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Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Learn the Importance of Genealogy through Books and Other Research Material

You had never seen your ancestors, but because of them you are here. Their lives may be significantly different but they may also show some similarity as yours. You may be thinking why there is a necessity to study the persons who are already buried and forgotten. However, learning its importance can make you understand that genealogy is fun and a challenging experience as what some books have exposed.

Studying the family tree of your family does not only mean giving respect to your ancestor's importance but it's simply fascinating. You could learn many things including the reasons why your mother and father both grew from one place or another.

Take for instance; in the past, Hessian soldiers have fought the American invaders in the name of Great Britain. If you have traced that one of the Hessian soldiers is your ancestor, then probably you can find a few relatives in Pennsylvania. This place had a big population of German-Americans; most of them were once Hessian soldiers. Later on, they deserted Great Britain and fought for the United States of America. You can also search in Ohio because some of their descendants had also moved there.

Sometimes you will wonder why a particular first name or given name almost dominates the family tree, even the original surname before its American alterations. The immigration officials find it very difficult to pronounce many names. So, they have changed the surnames on the documents during processing of immigrants. You can find the true surname basing from the occupations of the ancestors. Most of the surnames were derived from the type of occupation of the individual such as Baker, Tanner, and others.

Some medical conditions are thought to be genetically passed from one person to another. Learning the genealogy of your family can help you dig up your medical histories. Illnesses linked with the heart, cancer, auto-immune disorders and more are known. Most often medical conditions are known through tales. In case you don't get hold of any information, investigate death notices that oftentimes declared the causes of death. In this way, you would be able to take good care of your health. If you have known that cancer runs in the family in the past, then you can be more aware of your smoking and eating behavior. This information can encourage you to undergo genetic testing.

If you would ask where to begin with, the best way to start is to read publications and other research resources from genealogy associations or genealogy libraries in your area. You can also join genealogy groups or associations because they have their own records for doing the research. Some even conduct family tree jamborees. Others include buying the recent publication or publications on genealogy and software as well. Another source is the internet. Family tree enthusiasts find information by accessing the research materials and joining genealogy forums to connect with kinfolk in far places.

Whatever resources you used from books to other written materials to internet, still the main goals are similar, that is learning your family history and accepting a very challenging mission.



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Is The Government Doing Something To Protect You From Identity Theft?

Identity theft costs consumers billions of dollars every year. You need to do your part to guard yourself and the government needs to do its part too.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the federal financial institution regulatory agencies have sent the Federal Register for publication final rules on identity theft “red flags” and addresses discrepancies. The final rules put into practice sections 114 and 315 of the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003.

According to a report of the President’s Identity Theft Task Force, identity theft (a fraud attempted or fully committed using identifying information of another person without authority), results in billions of dollars in losses each year to individuals and businesses.

The final rules require each financial institution and creditor that holds any consumer account, or other account for which there is a moderately foreseeable risk of identity theft, to develop and put into practice an Identity Theft Prevention Program for fighting identity theft in connection with new and existing accounts. The Program must include reasonable policies and procedures for detecting, preventing, and mitigating identity theft and enable a financial institution or creditor to:

Identify relevant patterns, practices, and specific forms of activity that are “red flags” signaling possible identity theft and incorporate those red flags into the Program;

Detect red flags that have been incorporated into the Program; React appropriately to any red flags that are detected to prevent and mitigate identity theft; and Guarantee the Program is updated periodically to reflect variations in risks from identity theft.

The organizations also issued rules to assist financial institutions and creditors in developing and implementing a Program, including a supplement that offers examples of red flags.

The final rules also necessitate credit and debit card issuers to develop policies and procedures to evaluate the validity of a request for a change of address that is followed closely by a request for an additional or replacement card. In addition, the final rules require users of consumer reports to develop logical guidelines and strategies to apply when they receive a notice of address discrepancy from a consumer reporting agency.

The final rule-making is issued by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Federal Trade Commission, the National Credit Union Administration, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and the Office of Thrift Supervision. The final rules became effective on January 1, 2008. Covered financial institutions and creditors were required to comply with the rules by November 1, 2008.

The government is doing its best to fight identity theft. Keeping one step ahead of the thieves by checking your free credit report will ensure that no one has stolen your identity. The government is doing what it can, but you are the first line of identity theft defense.



