Misinformation about Affordable Healthcare Act

Today, with the Supreme Court decision that the Affordable Healthcare Bill is constitutional, I asked a few questions on other websites about how people thought the new bill would affect them.  The amount of misinformation was astounding and it is creating a lot of confusion.  Some of the people said they were upset because now they would be paying for the healthcare of deadbeats who won't contribute to their own heathcare costs.   

This is just the opposite of the truth.  We've been paying all along for the medical bills of people who show up in hospital emergency rooms without money, without insurance, and without any means to pay.  Hospitals pass on the expense by over-billing the insurance companies of people who do have insurance.  Hospitals also bill the government, and the cost is passed on to us through our taxes.  Those of us who have insurance have been paying for those who do not have insurance for a hundred years, or more.  That's why our insurance premiums have gotten so high.  That's what we should have been complaining about!

Under the new law, everyone except the very poorest people will have to contribute something towards their medical bills.  Even if their health insurance is at a discount, because they have a low income, they will still have to pay something towards their insurance premiums.  If they don't, they will pay a tax penalty, which will be used to offset the expenses of the government when it has to pay the medical bills of the uninsured.  This is much fairer than having approximately 20% of our population completely uninsured, which is the situation now, with the rest of us picking up the tab.   The Federal General Accounting Office has said that the federal goverment will save billions in healthcare costs over the next few decades.  This can only be a good thing for the rest of us.

The new plan will also increase the number and size of neighborhood clinics, so that fewer people will demand expensive care in hospital emergency rooms.  Since everyone will receive preventive care through the insurance they are buying, there will be fewer people who do not seek treatment until they need the most expensive care.  Many cases of colon cancer, for example, might be prevented. 

Pregnant women will get prenatal care, which means that fewer babies will be born prematurely, or with unnecessary medical issues.  In the long run, this could mean that the cost of Special Education programs will be cut; fewer young people will go on disability right out of high school, as they do now.  (I work in a high school; many of our Special Education students go straight from high school onto disability.  The cost of their care is tremendous.  Anything we can do to reduce the number of young people on disability will be better for our children and our society.)

It's about time that we all start to chip in towards the cost of healthcare, and take responsibility for our own health.  This is exactly what the new healthcare bill is designed to do.  The only reason more people do not understand this is because of the lies they have been told by politicians who would rather have a political win than do what is best for our citizens and our country.  These lies are designed to create fear in the minds of hard-working people, and this is outrageous!

If you want to read the bill for yourself, so that no one gives you more misinformation, including me, you can read it at:  http://www.healthcare.gov/law/index.html

You are reading from the blog:  http://lies-and-liars.blogspot.com

Photo courtesy of www.morguefile.com

Dangerous Viruses Not Always Secured at the CDC

If you watch television shows about the release of harmful viruses and bacteria, these dangerous pathogens are always stored under lock and key in a secure facility that absolutely no one could possibly breach without a Mission Impossible type of covert operation.  It would never be possible to simply just walk through an unlocked door and take what you wanted, would it?  Or would it?

ABC News reported today that doors at the Center for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta have repeatedly been left unlocked at the nation's top bio-terror lab.  This is where our government stores and does research on deadly biological agents, such as the SARS virus and anthrax. The CDC was featured in the Dustin Hoffman movie "Outbreak," as well as the movie "Contagion," both of which dealt with the topic of what could happen if a dangerous pathogen ever got loose among the general public.  It has also figured prominently in books on the same topic, such as "The Hot Zone" by Richard Preston and "Virus Hunter" by C.J. Peters, who is the former head of the Special Pathogens Branch at the CDC.  The CDC knows exactly how risky any security lapses can be.

The CDC acknowledges that the doors were left unlocked, but insists there was never a danger to anyone because of it.  However, there was at least once known instance in which someone without security clearance was found wandering around in a restricted area.  With all the publicity about the existence of dangerous pathogens in the CDC, employees there are well aware that this could be a dangerous situation; however, the only way it came to the attention of the media was through leaked CDC emails.

Since this situation has come to light, officials at the CDC have tried to reassure the public that they were never in danger because there are other levels of security in addition to the unlocked doors.  However, what if a deadly virus had been released inside the CDC?  It is possible that employees could have left home that day carrying the virus inside their own bodies, and not even know it?

This is not the only problem discovered at the Center for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.  They have also had trouble with the air flow system which is designed to keep dangerous airborn particulates from escaping into other parts of the facility, thereby endangering the lives of everyone from research scientists to file clerks and receptionists. 

Because of recent publicity about the problems at this facility, which cost $214 million to build, Congress has launched an investigation into the safety measures there.  Hopefully, they will be able to find a way to make the building more secure, and make absolutely certain that the procedures for handling dangerous substances in real life will be taken at least as seriously as they are when depicted on television shows.

