberspace betting operations all over the planet. In short, there are bodies who monitor the transactions of world wide web based sports betting and which should work to alleviate a lot of the insecurities felt by some gambling lovers. Networked sports gambling websites are nowadays consistently harmless, in as much as private details should not be a necessity and the dividends not to mention the odds are as balanced and honest as a traditional Vegas-style bet. They eradicate travel, but still maintain the fundamental atmosphere, but nowadays you may gamble at your own computer.

March 28, 2009

Purchase Cheap Fishing Gear on the Web Today

Filed under: Shopping Info, Sports, Universe Of Leisure — admin @ 11:39 am

Procuring the best fishing gear is a key thing to remember when your are pondering your next fishing journey. You need to allow yourself the appropriate items to get into the “state of mind” and get the best benefits of fishing. Purchasing the proper fishing tools will assist you in lots of ways. As you may well be aware, the more fishing gear you own the more pleasurable the fishing will be. One of the essential questions you ought to ask yourself is, do you possess all that you require prior to you heading out on your fishing excursion? To be victorious you ought to make certain that your fishing excursion starts off with buying the right fishing items. There are many different brands of gear & it typically depends on kind of place you will be fishing at, what sort of fish you are searching for and the form of fishing that you long for.

There are lots of brands & styles of fishing reels that have a series of affordability. If you are wanting to join in commercial fishing you will need to make sure that your fishing gear is meant for that kind of purpose. Professional fishing calls for much more hard-wearing fishing supplies. Because professional fishing equipment has twice to three times the use they fatigue much more rapidly. This certainly makes it much more reasonable to pay put the extra money at the start. There are a selection of manufactured goods so that you can make a preference based on wants in addition to what you can actually actually afford.

The specific kind of fishing rod is another significant part of the tackle that you will need. You might need to evaluate what sort of rod that you need for your fishing excursion. Just as there are different reels there is a selection of fishing rods to purchase. It is suggested to select your decision on the type of fish that you are looking to catch. Find great offers on running tights online today.

The True about What Trigger Balding

Filed under: Be Beautiful, Hall Of Information, Health + More — admin @ 6:09 am

The main causes of hairlessness are several and most of the time are surrounded by misconceptions. But the majority of the main five causes of baldness are scientifically confirmed. Age could be for sure a key factor which starts hair loss and balding given that it involves hormones and weakens the immune procedure. Disease and more specifically fungus infections or tumours of the head-skin tissues, unquestionably damage hair, even if this is not permanent. Inheritance is a reason of bald-headedness in a little amount of persons as tight braiding, and poor diet. Hair beauty stuff if not checked or if exceptionally packed with elements, might badly spoil the skin tissues of the skull.
Periodicals are filled with folklore about the possible origin of hair loss and its connection with sex, genetically materials, intelligence, anxiety, food regime and caps. Various of these folklore have a portion of specific facts. Most are completely element of the bald-headedness legends that differ from territories.
Hair loss is hereditary from your mother’s family. Study draw attention to that the DNA for the main receptor which is significant in triggering hair loss, is situated on the female X gene information and and so is innate from the mum’s family part. In truth is a fifty % possibility that a human being shares the similar X chromosome similar to their maternal father - which means 50 per cent of probabilities that these is forwarded to the masculine children.
Though, study has also emphasized that somebody with a balding dad has as well a bigger chance of having issues with baldness.Intellectual activity or emotive matters may perhaps initiate baldness. This possibly will be related to the concept that in the antique societies if a someone was balding it was probable that he would have had an abundant amount of carbohydrates during his everyday diet.
Emotional trauma has been revealed to trigger bald-headedness in persons. Anxiety due to lack of sleep lower testosterone levels, except is not well-known to have affected directly balding. Advanced Hair Studio has helped over 300,000 people around the world with their hair loss technology and superb customer service.Bald men are exceptionally sexually active than others and that common sex produces hair loss. Tight sunhats cause balding; While this could be a legend, sunhats do start splintering. Read more about this here. Check this press release for more details.