Monday, January 16, 2012

Genealogy Search Engine - Searching For Your Lost Relatives

There are an estimated 6,525,170,264 people living in the planet today. You have to consider that a lot of people and imagine you are related to roughly a million of these people. It's difficult to believe but it is a possibility. Even former President George W. Bush traced his relations to his rival John Kerry. In fact, John Kerry is the 16th cousin, three times removed of George W. Bush.

Today, because of DNA testing and specialized methods used by genealogist, it is now extremely possible to map out your long lost family that you didn’t even know existed. Finding your genealogy is a fun family hobby where everybody will be fascinated about who they are related to. Who knows? Maybe when you try searching for your lineage it will expose certain details that you are related to someone famous today, such as Tom Cruise or even prominent politicians, such as George W. Bush. It may be remarkable, but it is a possibility.

More and more people are now trying to trace their genealogy for fun, or for medical purposes. Some do this just to find out how distant they can trace their ancestors and their distant kinfolk. So, if you are one of these people who are trying to discover their genealogy, you can consider employing a genealogist to do the job for you. However, you may find that hiring a genealogists may be costly and finding your genealogy yourself can prove very hard.

However, because of modern technology, there are additional ways you can search for your family tree. Today, the internet is one of the widely used communication resources available. Besides, it is a lot easier, it is faster and the best thing about the internet is that it's cheap. There are available websites today that are devoted to family tree research. There are even genealogy search engines where you can type in your grandparent's full name, and date of birth to reveal their family tree.

You have to consider that birth records, marriage records and death records are now stored in databases today. Many organizations make this accessible on the internet. Because of this, genealogists and web developers use this tool in order to build an automated family tree and make it available in an simple to read interface on the internet.

There are free and pay genealogy search engines available. If you are just starting out your search, you can think about using the free genealogy search engine. However, free family tree search engines have only narrow resources and can only take you to your great-great grandparents or less. If you want to widen your family tree, you have to consider using the pay family tree search engine websites. They can offer more complete results and some can even provide automated family tree data that is easy to use and come in printable formats.

So, if you want to find out about your history, you should consider searching for your kin through genealogy search engines. You will be surprised on how many people you are related to.

The Family Tree Problem Solver: Tried-and-True Tactics for Tracing Elusive Ancestors

Identity Thieves Target the Deceased

Criminals scour obituaries and other sources for personal information that can be used to commit fraud.

Identity thieves will stop at nothing – not even the death of the intended victim – when it comes to stealing someone's personal information to commit fraud.

Crafty criminals look for personal details about the deceased in obituaries (in the newspaper or online), genealogy Web sites, death certificates and other sources. Armed with personal information – such as a full name, address and date of birth – an ID thief may be able to obtain a new Social Security card, a driver's license, or loans and credit cards, even though the victim is no longer alive.

FDIC Consumer News suggests that families consider the following actions after a loved one dies:

Limit the amount of personal information in obituaries. "It's a good idea to leave out the exact birth date of the deceased. If anything, provide only the birth year," said David Nelson, a fraud specialist in the FDIC's Financial Crimes Section.

Consider omitting a wife's maiden name because many financial institutions use a mother's maiden name as a security password. "If an obituary publicizes a woman's maiden name and lists her children, an identity thief may be able to use that and other information to order credit cards or otherwise go on a spending spree in the childrens' names," Nelson added.

Obtain several copies of the death certificate and then proceed to close bank, brokerage, credit card and other accounts as needed.

Ask your attorney or accountant for advice about closing and reopening accounts in survivors' names.

Also, quickly report the death to the fraud departments of all three major credit bureaus, which financial institutions rely on when handling credit applications, and the Social Security Administration.

"It's important to help prevent identity thieves from assuming the deceased person's identity before the estate is settled," explained Nelson. "Otherwise, there may be credit extended to the fraudsters that will need to be resolved before distributions can be made to heirs."

These thieves are the lowest of the low. Targeting the deceased should be a crime punishable by death from one thousand slices of a very dull knife.

Don’t make it easy for these thieves to access the information. It is not something that we think about during a time of grief, but in today's world, we have to always be on our toes.

Stopping Identity Theft: 10 Easy Steps to Security

Sunday, January 15, 2012

Genealogy Chart for Your Researched Family Information

One of the most important things in this world that a person can have is their loving family. There are individuals, who completely disregard their families, but this should not be so because your family is a very reliable source of help and comfort during hard times.