Sources:  http://gma.yahoo.com/security-lapses-revealed-cdc-bio-terror-laboratory-133959955--abc-news-topstories.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centers_for_Disease_Control_and_Prevention

Politician John Edwards

On Thursday, May 31, 2012, former presidential candidate John Edwards was found not guilty on one charge of campaign finance fraud.  The jurors were unable to come to a decision on the other five charges against him regarding whether he had used money from two wealthy donors to hide his pregnant mistress from potential voters during his presidential run, or whether the money was used to hide his mistress from his wife, Elizabeth, who was dying from cancer.

John Edward's affair with Rielle Hunter began in 2006 when the two of them met in a hotel bar and spent the night together.  She then was hired as a filmmaker for his campaign, with a $250,000 contract, despite the fact that she had no professional experience as a filmmaker.  By the summer of 2007, Hunter became pregnant.  John Edwards then pressured his aide, Andrew Young, to pretend that he was the father of Ms. Hunter's baby.  Andrew Young and his wife arranged for a $2,700 a month rental home for  Ms. Hunter and later she stayed in a donor's vacation mansion in Aspen, Colorado, and at various luxury resorts.  In December, 2007, Andrew Young issued a statement saying that the baby was his.

By the time of the trial,  it was clear from the evidence and his own admissions that John Edwards had an affair with Rielle Hunter, fathered a child by her, and lied on national television about being the father of that daughter. John Edwards said after his trial, "While I do not believe I did anything illegal, or ever thought I was doing anything illegal, I did an awful, awful lot that was wrong and there is no one else responsible for my sins."

Whether or not lying about using money from donors to hide a pregnant mistress is wrong, there is no question that John Edwards went to great deal of trouble to keep his secret.  His defense attorneys told the jury that it not illegal to lie about an affair, or to keep a mistress secret from a wife.  John Edwards was on trial for filing a false campaign finance report.  In fact, the attorneys pointed out to the jury that Mr. Edwards should not be convicted for being a liar, even if he knew about the money that was being used to help Ms. Hunter.  His attorneys said the money was a gift, not a campaign contribution, and could be used as he saw fit.

Among the other interesting developments that came out during the trial was the fact that John Edwards had put pressure on his aide, Andrew Young, to pretend to be the father of Rielle Hunter's child.  As a result, much of the money that was funneled from donors to take care of Rielle Hunter and her child was also used by Andrew Young and his wife to build a home for themselves.

John Edwards did not admit that the baby was his until January 2010, almost two years after the baby was born and Mr. Edwards was no longer running for president.  His wife died in late 2010.

After the trial, when John Edwards was asked if he loved Reille Hunter and planned to marry her, Edwards did not answer.  He just turned away.  However, on an ABC interview broadcast in June, 2012, Reille Hunter explained her affair by saying how much in love they both had been.  Perhaps he had been lying to her, too.

Sources for this article were ABC News reports and an Associated Press article dated May 31, 2012, entitled "John Edwards acquitted on 1 count, mistrial on others."

Photo on John Edwards on campaign trail in 2007 courtesy of wikipedia.com/commons

The Mysterious Sinking Boat Hoax

Something mysterious has been going on in the waters surrounding the United States, and it has been costing the Coast Guard hundreds of thousands of dollars.

On June 11, 2012, a distressed boat call was supposedly made from a sinking yacht 17 nautical miles east of Sandy Hook, New Jersey.  According to tapes of the call released to the media, someone said, "We have three deceased, nine injured.  We've had an explosion onboard.  That's why we're taking on water.  I'm in about three-and-a-half feet of water on the bridge right now."

This sent the Coast Guard scrambling to save these yachtsmen, as they responded by air and with boat crews, using about $318,000 worth of personnel, watercraft, aircraft and fuel during the 5 1/2 hour search.  After carefully looking for the sinking boat, nothing was found in the indicated area.  Later, a triangulation determined that the call had actually come from land, in a location between the coast of Staten Island and the George Washington Bridge.  It was obvious that the call has been a hoax.

What makes this situation more serious is that the same group may have done it before.  Three weeks earlier, the Coast Guard in the Houston-Galveston, Texas area received a similar call.  The caller said that they had lost "six souls" in a boating accident, going on to add, "We have an onboard emergency.  We are taking on water, sir."  This call was also a hoax, and sounded very similar to the New Jersey call.  Among other similarities, both of the callers used the phrase, "we are taking on water."

When the Coast Guard receives a call like this, they are putting their own lives at risk in order to save others.  The cost is tremendous, and it is a waste of money and resources.  It also slows down their reaction time during that period to any other distress calls they may receive.  Because of this, the penalty is up to six years in prison and a $250,000 fine, plus restitution for the cost of the search.

