Collection Agency And Collection Attorney Scams

 

Entering sweepstakes and contests can be a very exciting and rewarding hobby. This article will show you how you can “beat the odds” and win frequently. Anyone can with the right knowledge.

 What Are Sweepstakes

Sweepstakes are random drawings for prizes sponsored by various organizations to draw attention to their product or service. When an organization offers a sweepstakes it must adhere to many state and federal laws. One of the most important laws for you to understand is that no purchase is required to enter a sweepstakes. Many people believe that you won’t win unless you buy the sponsors product, this is not true. Many winners of sweepstakes do not purchase the sponsors product. The sponsor is hoping you will become aware of and try their product by offering a sweepstakes to draw your attention to the product. Most larger sweepstakes are handled by an outside judging agency. This helps the promoter insure that everything will be handled properly and legally.

Skill Contests

Do not confuse sweepstakes with contests. Contests winners are judged to win by their skill. When an organization offers a contest, it often will require a proof of purchase. This is legal because a contest is not a random drawing, winners are chosen by judges for their skill. Some of the more common contests are for recipes, writing, or drawing. Winning contests can be easy if you are skilled in the area required. There are usually far fewer entries in a contest than a sweepstakes.

Game Sweepstakes And Lotteries Game sweepstakes are different from other sweepstakes because they have predetermined odds. There are only so many game pieces printed or game plays available, so the odds can be calculated. The odds are displayed in the rules. There are many types of game sweepstakes. Some of the more common ones are instant win games, match and win games, and collect to win games. Instant win games are the easiest to play, usually you scratch off the game piece with a coin and see if you are a winner. In match to win games you usually must bring the game piece to a display (if you can find one) to determine if you are a winner. Collect and win games require that you save game pieces and try to complete a phrase or complete a picture, etc. These usually have one rare piece, necessary to win. In most games the odds are very remote of winning a major prize. Occasionally you will find a game that has quite reasonable odds, and it is worth the effort to send for additional game pieces. I have found this to be rare though. The best part about game sweepstakes is the second chance drawing that many of them offer to win prizes that go unclaimed in the game portion of the sweepstakes. Online games are very popular. usually the entry time is predetermined, so that when you enter a game online the prizes are predetermined to be awarded at various time throughout the promotion period. Some of the most winnable online games are ones that require a unique code to enter. Unique codes are usually available on the sponsors products, or by mailing for a game code (no purchase can be required). Lotteries are not really a good investment. Winning depends only on luck. unlike sweepstakes you must pay for a lottery ticket. The value of the prizes offered must be less than the amount taken in for all the lottery tickets sold. For this reason on the average if you kept buying lottery tickets until you won, you would spend more than you would win. Sweepstakes prizes on the other hand, are paid for by the promoter and an entry is the cost of a stamp. Many sweepstakes entries have a far greater value than the postage they cost. When this is the case, you can win a far greater amount than you spend entering the sweepstakes.

Finding Sweepstakes To Enter

Sweepstakes are everywhere. they are often advertised on the TV, in the newspaper, on the radio, in magazines and in stores. A simple online search for sweepstakes will bring up hundreds of current sweepstakes also. When your shopping, look for “take one” forms offering sweepstakes and make sure to enter local contests when shopping. The inserts in the Sunday newspaper arealso a good source of sweepstakes.

Reading The Rules

It is important to read the rules. Do not enter a sweepstakes without first reading the rules. This is important for online sweepstakes and mail-in sweepstakes. Most mail-in entries will consist of a 3X5 card or a 3×5 piece of paper with your name and address on it. Some sweepstakes will require a “qualifier” to be sent with your entry. A qualifier is usually a phrase or the name of the sponsors product on a 3X5 card or paper. Many sweepstakes allow you to enter as often as you like, but on many others, only one entry is allowed. Every sweepstakes is different so you must follow the rules. Why go to the work of preparing several entries in a particular sweepstakes, only to have them disqualified because you did not prepare the entries correctly? Always hand print your mail-in entries, any mechanically produced entries will be disqualified.

Entering Sweepstakes

You will usually enter online sweepstakes on the promoters website. If you are entering online sweepstakes regularly, it will be a big time-saver to use the autofill feature on your browser. There are many ways to find online sweepstakes. You may do your own searching on a search engine, but websites that list links to sweepstakes will be a great time saver. Before entering mail-in sweepstakes, you should go down to the local office supply store and purchase these items: plain 3×5 cards, plain 3×5 paper, #10 or smaller envelopes, pens and possibly a clipboard. Work on one job at a time. Filling out 3×5′s at one time and addressing envelopes at another. This way you will be more productive than if you assembled one entry at a time. You may want to put your name and address on 3×5′s and stockpile them for future entries. We recommend a good newsletter to find mail-in sweepstakes.