March 27, 2009

The Art of UpSelling: Three Tips to Generate More Sales Effortlessly and 3 Ways People Blow It

Filed under: Uncategorized — admin @ 2:27 am

Here is the good news. The hardest sale you will ever make to a customer is the first one. With the first sale, if you deliver on your promise to the customer, you establish a mutually-beneficial relationship. The customer gets what he or she wants, and you get what you want. Also, once you have received a “yes” commitment from a customer, it’s easier to continue the positive pattern of continued “yeses”. The customer finds it hard to break the affirmative sequence. You then will have the opportunity to Upsell them.

Upselling refers to when you help a customer decide to buy a little extra or “up-grade” slightly the final purchase. A car dealer, for example, might inform customers at the time of ordering about upholstery protection and undercoating. A shoe salesperson might suggest that when you buy a pair of shoes that you also use some weather protectant spray. These are usually small purchases that the buyer doesn’t have to put a lot of thought into. The bonus is they can be extremely profitable for you as the sales person and for your organization.

Following are three key tips to effectively upsell your customers.

1. Up-sell where it makes sense. Say a customer purchases an e-book from your website. Instead of trying to upsell your customer on a $3,000 seminar, ask if he’d considered purchasing a $97 teleclass that teaches the work from the e-book.

2. Use sales incentives. Once you’ve received the first sale, offer a discount on the second item. Give the customer a 10% discount off their first teleclass. Sometimes a very small price break is enough to get that extra sale.

3. Identify buying patterns. Take note of how many customers who purchase e-books also buy teleseminars. This kind of information tells you what items to pitch and when. Your grasp of market research will impress potential buyers as well: telling consumers that 90% of the people who buy e-books from you also buy seminars might tip them towards making that extra purchase.

The best part of upselling is that it’s practically effortless. Since it’s done after the customer has decided to go ahead with a major purchase, the hard part of the sales conversation has already been done. You’ve already established rapport, identified needs, summarized, presented benefits, asked for the order and handled objections. Upselling is just presenting the information in a “by-the-way” assumptive manner.

Also, make sure that you include an upsale opportunity in your autoresponder within your shopping cart. For example, someone buys an e-book. In your autoresponder, thank them for their purchase and ask them if they would like to register for the teleclass on the same subject for a discount.

So if it is so easy, you might be asking, how can I go wrong?

The 3 biggest mistakes in upselling:

1. No attempt is made to upsell. I can hear it now as I write this article. “I hate to sell”, “I don’t want to bother people”, and the ever popular “They are probably going to say no”. This upselling business might all sound a bit contrived, but let me introduce another perspective to look from assuming that you only provide top notch products and services that can make your customers life easier and more enjoyable.

If you had information or a product that could help people improve the quality of their life, wouldn’t you actually be doing a disservice to them to not offer it. You would actually be withholding valuable information from them. And here is the thing… they do have the right to say no. AND you are in business. If you don’t offer or ’sell’ your services or products to prospects, you won’t have a business much longer and then all the people who need you won’t have access to you.

2. The salesperson comes across as being pushy. How can you avoid this? Being assumptive is the key. You’ve got to assume that the customer will naturally want your product or service. Begin the upsell with a brief benefit, and then if possible, add something unique about what you’re selling. To avoid sounding pushy, particularly if the upsell requires some elaboration, ask for the customer’s permission to describe it.

3. The upselling is made in an unconvincing manner so the customer generally refuses. This issue really links back to the objects made in number one, which is you don’t feel comfortable ’selling’, so you don’t really make an effort. If you believe in your products and services, let the buyer see your passion. If you don’t…it is time to go back to the drawing board.

Copyright 2005 UpLevel Strategies

Kelly K. O’Neil, Chief Strategy Officer, UpLevel Strategies
Business & Marketing guru Kelly O’Neil is passionate about helping entrepreneurs succeed in business through her Business Mastery Success System. She is the lead author of “Visionary Women Inspiring the World: 12 Paths to Personal Power” (Skyward, 2005) and is writing her second book Guerilla Business Strategy with mega-marketing genius Jay Conrad Levinson. Kelly’s company received several awards for her exceptional work including the PR Compass award for outstanding Public Relations, The ADDY Award for Branding and recently received the Purple Cow Award acknowledging her company as one of the Most Innovative Companies in America by best-selling author Seth Godin.
For more information, or to subscribe to O’Neil’s Arrive! E-newsletter filled with countless tips and resources for creating more profit in your business, visit http://www.uplevelstrategies.com. Please contact UpLevel Strategies at (408) 615-8150 for a Complimentary 30 Minute Strategy Session.