The question remains why the person or persons are doing this.  Do they just find it amusing, or do they have a more sinister reason?  Are they testing the reaction time of the Coast Guard?  Are they trying to distract the Coast Guard while they slip by with drugs or illegal immigrants?  Could it be a terrorist organization?

It is quite likely that we will eventually discover the reasons for this crime.  The Coast Guard is already pinpointing the sources of the calls; in addition, they are using sophisticated voice recognition technology.  There is also a $3,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the person or persons involved in these bogus distress calls.

You are reading from the blog: http://lies-and-liars.blogspot.com/

Photo courtesy of http://www.morguefile.com/

Cybercrimes That Use Poisoned Computer Search Results

Believe it or not, there was once a time when the only way someone could cheat or steal from you was for them to personally come into contact with you in some way.  Even if they only got in touch by sending you a dishonest email, they had to target you.

Today, scammers can cheat you by tricking you into contacting them, and giving them all your personal information.  Every day people fall for these scams, and many have no idea, until they have been hurt financially.  The scammers just have to sit back and wait for us to fall for their bait.  Amazing, isn't it?

How Poisoned Search Results Work

According to an article on Yahoo!Finance, the people who run these scams simply set up a fraudulent website that is similar to a legitimate one.  When you accidentally end up at the phony website, they can take advantage of you in several ways.  They could download malware to your computer.  Or, they could pretend to be selling the product that was the object of your search.  As a result, a potential buyer will cheerfully give them their name, address, phone number and credit card information.  The buyer never gets the item, and the scammers have your information.  Since these sites are usually run overseas, they are difficult to shut down.

How Common is it to Get Poisoned Search Results?

It is far more common than you think.  Accourding to the Anti-Phishing Working Group, as many as 40% of the world's computers could be infected with malware.  In addition, according to a company called Blue Coat, about 1 out of 142 searches in 2011 led the searcher to a poisoned site.  Symantec, the Web Security firm, has indicated that as many as 1 in 3 seaches could lead to these dangerous sites!  It makes you never want to do a Google search again, doesn't it?

How to Protect Yourself

According to a Yahoo!Finance article entitled "Poisoned Search Results: More of a Malware Threat Than You Probably Think," here are a few steps you can take to protect your computer:

Use antivirus and antimalware software.

Avoid URLs that end in the two-letter TLD's for other countries, unless you specifically want information about those other countries.  For examples, URL's from Russia often end in .RU; India .IN.

Preview the site before clicking on it.  You can do this on Google searches by hovering your mouse over the little button to the right.

Carefully read the site description before clicking.  Does it seem legit, or does it seem random or fragmented?

Look at the domain name.  Does it go with the topic of your search, or does it seem like a random name?

In addition to what the article suggested, I recommend that you try to stay with well-known sites when purchasing items.  For example, you could go to Amazon.com, Sears.com, Target.com, Zales.com or similar store sites to make a purchase.   When doing research, stick with domain names that end in .edu.  Don't casually hop from site to site.  Taking these precautions will help keep you off some of the poisoned websites, and protect you from being the unwitting victim of a scam!

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The Scam that Promises to Fix Your Credit

With all the foreclosures and bankruptcies that have occurred in the past four years, many people are desperate to find a quick fix to improve their credit score.  Because of this, thousands are falling victim to a scam that promises to fix your credit, for a fee.  According to an article on Yahoo!Finance.com, entitled "Is There a Legit Company to Fix my Credit Score," this is misleading or false advertising.  All these companies that promise to fix your credit, if you pay them, are lying to you.

The Truth About Your Credit Score

Your credit score is based on your past actions.  If you have paid your bills late, defaulted on a loan, had a car repossessed, gone through bankruptcy, lost a home to foreclosure, or had a medical bill go to a collection agency, this information is reported to the credit reporting agencies for about seven years.  No one else can make those negative items on your credit report permanently disappear.

What Credit Fix Companies Actually Do

There is one exception about having all this negative information on your credit report.  If the information is in dispute, the items have to be temporarily removed from your credit report until the dispute is resolved.  However, once the credit agencies receive proof that the information is accurate, everything will go back on your credit report.  These credit fixing companies will send letters to the credit bureaus disputing all the negative items on your reports, which causes your FICO score to go up temporarily.  After each item has been investigated, however, your FICO score will go back down again.  Essentially, you paid for a short-term solution to a long-term problem.

How You Can Really Fix Your Own Credit Score

There are a few things you can do on your own to raise your credit score.  Essentially, you have to have more positive information on your report than negative information.  Here is some of the positive information they look for:

Pay your bills on time.  Late payments have a huge effect on your credit score.

Pay down credit cards until you owe less than 50% of the credit limit.  The lower you go, the better.  Ideally, you should strive to only owe 10% of your available credit.  This is one reason not to close rarely used accounts.  If you have some that you are not using, it makes your overall use of credit look lower.