Improving your odds

 Entering as many sweepstakes as you can find that appeal to you is one good way to start winning, but being selective can help you win without as much time and effort. Being selective of what you enter is one of the best ways to win often. Obviously, a sweepstakes that offers thousands of valuable prizes is a better sweepstakes than one that offers only one large prize. Entering several sweeps many times is also better than entering many different sweepstakes one time each. Think of the difference of entering a sweepstakes with one prize once as opposed to entering a sweepstakes with thousands of prizes 50 times. The latter example would have thousands of times better of a chance to win than the first example. What you want to do is win, and you can win by getting the odds in your favor. Below are some examples of good and bad sweepstakes, I will explain each of these below.

Good sweeps:

Many valuable prizes
2nd chance sweepstakes
Local sweepstakes
Sweepstakes that are difficult to enter
Hard to find sweepstakes
Sweeps that have a very short entry deadline
Sweeps that are for a targeted audience
Games requiring a unique code

Bad Sweeps:

One or a few prizes
Multiple ways of entering (coupon or rebate form)
Only one entry allowed
Heavily advertised sweeps
Sweeps with a very long duration

Here is a brief discussion of the aspects of a good sweeps, enter these!

Many valuable prizes–this one is obvious. The more prizes available, the better your odds of winning one will be.
2nd chance drawings–Believe it or not! Most prizes in collect and win or match type games go unclaimed. Even in instant win type games a good percentage of prizes go unclaimed. Many of these games offer a second chance drawing for all prizes not claimed in the game portion of the sweepstakes. This is great for us since most people don’t bother to enter the second chance drawing for unclaimed prizes. Your odds of winning some second chance drawings can be fantastic!
Local sweepstakes– Because they are local there are far fewerentries than in a nationally advertised sweepstakes. Some local sweepstakes offer very nice prizes.
Sweepstakes that are difficult to enter–These include a number of different types of sweepstakes, such as: Sweeps that have long qualifiers. Sweeps that require you to send a self addressed stamped envelope to receive each entry or entry code. Sweeps that require you to answer a difficult question or fill out a survey. Many types of sweepstakes could fit into this category.
Hard to find sweeps–These are sweepstakes that are not heavily advertised and are not found in the typically high circulation magazines and newspapers. Sweeps that have a very short entry deadline-These sweeps you must enter fast. There is not time for many people to enter them especially with multiple entries.
Sweeps that are to a targeted audience–These are sweepstakes that are open to certain people. For example, a sweepstakes might be restricted to a certain age group.
Games requiring a unique code–These online sweepstakes are limited in entries to people who have either purchased the sponsors product or send for a code by mail.

Now you will see what kind of sweepstakes to spend less time on:

One or few prizes–Chances are slim of winning with only one prize offered, especially with only one entry.
Multiple ways of entering–You see a lot of these lately. The ones you can enter online or via a coupon or a rebate form. These sweeps should have more than an average amount of entries, lowering your chances of winning.
Only one entry allowed–It is more difficult to win a sweeps with one entry. Multiple entries is your best way of getting the odds of winning in your favor, if allowed.
Heavily advertised sweeps–You know the ones! They are everywhere, on TV on the radio, in the newspaper. These sweeps will draw huge amounts of entries.
Sweeps with a very long duration–These sweepstakes give the promoter a lot of time to advertise the sweeps and also allows the entrants a lot of time to enter and enter again and again.

Now you’re starting to get an idea of what to look for. Once you find a desirable sweepstakes to enter, remember to enter often.

Enter Often

Entering often, is the key to winning. The more entries you send in, the better chance you have of winning. The number of times you enter a sweepstakes depends on your budget for mail-in sweepstakes and if allowed for online sweeps. Keep in mind that you’re not going to win in every sweeps you enter but if you follow these guidelines you will win and win frequently.

When You Win

First off a warning! If you receive a notice or phone call stating you won a sweepstakes, and they ask for a fee to claim your prize, or require a purchase, THIS IS A SCAM! NEVER SEND MONEY TO CLAIM A PRIZE! It is very exciting when you win your first sweepstakes prize. Usually you will be required to fill out an affidavit and have it notarized and send it back to the judging agency. When you win a smaller prize you may just receive the prize in the mail. Most winners will be notified within a month or two of the end of the sweepstakes but occasionally it will take longer. Trust the judging agency, if you’re a winner they will notify you. Some people will send for the winners list to see if they are on it, if you’re on it you will already know, so don’t bother.