March 26, 2009

Home Security - A Thorough Approach for Protecting Your Home

Filed under: Living With Security — admin @ 11:18 pm

A thorough approach to protect your home is to identify the types of protection equipment you will need and how this equipment can provide you with the most effective home protection at a cost that is most affordable without compromising you and your family’s safety. A multi layer of protection equipment is the best way to accomplish your protection goals.

The first line of protection should be wireless security cameras for your home. With the technology available today, wireless security cameras are not only affordable but easy to install thus giving you control of your budget but also of your time. Depending on your personal needs and goals for protection, wireless security cameras are available to you in a variety of models; Black and White wireless security cameras, night vision cameras, network ip cameras, infra-red cameras and many more. The point is that what ever your needs are for home security, wireless security cameras should be your first line of protection for the home. As your first line of defense, visible wireless security cameras will give the overt protection that tells a would be burglar/intruder that he should go down the street to an easier mark and leave your house alone.

The second line of protection should be motion sensors, like wireless security cameras, motion sensors are affordable and easy to install. What a wireless security camera might see a motion detector will feel. Now you have both sight and feel protection for your home. Motion sensors are portable and mobile so you can place them in all the unique areas in and around you home, giving you the ultimate in home protection and detection. As the wireless security cameras give you sight and overt protection, the motion sensors will add the layer of covert protection when needed.

The third line of protection should be alarm monitors. Alarm monitors like wireless security cameras and motion sensors are also quite affordable and easy to install. Alarm monitors can give you both overt and covet protection. By alerting you to a would be burglar/intruder and creating fear when the unpleasant alarm sound is activated. The alarm monitors available today have many of features to meet your individual protection needs.

In addition to the above protection equipment one needs for there home protection and security, please always make sure of the following:

•You always should have appropriate lighting both in the front, back and sides of your home
•Your home should always have solid and sturdy doors
•Always have you windows locked and secured
•Take careful measures that your home is secure when vacationing and always stop you paper delivery and have some one pick up your mail or have the Post Office hold until you return

Russell and Claudia Knight are writers and administrators for KnightsSecurity-Protection.com, which specializes in home security systems.

March 18, 2009

Which? Study Says Virgin is Customers’ Choice in Mobile Broadband

Filed under: Best Technology Resources, Buyers + Consumers, Cell Phones — admin @ 10:21 am

It is quite surprising how two surveys studying the same aspects of market in the same location come up with drastically different results within a short time period. However, anyone who has been tracking such surveys will not be very surprised, as they have proven to be quite inaccurate too many times in the past.

Some time back a YouGov survey had shown that T-Mobile was an overwhelming favourite of the customers when it came to mobile broadband. The survey results had put the company on top in 9 of the 13 categories being researched. Now, a new survey, very similar to the YouGov one, has been conducted by Which? the independent consumer study company based in the UK. What is dissimilar though is the result, with Virgin emerging the favourite choice of customers in three separate aspects of mobile broadband: usability, customer service and setup ease. For a website on mobile broadband, Broadband Genie offers independent advice and info on all sorts; whether it be laptop deals or info on pay as you go mobile internet.

Virgin of course did what any company would do, it came out and stressed that the results were an evidence of the company’s superiority over its competitors. The Managing Director of Mobile for the company, Graeme Oxby, said he was very excited about the results, and that the company had always strived to meet the high standards set by itself for service and usability. He also added that the company was trying to provide a mobile broadband service that is at par with its own ADSL and fibre optic services in terms of quality and customer focus.

While Virgin congratulates itself, it is quite probable that the T-Mobile executives would have had a wry smile on their faces when they heard the results of this new survey.

March 17, 2009

What Do You Prefer the Spanish Lotto or the Euro Millions

Filed under: Coin Flips, Gamblers Lair, World Of Games — admin @ 12:30 pm

On Dec 2008 e-lottery brought the Spanish lotto to it’s product range, affording players globally a immensely improved opportunity of partaking in this massive Spanish lottery prize fund.