Do not apply for new loans or credit cards too often.  When you do, your FICO score can take a temporary dip.  If you do it frequently, it can have a significant effect.

Take care of any liens or judgments against you.  Work out a payment plan, if necessary.

Give it time.  Even a bankruptcy or foreclosure will disappear after seven years.  If you have been good about paying your bills during that time, your credit score will look great as you get closer to the seven year mark.

The bottom line is that you should not pay someone else to fix your credit score.  It is just a scam.  You would be better off using the money to pay off a credit card, or a medical bill before it goes to collection.  Only you can make a lasting change in your credit history.

You are reading from the blog:  http://lies-and-liars.blogspot.com/

Photo courtesy of:  http://www.morguefile.com/

So You Think You Can Cheat a Casino

Ever since the first person placed the first bet, people have been trying to figure out how to cheat while gambling.  Today, with casinos spread out across the United States and around the world, even more people seem to be motivated to try to rob a casino, beat the odds at a casino, or find a way to cheat a casino.  Watch out, however; it isn't as easy as you may think, and most people who try, end up in jail.  Here are some of the more creative ideas that some people have had.

Robbing a Casino

Recently, two very foolish young men tried to rob the Ballagio Casino in Las Vegas.  While one of them pepper-sprayed a few employees and guests near a gaming table, the other one grabbed about $150,000 in chips and headed for the door.  He barely made it twenty steps before he was pulled down by security.  Their defense?  Someone told them that no one would chase them through a crowded casino.  Big mistake!  In addition, they never considered that multiple people in that crowd would be photographing and filming them on their camera phones.  Their pictures were all over the news.  Obviously this was not an "Ocean's Eleven" operation. 

Beating The Odds

People with a mind for math have tried for years to figure out ways to beat the odds.  For example, they will tell you that roulette has the worst odds in a casino, and craps has the best.  One way they have tried to beat the odds is by learning to count the cards, especially when playing games like Blackjack (or 21).  That is why the casinos now use multiple decks of cards, rather than just one.  The more decks, the more difficult it is for anyone to keep them all straight in their head.

Cheating the Casino

Other people have simply tried to used technology to cheat the casinos.  Recently, some casino security managers have reported that cunning thieves have begun using bill validator devices that look like $l bills.  When slipped into a slot machine, however, the machine gives them $100 worth of credits.  Obviously, with so many credits in the machine, your chances of winning are greatly improved.  However, don't think that casinos are fooled very long, even by high-tech ways of cheating.  The Las Vegas casinos, as well as more remote casinos, are already being retrofitted to combat these devices.  In fact, I wouldn't have even mentioned these devices here, if I thought I was making it easier for anyone to cheat.  You know that by the time the Vegas security people are releasing this information to the news, it is definitely old technology!

A famous statement attributed to a member of the family that owns the Luxor Hotel and Casino is that the only way to make money at a casino is to own one.  Perhaps more people should consider this before they walk in the doors, especially if they think they can line their pockets by cheating.

You are reading from the blog: http://lies-and-liars.blogspot.com/

Photo courtesy of http://www.morguefile.com/

The Phony Contest Winner Scam

As I was writing a blog post last night about a friend of mine who was scammed out of $4,000, I received an email from a stranger who was using the name Jim Burch.  Here is what it said:

"Daily Payment of $7,600.00. You have funds payment of $1.5 Million by UN Do send your Name, Address & Phone Number to Mrs. Franca Lee via unwesternunion03 @xxxx.com or call +6010 3770 XXX." (I intentionally obscured some of the information, so that none of my readers will try to foolishly collect this "fortune!")

Fortunately for me, as well as others, our local newspaper had already published an article about this scam, so I knew there was nothing legitimate about this email.  From what I understand, there seems to be two types of scams related to this sort of email.

In the first one, the scammers get your name, address and other information.  When you contact them with these facts, they ask for additional information as proof of your identity.  Then, they ask for your Social Security number before sending your "payment."  By then, they have enough information to steal your identity.

In another scam, they actually send you a check for more than they have promised to award you, and then they ask you to send them back the extra money.  For example, they might send you a check for $10,000 and tell you to send them back the $2,400 above the amount of your $7,600 prize.  You deposit the $10,000 check and wire them the $2,400.  Afterwards, much to your horror, the $10,000 check bounces, and you have just wired $2,400 to a total stranger in another country.

The irony of my receiving this email is that it arrived at the same time I was busy writing about another scam, The Crying Teenager Phone Hoax, which also originated overseas.

These kinds of scams are one of the reasons why I am writing this blog.  The downside of the internet is that people around the world are targeting Americans by emailing them a wide variety of fraudulent awards and offers.  If you know of a similar email that you have seen, please list the details in the comments section, below.  The more we can publicize these letters, the more likely we will eventually be able to shut down the scammers.