Sweepstakes Newsletters

A newsletter is a great tool to have when entering mail-in sweepstakes. There are several good newsletters available. The monthly newsletter “Best Sweepstakes Newsletter”, features several of the best sweepstakes available every month along with listing about 50 other current sweepstakes. Each month there are subscriber articles, winner announcements, and other information. “Best Weekly” is a 6 page newsletter published weekly and lists 20-30 sweepstakes each issue. Information on these two newsletters is at www.bestsweepstakes.com.

Sweepstakes Websites

There are several good websites available that list sweepstakes links. www.SweepstakesBananas.com is a website devoted to online sweepstakes. Sweepstakes with lesser prize values are free to enter by all visitors. A modest subscription fee is required to access the best current online sweepstakes available.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Nick Taylor -
About the Author:

Editor and publisher of Best Publications, Inc. www.bestsweepstakes.com and www.sweepstakesbananas.com

Restore Credit, Repair Credit, Are Just Terms That Companies Use. This Only Hides Your Debt.  These Are Nothing But False Promises Too many people are being scammed out of their hard earned money trying to restore their credit. You DO NOT want to try to restore by paying a debt or trying to cancel a debt. Your objective is to eliminate your debt.
Restore credit, Repair Credit, are terms that many companies use. These companies that promise this will charge you an upfront fee, then a monthly fee for their services. What they do is write a common letter, that anyone can get a copy of, and send it to the credit reporting companies. This letter simply states that the item is not correct, or not your debt. They write this letter month after month hoping the reporting agency will get tired of hearing from them and cancel the debt. This typically does not happen. What does happen is, you get charged the fee every month. You will not eliminate debt this way.
Collection Companies Like To Sell Debts To Other Collectors  Your Debt Is Still On Your Report Simply writing a letter requesting a debt be removed is not a successful way to eliminate debt. If you hire a company to eliminate bad credit from your report and they succeed, it is not permanent. This debt will return. Collection companies like to sell bad debts to other companies. As soon as your debt is removed, it is sold and within a couple of months placed right back on your report again.

Some companies will try to tell you to pay off your debt if it is in collection or charged-off status. This will do nothing for your credit score. When you pay off a debt, the only thing you have accomplished is now that collection or charged-off debt reads paid. It is still on your report and still hurting your score. Consolidation or Bankruptcy Does Not Help  You Have Done Nothing But Add To The Problem Credit consolidation has a track record of not helping a person eliminate debt. You may end up with lower payments but you are still paying off your debts and it will take much longer. In the mean time, they are still on your report hurting your credit.

Bankruptcy is another avenue some are talked into. Not only is this way not good, it is totally unnecessary. Bankruptcy will be on your credit, hurting you, for no less than ten years. At the end of this time, you still have to fight with the reporting agencies to get this removed.

If you have a low credit score, collections and/or charged-off debts, all of these companies that give nothing but false promises will not help you. They will do nothing but add to the problem by charging you monthly fees. Debt consolidation or bankruptcy will definitely do more harm than good. The Debt Elimination Specialists  Your Debt Should Totally Disappear…FOREVER
You need a company that will eliminate debt not hide it. Your debt needs to disappear, Forever, not come back in a few months.
You should only have to pay a fair one-time charge, not monthly fees.

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Lee Selders -
About the Author:

The Author of this page is Lee Selders of: http://businessonastring.com/crushadebt.html
Lee is recognized as a Certified Debt Consultant.
Lee Selders has been involved in the Internet for over 10 years and has achieved extremely high ratings with all associated aspects. Feel free to contact with questions at: lwsel@msn.com
Lee Selders produces success. Always consult a person with this type of vast experience before you attempt to Eliminate Debt.

Grants are not Benefits or Entitlements. A Federal Grant is an award of financial assistance from a Federal agency to a recipient to carry out a public purpose of support or stimulation authorized by a law of the United States. Grants are not Federal assistance or loans to individuals.

If you are an organization looking for a government grant be sure and go to grants.gov. Grants.gov is your source to FIND and APPLY for Federal government grants. There are over 1,000 grant programs offered by all Federal grant making agencies. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is proud to be the managing partner for Grants.gov, an initiative that is having an unparalleled impact on the grant community. Grants.gov allows organizations to electronically find and apply for more than $400 billion in Federal grants.

Many government grants can be applied for only when they are announced in the Federal Register, or only during a small window of time once a year. The fact is that there are thousands of grants available, but they are primarily through the federal government to encourage research and development or human-resource services. Be prepared.. it often takes a lot of work to apply for a grant.

There are very few grants available for starting or expanding a business unless the business involves research and development or high technology. Hundreds of grants have caveats, such as:

1. You must compete with hundreds of other companies. It often takes a lot of work to apply for a grant.

2. The money must be used for a very specific purpose. (You may not be able to pay your rent or mortgage with that money).