If it’s the first time you have come across the Spanish Lottery, let me highlight just how all-important this lottery is to the big majority of the Spanish population. The Spanish lottery has been a public obsession in Spain for a long time with tremendous interest generated by the Christmas lottery draw each year. Believe it or not 98% of the population play this Spanish National lotto each and every Christmas.

There are a couple of underlying sound reasons why lots of Spanish nationals join in the Christmas El Gordo lotto draw.

First Off, there is the incentive of the largest lottery prize fund of any world-wide lotto game - with over 2 Billion Euros! Second, there are more than 13 thousand cash prizes to be won. Last, the probability of accumulating a cash prize in the Christmas lottery draw are a extremely achievable - 1 in 6.

With the amount of interest that is given to the Christmas El Gordo lottery draw, a great deal of people are oblivious that there are five extra Spanish Lotto draws each year also. These lotto games take place on March, May, July, January and November. Despite the fact that these 5 lottery games don’t boast the huge prize fund of the Christmas lotto draw, they are big nonetheless, ranging from 78 million Euros to 655 million Euros. In addition, these games provide virtually three times as many prizes as the Christmas draw and odds of picking up a cash prize of an staggering one in three.

The Christmas Spanish lottery works in an unusual way to nearly all other world-wide lotteries. A whole lottery ticket ‘billete’ is very pricey, costing two hundred Euros. However, these lotto tickets are broken up into 10 ‘decimos’ (tenths) costing twenty Euros apiece.

When buying your lotto tickets you have the option of buying one decimo, a complete lottery ticket, or a portion of a lottery ticket. If you don’t buy the entire lotto ticket, someone else will purchase the remainder of your ticket. For Instance, if you purchase two decimos, somebody else purchases three decimos and someone else buys five and your lotto ticket wins one thousand Euros, and then you will collect two hundred Euros, 300 Euros and five hundred Euros respectively. Owing to the expense of buying an entire lottery ticket, it is not uncommon for families and friends to united their lottery money and each purchase a separate ‘decimo’ (tenth).

March 16, 2009

Wondering About Reiki?

Filed under: Nutrition Tips — admin @ 6:39 am

Friends, colleagues and clients often ask me about Reiki (pronounced “ray-kee”), as it is gaining such popularity as an alternative medicine. According to NCCAM, (National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine), Reiki is an energy medicine practice that originated in Japan. In Reiki, the practitioner places his hands on or near the person receiving treatment, with the intent to transmit ki, believed to be a life-force energy. Practitioners also believe that they can treat themselves with Reiki and send ki across short or long distances. In the United States, Reiki is part of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM).

This article is to highlight the important points in this an from the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine website, available at, http://nccam.nih.gov/health/reiki/.

The word Reiki is made up of two Japanese words: Rei, or universal spirit (sometimes thought of as a supreme being), and ki. Thus, the word Reiki means “universal life energy.” In CAM, Reiki belongs to a domain (area of knowledge) called energy medicine. In this domain, therapies are based on the belief that disturbances in energy cause illness. Energy medicine practitioners seek to improve the flow and balance of energy in a beneficial way.

As always, I encourage anyone who intends to utilize an alternative therapy, including Reiki, to talk to your health care provider before starting. It is still not proven how Reiki improves health or how it improves healing. The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) is sponsoring studies to find out more about Reiki’s effects, how it works, and diseases and conditions for which it may be most helpful.

Reiki practitioners perform the therapy with their hands, in the hopes to reduce negative energy and to increase the ki in the client. The client is usually fully clothed and sitting or lying comfortably. The practitioner places his hands on the client’s body using several different hand positions. The positions are held as long as the practitioner feels the energy is continuing, usually two to five minutes.

Reiki is performed in offices, hospitals, clinics and private homes. The number of sessions is determined by both the practitioner and the client and generally at least four sessions are scheduled, at 30 to 90 minutes each.

Why people seek Reiki

People seek Reiki treatment for several health-related reasons. According to NCCAM, some of these reasons include:

• Effects of stress.

• Chronic pain.

• Recovery from surgery and anesthesia.

• Side effects of chemotherapy and radiation therapy for cancer.