You are reading from the blog:  http://lies-and-liars.blogspot.com/

Photo of phony million dollar bill courtesy of: http://www.morguefile.com/

The Crying Teenager Phone Hoax

If you have been reading my retirement blog, Baby Boomer Retirement, you may recall the article I wrote about a dear friend of mine who received a call from her grandson in January, 2012.  He was crying hysterically, and told her that he had been in a car accident.  The accident had been his fault, there had been a sealed bottle of vodka in the car, and he had damaged a rental car full of foreign tourists.  He was crying so hard that she could hardly understand him, so he handed the phone over to his lawyer.

The lawyer explained that if her grandson paid a fine and reimbursed the foreigners for their out-of-pocket expenses, the judge had agreed to drop the charges.  All the grandmother needed to do was wire $4000 to a foreign bank account and when the money wire was confirmed, everything would be fine.

My friend then asked to talk some more with her grandson, who was still crying hysterically.  He begged his grandmother not to tell his parents.  She wanted more information, so he gave her the number of the prosecuting attorney's office in the courthouse.  She called that number, and confirmed everything.  Then, after discussing it with her husband, she went to the bank, took out $4000, took the cash to a nearby Western Union office and wired the money to the car crash victims, who were now back in their hometown in the Dominican Republic.

The entire incident was a HOAX!

 My friend spoke to at least four different people, including her supposed "grandson" who was crying and difficult to understand every time he was on the phone with her.  All of them were involved in the scam.

When she finally reached her real grandson, she found out that he had not been in an automobile accident; he doesn't even own a car.  He was busy and working at a new job when all this was going on.  He had even called and left them a message that morning.  However, they were so wrapped up in responding to the hoax, that they didn't listen to their messages.

To make matters worse, my friend is a well-educated retired school teacher, and her husband is a retired parole officer.  They were both initially skeptical of the phone call, which is why they had insisted on calling the prosecuting attorney's office.  The scammers were prepared for that possibility, with another phone number that could be called and people able to pose as a receptionist and a prosecutor.

When the teenager originally called my friend, he simply said "grandma" and she responded with his first name.  After that, everyone knew his first name, and used it in the conversations.  When she called the "prosecutor's office" to ask more questions, she supplied his last name when she inquired about his court case.  The operation was so smooth, she didn't realize what was happening until it was over.

My friend took a long walk with me on the beach in February, a couple of weeks after this incident, and asked me to publicize what had happened to her and her husband.  She was embarrassed that she had been cheated, but she wanted to be sure that other people didn't fall victim to the same scam.  My friend and I live in an over-55 community, and we think that the scammers were intentionally pulling this hoax on people who live in our area and communities like it.  They were thorough and had obviously done their research.  Without a doubt, they must be making enough money from the scam to keep repeating it over and over again.

(This incident was originally described in the blog post: Baby Boomer Retirement: When Teenage Grandkids Call for Money.)

If you have had a similar experience with a phone scam, please share it with us.

You are reading from the blog:  http://lies-and-liars.blogspot.com/

Photo courtesy of http://www.morguefile.com/

College Does Not Guarantee Success

This spring our colleges and universities will graduate tens of thousands of optimistic new graduates who believe that they can be anything they want to be.  After all, they now have that four year college degree that is supposed to guarantee them success.  Many of them will be disappointed.

I recently had a conversation with a young teacher who just got his first probationary teaching job, three years after he received his university degree and teaching credential!  Since graduating from college, he has been working part-time as a substitute teacher and behavioral specialist, while holding down another job on weekends and evenings at Macy's in order to pay his bills.  In addition to his normal living expenses, his bills include a substantial student loan that he took out in order to get his college education.  During my conversation with this young man he told me, "My generation feels deceived.  We did everything we were told to do, and most of us cannot even find a good job!"

The CBS television show, "Sixty Minutes," aired a segment on May 20, 2012 entitled "Dropping out: Is college worth the cost?"  In the story, "Sixty Minutes" reported that college graduates in this country have now accumulated over $1 trillion in student debt, and the amount is rising annually.  Many of these new college graduates will be paying off their student loans well into their 30's and 40's.  Even filing bankruptcy will not relieve them of this debt.  Student loans can no longer be discharged in a bankruptcy.  In addition, the vast majority of these students took on the loans because they were told by their parents and teachers that getting a college education would put them on the road to success; any debts they acquired would be well worth the burden.  Now, as these students graduate and face a discouraging job market, many of them are wondering if they were lied to.

Of course, no one intentionally lied to these young people.  The importance of a college education has been hammered into our society over the past 30 or 40 years.  It is one of those "facts" that everyone believes.  However, is a college education really necessary or even beneficial for everyone? 