3. You can explore the the list of Federal Grant Resources, but you’ll soon realize that most grants are not available for the typical business.

4. You often have to report on your use of the money, or follow particular rules.

5. You’ll need a good business plan and the accurate numbers to show that what you’re proposing will work. Especially in the realm of government grants, be prepared with numbers relating to cost of insurance, other funding sources you have or are seeking, and ways in which what you propose will comply with Uncle Sam’s goals.

If you are searching for money to start a new business here are some suggestions:

Private loans and investments from relatives and acquaintances are often a good source of raising start-up capital, when a business is too small or unproven to qualify for commercial lending.

Ever hear the phrase” Caveat Emptor”? It means let the buyer beware. It’s sound advice when looking for “Free Grant Money” on the web. One of the all time favorite scams of scam artists are the Free Money Grant Sites. It’s important that you be well informed as to these unscrupulous operators. Here are a few tips on how to avoid being “Ripped Off’.

1. Charging an up-from fee. Its illegal

2. Don’t give your personal information to someone who calls. Be sure and ask for the caller’s telephone number, name of organization and most important the location of the organization the caller represents. Make sure they are the real thing by checking phone books, the web and Better Business Bureaus (BBB).

3. Be sure and get their proposal in writing by snail- mail or e-mail.

4. Watch for web sites with broken links, a dead giveaway the site is run by scammers.

5. The promoters offer no refunds. If they can’t guarantee your satisfaction they are only interested in lining their own pockets.

Try These new Small Business Grant Offerings from the government:

2/15/2007 Wood Education and Resource Center Competitive Grants Program for Fiscal Year 2007 Forest Service USDA-FS-WERC-2007

07/29/2005 SBDC Renewal for Current Recipient Organizations – FY-06 Small Business Administration OSBDC-2006-01

02/01/2007 Small Business Innovation Research CSREES USDA-CSREES-SBIR-000100

08/18/2006 Micro and Small Enterprise Trade-Led Growth Program Peru USAID-Lima USAID-BRAZIL-EG-06-001-RFA

Finding the Grant Source is only the first stage. Writing the grant proposal will be the most basic thing that you do. Successful grant writing involves the coordination of several activities, including planning, searching for data and resources, writing and packaging a proposal, submitting a proposal to a funder, and follow-up. Good Grant Writing Software should be a basic tool in your quest for your Government Grant.

Access America is a veritable “one-stop-shop” of government-wide Web portals covering virtually any Federal service or information source

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance is the premier source for information on government loans, grants or other monies. Tip: if you find a useful program listing, remember to visit the overseeing agency’s home page for more information. Check the Nonprofit Gateway’s convenient collection of links.

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Roland B -
About the Author:

The US government hands out over 4Billion in grants every year, we can show you how to apply for a grant Click Here For More Info

For those wanting to pursue an Australian immigration, being a victim of immigration scams is certainly not going to be a good experience. Thus, the Australian government, through the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC), is continuously trying to combat these scams. Aside from stricter rules against them, the DIAC is stepping up the efforts to provide assistance to those that have been victimized.

 

 

According to new Immigration and Citizenship Minister Chris Bowen, the number of people falling prey to immigration scams has grown in the last few months. Thus, the department is now conducting more extensive operations in order to provide more information to the public with regards to staying away from immigration fraud. One of their latest products is a new booklet that aims to serve as a guide to incoming immigrants in identifying frauds.

 

 

Dubbed the Protect Yourself from Immigration Fraud booklet, the guide is designed to provide helpful tips in identifying possible instances of fraud that might happen during your application period. There are also listings of the agencies and offices that you can contact in case of encountering fraud. The booklet focuses mainly on the online scene, as this is where bogus immigration agents often conduct their unscrupulous operations.

 

 

Aside from the tips, the guide also gives details on how some of the most common frauds are conducted. There are also several collections of stories coming from people who have been victimized by these schemes. Additional links to other resources and agencies are also provided in the booklet for the convenience of users. With this, the DIAC hopes that the public will be more well aware of the common instances of fraud.

 

 

The booklet is now available for download at the DIAC’s website at www.immi.gov.au free of charge. Accredited immigration agents are also allowed to distribute the booklet to their clients, again for free.

 

 

For his part, Bowen noted that online scams are indeed the most common immigration frauds nowadays. He said that because of the degree of anonymity that people receive in the internet, con artists are able to hide from detection. He added that this is where his department is now focusing its efforts in combating fake immigration agents.

 

 

Bowen all called on the public to be vigilant on this one. He also advised all those applying for a visa to always stick to the legitimate means of acquiring one to prevent any problems from arising. Bowen further said that victims of fraud should report their cases immediately in order to be able to go after the perpetrators.