• Lowering heart rate.

• Improving immunity.

• Mental clarity.

• Sense of well-being and/or spirituality.

• Enhancing the sense of peace in people who are dying.


There tends to be a relaxed sensation after a Reiki session. That alone may be beneficial in combating certain health issues, such as pain, stress, and fatigue. Clients may also feel a warmth, tingling, sleepiness as well. Reiki appears to be safe with no serious side effects being reported.

Occasionally a person can experience symptoms of weakness, tiredness, headache or stomach ache, after a session. Practitioners believe these are effects of the releasing of toxins from the body, and advise rest and drink plenty of water as a way to deal with these symptoms.

Consider these points about using Reiki therapy:

• Do not use Reiki as a replacement for conventional care or to delay the time it takes you to see a doctor about a medical problem.

• Discuss any CAM therapies you are considering or using with your health care provider.

• Ask the Reiki practitioner about his training and experience (see also the NCCAM publication “Selecting a CAM Practitioner”).

• Reiki has not been well studied scientifically, but you can find and read research studies published on its use for various health conditions (see “for more information” below).

One does not need a special background to receive Reiki training, though many who seek training are health care professionals. Reiki can not be self-taught, and must be learned from an experienced teacher or Master. There are several schools of Reiki and there are usually three or four levels of expertise, depending upon the school. Laws regulating the practice of Reiki vary from state to state. In Florida, for example, one must be a certified massage therapist in order to become a Reiki practitioner.

Areas of controversy in Reiki:

• Since little is known scientifically about Reiki, accepting its teachings about its healing properties and about ki is a matter of faith.

• Some people believe that effects attributed to Reiki occur for psychological reasons (such as the placebo effect or suggestibility), or that there are no true effects.

• Some people feel Reiki is incompatible with their religious or spiritual beliefs.

• Government licensing and regulation of Reiki practice is a controversial area.

Reiki can be a great tool to help people in pain or who prefer a more spiritual form of relaxation. Reiki is just one of the many ways to accomplish this, and because many people may have heard about it, still many don’t know what it is. This article should help fill in any blanks you may have had. I would suggest you find a practitioner in your area and give it a try if it sounds interesting to you.

For more information, visit the website for the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, here at, http://nccam.nih.gov/health/reiki/. Finally, always, always consult your health care practitioner before beginning any alternative therapies.

Marjorie Geiser - EzineArticles Expert Author

Marjorie Geiser helps people overcome their confusion and distress they may feel when trying to add healthy eating and fitness into their busy lives. She offers a free, monthly newsletter on various topics of health. She is a Registered Dietitian, Personal Trainer and Life Coach. To learn more about her services, go to her website at http://www.megfit.com or email her at margie@megfit.com.

Berry Good!

Filed under: Nutrition Tips — admin @ 5:18 am

Long before winter comes, black bears in the forest spend all their time eating everything they can sink their teeth into.

During the summer, bears eat and eat and eat, trying to get as fat as they possibly can, and when the weather turns cold, they look for a place to curl up and then they sleep the winter away.

Now, the habits of bears might not seem like something you should try to follow. After all, doctors are always warning us humans that we shouldn’t overeat, and that we shouldn’t spend all of our time lying around, doing nothing.

But there is one part of the black bear’s habits that you should actually try to imitate, because it would be good for your health.

Black bears eat a lot of berries, of many different varieties, such as raspberries, strawberries, and blueberries.

Berries contain natural sugars and wonderful flavors. Unlike many other foods that are really good for you, but which don’t taste good, berries taste great.

And unlike many foods that taste great but which aren’t good for you, berries are among the most health friendly foods you can eat.

It’s only been within the last decade that scientists have started to pay a lot of attention to the health benefits of berries. And what researchers are learning about the health benefits of berries has a lot of exciting potential for human diets.

One of the first major experiments on the health benefits of berries took place at Tufts University about ten years ago.

Researchers were working with a group of aging rats. They fed them diets of various foods to see what the effects would be. Among the foods they tested were strawberries, blueberries, and spinach.

Now these rats were fairly old in terms of “rat years”. In fact, their age was equivalent to humans about 70 years old.