In researching my Kindle book, "Dangerous Lies We Tell to Children and Ourselves,"  I learned that only about 27% of the U.S. population actually has a Bachelor's Degree or higher.  However, the other 73% of the people who occupy this country have managed to live, get married, raise children and often earn excellent incomes.  Some of them took vocational courses after high school, but were able to spend far less money than is necessary in order to get a four-year college degree.  Most of them are performing important and essential jobs in our nation, working as radiology technicians, auto mechanics, salesmen, brick masons, bank tellers, plumbers, electricians, home healthcare providers, cashiers, welders, crane operators, secretaries, registered nurses, and physical therapy assistants.  We need people who work in these occupations, as well as in similar jobs.

Often people who work in these jobs earn more than college graduates.  In fact, many college graduates end up taking jobs or later getting trained in occupations that do NOT require a college education.  In other words, these young people could have ended up doing the same work, and saved a lot of money, by being trained in these occupations directly after high school.

Before we imply to the next generation of young people that college will guarantee them future success and is worth the expense, we need to carefully examine the interests and abilities of each student and help them decide if there is a less expensive way for them to become successful, contributing members of our society.

Does your current occupation require a college education?  Was it worth it for you, and the other people you know, to borrow money for college?

You are reading from the blog:  http://lies-and-liars.blogspot.com/

Photo courtesy of http://www.morguefile.com/

Why We Lie and Cheat

A behavioral economist from Duke University by the name of Dan Ariely has written a new book called The (Honest) Truth About Dishonesty: How We Lie to Everyone -- Especially Ourselves.  In researching his book, he did extensive research on when people lie, and the results are fascinating.

First, he found that while a small group of sociopaths will cheat virtually all the time, even most ordinary people will cheat a little, when given the opportunity.  In experiments he ran on approximately 30,000 people, he found that a small number will cheat in big ways, and 18,000 will succumb to smaller deceptions. 

People seem to be very specific about the dishonest acts that they can live with.  For example, someone might steal a Coke out of a refrigerator at work, but not pick up a dollar bill that is left sitting out nearby.  Golfers are less likely to slightly move a ball with their hands than to move it the same distance with the club.

Dan Ariely and his researchers also found that people are more like to cheat when they are tired.  He refers to this as depletion, and he notes that people cheat more in the evening than in the morning.

Cheating and telling lies can also spread within industries and companies.  People seem to actually be affected by the notion that "everyone else is doing it, so I should, too."  This may be what happened when mortgage fraud spread throughout the industry.  According to Ariely, he found that people on Wall Street are more likely to cheat than politicians when both groups were given a math test in which they were asked to self-report their scores.

The researchers who worked with Ariely to study cheaters came to the conclusion that most people are conflicted about cheating.  On one hand, most folks want to see themselves as honest people.  On the other hand, many of us are quite willing to cheat a "little" as a way to get money or "win" in other ways. 

Have you ever cheated in order to win a bet or avoid an expense?  Be honest!  If you are interested in learning more about why people lie and cheat, you may want to pick up a copy of Dan Ariely's book.

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The Biggest Ponzi Scheme in U.S. History

No blog about Lies and Liars would be complete without mentioning Bernie Madoff, the operator of what is believed to be the biggest Ponzi scheme in U.S. history.

Bernie Madoff may have begun his scam as early as the 1970's, although he claims that he started defrauding his investors much later than that.  He certainly started his investment firm, Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC, as a reputable investment company in 1960.  He began as a penny stock trader with $5,000 of his own money.  Later, he received a loan of $50,000 from his father-in-law which allowed him to expand his operations.  His company was exceptionally innovative in its use of computer information technology and his firm helped develop the NASDAQ stock exchange.  Mr. Madoff was well respected and even sat on the Board of Directors of the Securities Industry Association and served as Chairmon of the Board of Directors of the National Association of Securities Dealers or the NASD.

Perhaps because he was so highly regarded, government investors never looked too closely at his stock records, much to the astonishment of Mr. Madoff himself.  As a result, he was able to defraud thousands of investors out of approximately $18 billion.  Although his investors received regular statements, all of the investments and gains shown on the statements were completely fabricated.  Investigators believe that the asset management branch of his firm may never have been legitimate.  It was simply an elaborate Ponzi scheme in which he used the money from new investors to pay off other investors.  However, instead of bothering to actually invest the money he took in, Mr. Madoff just put it into a Chase account that he could use when he needed to send money to investors who requested their funds.  Some of the individuals and companies that seem to have benefited from the Ponzi scheme were Jeffry Picower and J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., as well as the New York Mets owners Fred Wilpon and Saul Katz.  The estate of Jeffry Picower eventually settled the claims against it for $7.2 billion.

Among the Madoff clients who lost money were the Women's Zionist Organization of America, the Elie Wiesel Foundation, Steven Spielberg's Wunderkinder Foundation, and many well-known individuals.

Bernie Madoff's sons were the ones who turned their father in to authorities, after he confessed to them that the asset management unit of his investment firm was a Ponzi scheme.  According to his sons, he told them that for years he had been operating "one big lie."