 

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Steven -
About the Author:

PrincipalVisas ables work, in Australia. Visit our site http://www.principalvisas.com for more details.

MONEY LAUNDERING IN RELATION TO KYC

 

Money laundering, in a layman’s term means to clean dirty money. Literally it means concealing or disguising illicit income in order to make it appear legitimate. According to Black’s  Lexicon, the term Laundering is referred to describe investment or other transfer of money flowing from racketeering, drug transactions and other illegal sources into legitimate channels so that its original source cannot be traced. Section 3 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act 2002, defines it as “Whosoever directly or indirectly attempts to indulge or knowingly assists or knowingly is a party or is actually involved in any process or activity connected with the proceeds of crime and projecting it as untainted property shall be guilty of offence of money laundering.”                                      

                      The term money laundering is said to originate from the Mafia ownerships of Laundromats in the United States. Gangsters there were earning huge sums of money from prostitution, extortion, gambling and bootlegging. They needed to show a legitimate source of these monies. The original sighting was in newspapers reporting the Watergate scandal in United States in 1973. The expression first appeared in a judicial or legal context in 1982 in America in the case US vs. $4,255,625.39(1982) 551 F Supp. 314. More recently, “Operation Green Ice (1992)” showed the essentially transnational nature of modern money laundering.

                    Money Laundering deprives Governments of tax revenues thereby raising the relative burden of honest citizens. Because of rapid movements of large amounts of money there occurs destabilization of financial institutions which in turn jeopardizes funds of innocent citizens. The estimated magnitude of the Money Laundering menace totals more than an astounding $500 billion to $1.5 trillion billion a year of which the Asia Pacific alone accounts for around 30 percent.

                 The core of money laundering in India is undoubtedly the parallel remittance system of Hawala which operates independent of the traditional banking or financial channels. It has now spread its tentacles around the world. The popularity of Hawala can be attributed to its cost effectiveness, efficiency and reliability. Some ancillary reasons are the lack of bureaucracy, lack of paper trail and tax evasion. Moreover, the minimal use of negotiable instruments further motivates the hawaladars as the possibility of being exposed is reduced considerably. Hawala is discernable from other remittance systems due to the extensive use of family and regional affiliations. Another unique aspect of Hawala is the importance of trust between the parties involved. It is worth noting that one of the meanings attached to the word Hawala is trust! Even though Hawala is illegal from a regulatory standpoint, hawaladars widely advertise their services in ethnic newspapers as well as on the internet. The term ‘white Hawala’ refers to legitimate transactions whereas ‘Black Hawala’ connotes illegitimate transactions. Black Hawala transactions are always associated with some serious offence like narcotics trafficking and fraud which is illegal in most jurisdictions. Another remittance system is ‘chop’, ‘chit’ or ‘flying money’ indigenous to China and also used around the world.

With the passage of time and technological developments, Money laundering has evolved into more complex and advanced forms like

Smurfing- It is another term used for Placement in Money Laundering. .In the US, for instance, launderers had sent troops around the country’s banks to purchase cashier’s checks, drafts and similar instruments for amounts less than $10,000. In India too, smurfing is quite common. Since most bank branches do not issue cashier’s cheques, drafts etc against cash deposit beyond Rs 10,000 to Rs 15,000 launderers use different names and different bank branches for such transactions Currency notes worth Rs. 1.8 crores seized by the Enforcement Directorate from a money-laundering group in Delhi in 1997.

Bank Complicity, Money Services and Currency Exchanges, Asset Purchases with bulk cash, Electronic Funds Transfer, Postal Money Orders, Credit Cards, Casinos, Legitimate business/ Co-mingling of funds, Value tampering.

                 The most perilous repercussion of money laundering has been Terrorist Financing, the reverse procedure of Money Laundering. In Terrorist Financing white money is converted into dirty money. Here the money earned through legitimate sources is used for illegitimate activities.

                  The endemic of money laundering is similar to that of terrorism. As no country is immune from the malady of terrorism, likewise no nation is impervious to the vicious threat of money laundering. This is corroborated by the various legislations enacted by different countries to tackle it. Strategies used by these countries include effective legal framework and tax systems, sound financial institutions, efficient tracking and monitoring systems to identify irregular financial transactions. A few of the key laws relating to money laundering in some major countries are enumerated below:-

USA

Patriot Act 2001; Money Laundering and Financial Crimes Strategy Act 1998; Annunzio-Wylie Anti-Money Laundering Act, 1992; Money Laundering Control Act, 1986; Bank Secrecy Act, 1970.