Since your family is that important, then may be it would be a worthwhile experience to trace your roots. Discovering your family's history is a very interesting activity. If you have children, then it's also a great adventure for them. In fact, you can boast of your family's pride that has its roots from their great-great-great grandparents.

Starting of from scratch can be difficult. But did you know that you can start by talking to your mother, father, aunts or uncles, your grandparents, and your cousins. These people can instantly name names of important family members that have wonderful stories behind them.

While you're into tracing your family's roots, why not go check your attic? Perhaps there's an old box there where family papers like birth certificates, obituaries, letters, and cards can be found. You can find many good things about the past through certain items contained therein.

First and foremost, you need to organize all the information that you've gathered. If you want, you can get a free genealogy chart online so that you will only have to fill in the information. Genealogy charts are easy to download.

You might wonder what genealogy is; these are all about the studies of different family trees of families. Some individuals do it for their own family records while others make a living out of it. There are also those who conduct genealogical researches as a hobby or pastime.

Whatever your reason is, it is still best to discover one's family tree with the aid of genealogy charts. Through the internet, it would be easier for you to conduct your own family research. Try to make use of all available resources on the net including the websites of certain organizations because they are just keystrokes away. You can also do it offline, which means browsing through the yellow pages for quite some time. But once you find what you're looking for, it's definitely worth it.

Many years ago, this task was almost impossible to do. Even genealogists have to spend countless hours in the library, travelling to different places just to get results, and writing campaigns. You're lucky now especially if you have your own computer and internet connection at home. You can also log into internet shops so that you can easily conduct your research online.

There are actually two ways to record all your information. One is through a genealogy chart that you can download for free online and the other is by making your own paper chart. These two ways are effective as long as you put all our researched information on the charts provided. Another thing that you shouldn’t forget is to always maintain a backup record of all your materials. If you carefully do all of these things, then soon enough, you can have an intriguing insight about your family's history.

Now, isn’t genealogy interesting? So what are you waiting for? Start tracing your own family tree and enjoy your journey to your ancestors.

How to Do Everything Genealogy

Is Online Shopping Secure?

Whether or not online shopping is secure is one question which gets asked over and over again by those who are considering making a purchase online. Unfortunately there is no simple answer to this question which will apply to all online shopping situations. However, there is a list of questions which online shoppers can ask to assist them in determining whether or not it is safe to purchase the item they are seeking online. A few of these questions deal with the online retailer’s reputation, the security of the server and the return policy offered on the items. This article will discuss some of these questions in an effort to help readers make informed decisions regarding online shopping.

Is the Online Retailer Reputable?

Determining whether or not an online retailer is reputable should be the first step shoppers take before deciding whether or not to make a purchase online from a particular online retailer. This is important because shoppers are much more likely to be satisfied with purchased from a reputable breeder than they are to be satisfied when the purchase is made from an online retailer with a less than favorable reputation.

There are a few methods shoppers can use to verify the reputation of the online retailer. Consulting the Better Business Bureau is just one of these methods which can be very beneficial to the shopper. Here the shopper can find information regarding previous complaints against the online retailer and can use this information to determine whether or not the retailer has a reputation for dealing fairly with customers. Online retailers who have been in business for a few years and do not have any complaints against them or have very few complaints against them can generally be trusted while shoppers should be wary of consumers who have many unresolved complaints against them or who have only been in business for a short period of time.

Is the Server Secure?

The security of the server used to complete the online purchase should also be questioned by online shoppers. This is a valid concern because identity theft can cause a tremendous amount of problems for the shopper. However, there is a very simple way in which an online shopper can determine whether or not the website is secure. Whenever submitting sensitive data such as credit card information the shopper should carefully examine the web address. A secure website will have a prefix of https:// while an unsecured website will have a prefix of http://. If the website is not secure the online shopper should consider making the purchase by calling customer service instead of submitting the information via the unsecured website where it can be vulnerable to being intercepted.

What is the Return Policy?

Carefully reviewing the return policy of an online retailer can also give the shopper a good indication of whether or not the seller is reputable. In general the return policies offered by online retailers should be very similar in nature to the return policies offered by traditional retailers with the exception of special provisions for handling the shipping of the product back to the retailer. Return policies which are unusually restrictive should be considered suspect by the shopper and may indicate a need for the shopper to do some additional research before deciding whether or not to patronize a particular online retailer.

The Official Identity Theft Prevention Handbook: Everyone's Identity Has Already Been Stolen - Learn What You Can Do About It