The consequences to Bernie Madoff and his family have been severe.  On June 29, 2009, Bernie Madoff was sentenced to 150 years in prison, which was the maximum allowed.  He was also ordered to forfeit $179 million in personal assets.  His wife, Ruth, gave up $85 million in assets, which left her with $2.5 million in cash.  His sons and some of his former employees were investigated, sued, and harrassed.  On December 11, 2010, his oldest son, Mark Madoff, committed suicide by hanging himself.

This story is a family tragedy and also a warning to potential investors who discover "investments" that seem too good to be true.  They probably are.

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Photo courtesy of:  www.wikipedia.com/commons

Biggest Tax Fraud in Oregon

One form of lying is when someone intentionally plans and executes a scam.  Most of the time, the victims of scams are individuals.  However, because of weak IRS policies and the policies of state taxing authorities, more and more people are attempting to cheat the government.

One such case is that of Krystle Marie Reyes of Salem, Oregon who committed the largest case of tax fraud in the history of Oregon.  Ms. Reyes cheated the taxpayers of Oregon out of over $2 million by using Turbo Tax software to file a false tax return.  Using the tax software, she calmly and fraudulently claimed that she had earned $3 million in wages, and was therefore entitled to $2.1 million in refunds.  Without checking the validity of her income statement, the state loaded a Visa debit card with the refund amount, and sent it to her in April, 2012.

Unfortunately for Ms. Reyes, she reported that another debit card had been lost or stolen, and the subsequent police report brought the case to the attention of the state's revenue service.  When she was arrested on June 6, 2012, she had already spent approximately $150,000 in two months.

This case is raising concerns for the Federal government.  The IRS also issues some refunds via debit cards when the taxpayer does not have a bank account.  Now authorities are becoming concerned that the IRS will send these debit cards to scammers, exactly like what happened in Oregon.  In fact, according to a CNN report dated March 20, 2012, "the IRS could not provide an estimate of how much fraudulent refund money it has issued."  In other words, they may have already sent millions of dollars to people who were committing tax fraud.

Now that the federal and state governments have been alerted to the problem, potential tax scammers should not assume they can duplicate the actions of Ms. Reyes.  The IRS and state taxing authorities are putting in place filters to prevent this from ever happening again.  Undoubtedly, once the case comes to trial, the consequences for Ms. Reyes will be severe.

You are reading from the blog:  http://lies-and-liars.blogspot.com/

Photo of federal seal courtesy of www.wikipedia.com/commons

Grandpa has Gone to a Better Place

One way that adults sometime confuse children, as well as other adults, is by using a lot of euphemisms that describe death.

When a pet has to be put to death in order to end their pain and suffering, we tell childen that they were "put to sleep."  When an older relative dies, we frequently tell children that "they have gone to a better place."

These statements are very upsetting and confusing to children.  In extreme cases, children are afraid to go to sleep, because they do not want to disappear like their pet.  In other cases, they cannot understand why their grandfather or other beloved relative had to leave them in order to go "someplace better."

When I wrote the Kindle book, "Dangerous Lies We Tell to Children and Ourselves," I discussed some of the resentments that adults often feel for decades after they have grown up, because of the way they were told (or not told) about the death of a loved one.

When we do not talk to children honestly about death, they feel they have been lied to.  In addition, we lose the opportunity to teach them about the grief process.  We also lose the opportunity to share our own grief with them and allow them to share their grief with us.

It is okay to tell children that someone died, and that you know how much they will be missed.  It is also perfectly acceptable to explain to children that we hope to see our loved ones again someday, but that we do not know for sure what happens after death.  Children respect honesty.  When they feel they have been deceived, they don't know who or what to believe.

Did anyone ever confuse you because of the way they talked about death?  Share your story below.

You are reading from the blog:  http://lies-and-liars.blogspot.com/

Photo of Arlington Cemetery courtesy of http://www.morguefile.com/

The Cancer Bride

One of the more shocking news stories to come to the public's attention in recent years was the huge lie told by a young bride.  When she and her boyfriend, Michael, broke up after the birth of their first child, she decided that the only way to get her child's father to marry her was by convincing him that she had cancer.  Their story was mentioned in newspapers nationwide, and eventually was featured on a segment of ABC's 20/20 called "Secrets and Lies."

The young bride, Jessica, made the decision to tell her former boyfriend that she had leukemia and that she only had months to live.  As a result of her lie, Michael immediately reacted by telling her to move in with him.  Once Jessica had convinced her fiance that she had cancer, they began to tell other people.  Gradually, the lie was told to about 100 people they knew personally.