 

The Acts establish requirements for record keeping by individuals, banks and other financial institutions, establish money laundering as a federal crime; introduce civil and criminal forfeitures for the Bank Secrecy Act violations, criminalize the financing of terrorism, prohibit financial institutions from engaging in business with foreign shell banks, require financial institutions to have due diligence procedures, provide the Secretary of Treasury with the authority to impose “special measures” on jurisdictions or transactions that are of “primary money laundering concern”.

 

UK

Money Laundering Regulations 2007; Proceeds of Crime Act 2002; and Terrorism Act of 2000.

 

The Acts criminalize both actions relating to criminally acquired property and the failure to disclose suspicious transactions that may indicate money laundering. The Regulations create a regime of Due Diligence, record keeping and reporting that the institutions are required to comply with and also establish penalties ((both civil and criminal) for non-compliance.

 

Germany

Section 261 of the Criminal Code, 1998; Money Laundering Act of 25 October 1993.

 

The Acts penalises any person who hides an object derived from a specified unlawful act, makes its obligatory for institutions or casino to report any financial transaction that serves the purpose of money laundering.

 

Australia

The Anti Money Laundering and Counter Terrorism Financing Act, 2006.

 

The Act covers the financial sector, gambling sector and bullion dealing and any other professionals or business that provides particular ‘designated services’. The Act imposes a number of obligations on businesses when they provide these designated services such as customer Due Diligence, reporting and recordkeeping.

 

Malaysia

Anti Money Laundering Act 2001

 

The Act criminalises money laundering stating that any person who engages in a transaction that involves proceeds of any specified unlawful activity commits an offence. It also provides for an investigation, freezing, seizure and forfeiture of the proceeds of money laundering and terrorist financing offences, suspicious transactions reporting, record keeping and the establishment and functions of the Financial Intelligence Unit.

 

India

The Prevention of Money Laundering Act 2002:- Whoever commits the offence of money-laundering shall be punishable with rigorous imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than three years but which may extend to seven years and shall also be liable to fine which may extend to five lakh rupees:

Provided that where the proceeds of crime involved in money-laundering relates to any offence specified under paragraph 2 of Part A of the Schedule, the provisions of this section shall have effect as if for the words “which may extend to seven years”, the words “which may extend to ten years” had been substituted.”

 

It also attracts offences under The Arms Act, 1959; The Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972; The Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act 1956; The Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988; Smugglers and Foreign Exchange and Prevention of Smuggling Activities Act 1974; The Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Act, 1988; The Prevention of Illicit Traffic in Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act 1988.

 

The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance examined the Prevention of money Laundering Bill 2008 and suggested recommendations of which a few are enlisted below:-

The Committee believes that enacting the PML bill is an essential step to strengthen the country’s legal framework from preventing money laundering and counter financing of terrorism. Apart from plugging other avenues generating illegal funds such as Hawala, etc, international guidelines should be taken into account for effective enforcement of anti money laundering law. The government should consider expanding the ambit of law to cover the FATF recommended DNFB’s such as gold or gem dealers, real estate agents etc. MoU’s for mutual cooperation should be concluded with other countries. Enforcement Agencies should strengthen their machinery to keep abreast of emerging trends of money laundering and terror funding. This includes having proper software especially with regard to suspicious transactions; strong reporting equipments to monitor transactions, quarterly audit to verify know Your Customer information etc.

 

As a consequence of the emerging trends in money laundering, enforcement agencies must keep themselves updated and this is possible with the help of advanced Anti Money Laundering (AML) software. A few AML softwares available in the market are Complinet from Mantas Softwares, Omni Enterprises from Infrasoftech, Searchspace AML, AML2 from ECONWARE, AMLOCK and Bank Alert from 3i InfoTech. All banks, asset management companies and securities agencies are the target markets. The Indian AML software market is pegged at more than Rs.200 crores. It is still in its early stages. AML vendors need to upgrade beyond KYC requirements. Some banks that have adopted the AML Softwares are IndusInd, ING Vysya, Bank of Baroda, UTI, Karnataka Bank etc. Some major companies involved in the production of AML software are TCS, Infosys, 3i InfoTech, Logica CMG, Wipro, Misys and SAS India.

 

                   The Reserve Bank of India introduced KYC i.e., Know Your Customer norms on 16th August, 2002 owing to the recommendations made by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) on AML standards. The standards provided by FATF have become mandatory for maintaining cordial international financial relationships. In addition to the FATF, a paper on customer due diligence presented by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision has been cardinal to the formulation of the KYC and AML measures. The main purpose of the KYC was to restrict money laundering and terrorist financing.