The foods the scientists tested were all very high in beneficial antioxidants, so the scientists wanted to see if any of these foods would boost the physical and mental capabilities of these aging rats.

The researchers found that while several of these foods seemed to offer some antioxidant protection, the rats that had been fed blueberries were the only ones that actually improved in their abilities.

In fact, the rats which had been fed blueberries were able to perform like much younger rats!

This was a very exciting find, and the scientists then wanted to find what it was in the blueberries that produced this very beneficial effect.

It turns out that the chemicals responsible for making these aging rats act mentally younger and perkier were the pigments in the skin of the blueberries.

The compounds that give ripe berries their beautiful colors are the very substances that have such strong anti-oxidant powers. And antioxidants are compounds that help repair some of the damage that happens to our body cells every day.

Scientists have discovered that the darker the berry, the more health benefits it has! Eating two thirds of a cup of blueberries will give you as much anti-oxidant protection as five servings of apples or squash.

The dark pigments in these berries seem to offer protection against cardiovascular disease, degenerative eye disease such as cataracts, and may offer some help in preventing some cancers, and bladder infections.

If the exciting results of the rat studies turn out to also hold true for humans, it may mean that compounds in these dark berries may help protect brain cells from the degenerative diseases of aging.

You can get this fantastic antioxidant protection whether you eat your berries fresh, frozen, or dried.

You can eat berries raw, add them to your favorite cereals, or make a smoothie drink with various berries, fruits, milk and yoghurt. Get creative and find ways to mix berries into your favorite recipes.

In North America, blueberries are available fresh or frozen year round. If you can’t get fresh berries, dried berries are also filled with very concentrated levels of the valuable antioxidants.

If you live in a place where blueberries are not easily available, look for other fruits and berries that have very dark red or dark purple colors.

Foods such as pomegranates, bilberries, cherries, black raspberries, saskatoons or serviceberries also have high levels of these very beneficial dark pigments. These foods offer benefits similar to the benefits of blueberries.

So, think about incorporating at least one habit of bears into your lifestyle - and make berries a frequent part of your diet!

This article is written by self help author Royane Real. If you would like to learn more about what foods are good for your brain as well as many other brain boosting ideas, get her book “How You Can Be Smarter” at http://www.royanereal.com

March 11, 2009

Credit Card Skimming

Filed under: Life Of Mathematics — admin @ 6:48 am

All technological marvels have their drawbacks and this is true of credit cards too. One form of credit card fraud is skimming or making copies of information stored on credit cards. Every time your credit card leaves your hands, it becomes vulnerable to skimming.

Skimming In Public Places

Skimming usually takes place in a retail store, restaurant or a shop. A dishonest waiter or cashier may swipe your credit card for payment and then swipe it again with a skimmer. This is a small pager-sized device with a slot, which can be easily purchased over the Internet. It rapidly records the information stored on the credit card’s magnetic strip. This information is passed onto thieves who paste it onto counterfeit credit cards. Your money is now in their hands. The only way to prevent this is to keep a close watch on your credit card.

Skimming also takes place at ATMs, especially in less-supervised non-bank areas like malls. They are set up for skimming before your arrival. It could be a plastic sheet inserted inside the slot, which prevents the machine from reading your card. A small camera fitted on the ATM records your PIN number while you try repeatedly to access your account. You leave believing that the ATM has swallowed your card. The thief turns up and takes your card and the camera. He can now withdraw large amounts from your account.

A superior technique allows you to withdraw cash but a camera records your PIN number while a skimmer inside the ATM reads your credit card.

How To Avoid Skimming

To reduce skimming-related risks, simply walk away if you find anything suspicious about the ATM. If the machine swallows your card, report it immediately.

Apart from these measures, always check your credit card statements carefully for surprise purchases. Keep low credit limits to minimize losses. Tear up all receipts, slips and statements after using them, preferably with a shredder. Credit card companies are also vigilant. They usually ring up customers immediately if they find unusual purchasing patterns. Newer technologies in credit cards and ATM machines also make skimming impossible. However, the changes are not yet universal. Till then, keep your eyes on your credit card.

Zack Nelson recommends Find Credit Cards to compare First Premier Bank cards. See www.findcreditcards.org/issuer/first-premier.php for more information.

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