Jessica knew that she was in an awful situation, but she was afraid to tell Michael the truth.  She cut off her hair and wore a wig at their wedding.  She even pretended to go to cancer treatments.  People began to donate things to them for their wedding, so Michael called the newspaper to get a feature story about their wedding and Jessica's heartbreaking story.  As a result of the article, even more people began donating money and gifts to help with the wedding.  For example, the wedding dress shop would not let her pay for her gown.  A local hotel gave them a special suite for their wedding night.  A jeweler gave them the wedding rings.  The young couple received a donated trip to Aruba for their honeymoon, after their wedding in May of 2010.

Jessica began to actually wish she would die, because she did not know how to get out of her lie.  Her husband became suspicious, and eventually called the doctor.  When he discovered that Jessica had been lying to him, Mike temporarily left her.  When the police were informed of her scam, she was indicted and spent 50 days in jail.  

Currently, Jessica is in the process of making amends for her actions.  She has paid back over $13,000 to make financial restitution.  She will be on probation for the next five years, in addition to the 50 days she spent in jail.  Although Mike has forgiven her and taken her back, most of their friends have not forgiven her.

Shockingly, this is just one of many phony stories by people who have pretended to have cancer in order to receive cash and other donations.  The unfortunate result of these deceptions is that many people are more reluctant to make donations to real patients who actually do have cancer. 

You are reading from the blog:  http://lies-and-liars.blogspot.com/

Photo of a bride courtesy of http://www.morguefile.com/

The Retirement Lie

This morning, the New York Times published an article called "Forced to Early Social Security, Unemployed Pay a Steep Price."  It tells the tragic story of Clare Keany, a resident of a mobile home park in Palm Springs.  Ms. Keany lives on just $1,082 a month in Social Security benefits.  This is despite the fact that she worked most of her life, earning as much as $64,000 a year.  She saved money and planned to work until she was 70.  Unfortunately, Ms. Keany lost her job and has been unable to find a full-time, permanent job to replace it.  A hard worker, she has been willing and able to work at a few part-time and temporary jobs in the past few years.  However, as she went through her savings, she eventually had to break down and begin to collect her Social Security benefits at age 62, much sooner than she had planned.

Ms. Keany is not alone.  According to federal government records, one-third of older workers who became unemployed between 2008 and 2011 have found it necessary to begin collecting their Social Security benefits early.

Many Baby Boomers feel that they were lied to about retirement.  They did everything they were told ... they found jobs with pensions, when possible; they paid into Social Security; they put money into retirement investments such as 401K's and IRA's; they made payments on a house; and they planned to work until they were at least 65 or 66 years old before they retired.

Then along came 2008 and the Great Recession.  Many government employees who had been promised pensions lost their jobs.  Private employers did away with pensions.  Other pensions were dramatically renegotiated.  Retirees who had saved for their Golden Years discovered that their private investment accounts had lost sizeable amounts of money.  Many people learned that the equity they had in their homes was gone; others simply lost their homes.  As a final blow, a number of older people have found themselves unemployed, often for the first time in their lives.  Once their retirement savings ran out, they were forced to start collecting their Social Security benefits at age 62 instead of 66.  When Social Security is collected early, it can cause the recipient to suffer at least a 20% reduction in benefits.

Baby Boomers feel, in many cases, that they were lied to.  They worked hard, saved money, bought homes and now far too many of them are broke, just as they reach retirement age.

If you have a story to share about your lost retirement benefits, please feel free to share it in the comments section.

You are reading from the blog: http://lies-and-liars.blogspot.com/

Photo courtesy of http://www.morguefile.com/

Everyone Lies

We all tell lies, and we all know it.  Sometimes we think of them as white lies.  These are those little fibs we tell about our age, our weight, or how much we spent on an item.  Most of the time we accept the fact that we are being lied to, and barely even pay any attention.  We actually expect to be deceived!

We lie to each other, teens lie to their parents, and parents lie to their children.  In fact, according to an article on WebMD called "The Lies We Tell Our Kids," if you claim you have never lied to your children, you are probably lying.

However, every once in a while, a lie is so big, so hurtful and so damaging that we cannot ignore it any longer.  Sometimes these lies cost us money; sometimes they cost us our marriage; sometimes they leave us feeling stunned by our own gullibility.

This blog is about all these kinds of lies.  In it you will find true stories about lies that have hurt people in one way or another.  In addition to what is posted here, I hope my readers will take the time to share their own experiences with lies.  Perhaps you have told a lie that you regret.  In other cases, you may have been told a lie that still causes you to feel angry and resentful.  Finally, you may know of a lie that was told to someone else, and that caused a lot of problems. 

Whatever experiences you have had with lies, please feel free to share them in the comments section at the end of each post.  All I ask is that you do not give the full names of specific people, unless the nature of the lies is so public that the stories have already been published in the news.

You are reading from the blog: http://lies-and-liars.blogspot.com/

Artwork courtesy of http://www.morguefile.com/