                 The KYC guidelines have been issued under section 35A of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 and attract stringent penal measures for any contravention or non-compliance under the same act. The guidelines issued in 2002 were:

Know Your Customer standards:  It puts forth the objective of KYC which is to prevent banks from being misused by criminal elements and also to enable banks to understand the customers and manage their risks efficiently. Customer Acceptance Policy:  Banks are required to lay down explicit criteria for acceptance of customers and are to ensure that:- No anonymous or fictitious accounts are opened. Categorisation of customers into three levels according to their monetary requirements. Documentation information requirements of different categories of customers to be collected keeping in mind the requirements of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002. No opening or closing of existing accounts due to customer non-cooperation or unreliability of information furnished. Guidelines as to the circumstances in which a customer is permitted to act on behalf of another person or entity should be clearly enunciated in conformity with the statutory law. Customer Identification Procedure: Customer Identification procedure means identifying the customer and verifying his/her identity by using reliable, independent source documents, data or information. Banks need to obtain sufficient information necessary to establish to their satisfaction, the identity of each new customer whether regular or occasional and the purpose of the intended nature of banking relationship. For natural persons, banks should obtain sufficient identification data to verify the identity of the customer, his address and also his recent photograph. For legal entities, banks must verify their legal status and understand the ownership and control of the customer. Banks, may however frame their own internal guidelines. Monitoring of Transactions: Banks must understand the normal and reasonable activity of the customer so that they have the means of identifying transactions that fall outside the regular pattern of activity. Banks should also pay attention to all complex and unusually large transactions. Transactions that involve large amounts of cash inconsistent with the normal and expected activity of the customer should particularly attract the attention of the bank. Indications of funds being washed such as the country of origin, sources of funds, the type of transactions involved and other risk factors must be identified by the bank.  Section 12 of the PML Act 2002 requires the bank to maintain records of transactions. Banks should also ensure that its branches continue to maintain proper record of all transactions (deposits and withdrawal) of Rs. 10 lakh and above. Risk Management: Banks may in consultation with their boards, devise procedures for creating Risk Profiles of their existing and new customers. Banks internal audit and compliance functions have an important role in evaluating and ensuring adherence to the KYC procedures and policies. The compliance function should provide an independent evaluation of the bank’s policies and procedures including legal and regulatory requirements. Customer Education: Banks need to prepare specific literature/pamphlets etc. so as to educate the customer of the objectives of the KYC programme. Introduction of New Technologies- Credit cards/debit cards/smart cards/gift cards: Banks should ensure that proper KYC procedures are duly applied before issuing the cards to the customers. It is also desirable that agents are subjected to KYC measures. Appointment of Principal Officers: Banks may appoint a senior management officer to be designated as Principal Officer. He /she shall be located at the head/corporate office of the bank and shall be responsible monitoring and reporting of all transactions and sharing of information as required under the law.

 

On May 17th 2004, US firm Goldman Sachs stock market saga played out bringing forth the lacuna in the KYC norms for foreign institutional investors (FIIs). Capital market watchdog SEBI had proceeded against Goldman Sachs, as it had found evidence that the US firm had conducted some trades which had resulted in the market crash that day. The regulator wanted to give detailed information about the clients, which the latter did not provide. The contention of the firm was that the interpretation of KYC which SEBI had sought to apply would result in FII being required to know to know ultimate client level information and details of reasons for client trades.

                                 Owing to these interpretation barriers, the Reserve Bank of India in 2004 came up with more specific guidelines regarding KYC. These were divided into four parts:-

Customer Acceptance Policy

Customer Identification Procedures

Monitoring of Transactions

Risk Management

The RBI also directed all banks to make a policy for implementing ‘Know Your Customer’ and Anti-Money Laundering measures and remain fully compliant with given guidelines before December 31, 2005. But there have been instances of lapses in the implementation of these guidelines by several banks. The culmination of these failures and the mother of all scams was undoubtedly the IPO scam. Here, one Roopalben Panchal applied for shares in her own name, in a single application, but failed to get an allotment. Undeterred, she ensured herself 9.47 lakh shares by applying through a staggering 6,315 demat accounts! Most of these accounts were with depository participant Karvy and had almost identical addresses. The Securities and Exchange Board of India unearthed this demat racket involving entities that opened these thousands of demat accounts to ensure higher allotments in the retail offering. The Board advised the two depositories in the country, NSDL and CDSL, to step up their surveillance systems and referred Bharat Overseas Bank and Vijaya Bank to the Reserve Bank of India to examine their roles in opening bank accounts of Benami entities and funding their initial public offer applications. Moreover, SEBI instructed NSDL to thoroughly inspect the systems and procedures put in place by the depository participant Karvy as regards “know your client” norms. Thirteen entities were barred from dealing in Yes Bank shares and in ensuing IPO’s.

Moreover, in the infamous Abdul Karim Telgi case, the machines used to print the fake stamps were acquired by way of money laundering by one Manoj Ramesh Sharma, Telgi’s accomplice.

PROBLEMS WITH KYC

Banks say the biggest problem with KYC is the non existence of a unique identification number for every individual in the country. There are also no ways to verify whether documents submitted by customers are not fake. According to KYC norms, banks and financial institutions need to verify a customer’s identity and address by asking for documents at the time of opening an account. The Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) on behalf of banks is seeking help of the I-T department to solve the problem.

    SOME POSITIVES FOR A BETTER FUTURE

The Income Tax department is now working hand in hand with the banks and is sharing its database with them. This has enabled banks to authenticate the identification proof submitted by customers at the time of opening accounts. Moreover, every bank has been given a unique identification with which they can verify the PAN (Permanent Account Number) card details of a customer.

 

CONCLUSION

Although India has not seen any money laundering scams for funding of anti national activities after the introduction of KYC norms, it sure has failed to prevent innocent customers from being fraught unnecessarily. This is because it has failed to curb offences like fraud, cheating etc. involving money laundering. Another huge threat that India still faces is Narcotics. It is mostly owing to this business that money laundering is used. Hence India has a long way to go before it actually sees the success of KYC norms and is able to nip the menace of money laundering in its bud.

 

 

 

 

BIBLIOGRAPHY:-

1)       Prevention of Money Laundering Act 2002.

2)       Financial Intelligence Unit -India, Ministry of Finance.

3)       Reserve Bank of India notifications from 16th August 2002- 18th February 2008.

4)       The Financial Express (June 4 2009).

5)       Indian Banks Association (Briefing on Compliance to ‘KYC Norms and AML Measures’ June 2  

2006).

       5)    The Web page of the Financial Action Task Force.

       6)   The Web page of the BIS.

       7)    Money Laundering: A New International Law Enforcement Model book, by Stessens Guy.

                                      

                

 

                                        

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Ankita Chatterjee -
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lawyerfreefaq -
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LawyerFreeFAQ.com

The events after cold blooded and brutal murder of three innocent Pakistanis on a busy road in the city ofLahore by an American national have opened many secrets for the Pakistani nation that is already caught in the trauma of uncontrolled terrorism.

It is a matter of great distress that countless people are killed every day in suicide blasts, bomb explosions, firings, target killings etc. but the efforts and sacrifices of our security agencies are proven useless and without any proper direction when they are not allowed to check the activities of suspicious people enjoying so called diplomatic immunity.

After the incidence ofLahore, it has now become quite annoying to see that our Government is gradually stooping to accept undue demands ofUSA that is threatening our national security. We all believe that if Raymond Davis the brutal killer of Pakistanis will be released that will put a stamp on the notion that Pakistani nation is virtually dragged into the slavery of USA where our lives, our property and our personal esteem will stand with zero value.

The nation appreciates the stance of Superior Courts on the issue of Raymond Davis but mounting pressure of USA on Pakistani leadership seems to be cracking the resilience generated by our valor courts. The issue of Raymond Davis opened a Pandora Box and has raised to a strong question that who is actually allowing these so called diplomats to roam so freely inside our territories to fulfill the hidden agenda of our enemies.

In my previous articles, I had seriously raised the issue of training the Indians and Bangladeshis in an abandoned US Military Base in an Island at Subic Bay, Philippines.

http://edition.presstv.ir/detail/104849.html

Excerpts

They train people fromIndia, Bangladesh,Nepal, Fiji and thePhilippines for operations in Iraq,Afghanistan and other location where they operate,

It is a clear hard fact that these merciless mercenaries belong to India,Bangladesh, Nepal andUSA too and they are now suspiciously being used on our soil to kill Pakistanis in target killings, explosions and suicide bombings. These killers are allegedly fluent in speaking local languages of the territories they are deputed into and have enormous ability to mingle with the population making it extremely hard to track their movement and their intentions.

Another shocking revelation is hitting our minds thatUSA must be using human clones in suicide bombings with no identification or forensic record available to the Pakistani security agencies. These artificial human beings have entered through Dubai and all the visa process and other formalities are bypassed to flush them inside our country. The involvement of our own President and his step brother in this brutal game has been recently unearthed.

A complete report regarding the scam of uncontrolled and secret issuance of visas is as follows.

Courtesy “The News” Pakistan

By Saleem Safi

ISLAMABAD: As recommended by President Asif Ali Zardari and ordered by Zardari House Dubai, 150 Indians and 86 Americans were issued Pakistani visa putting the national security at risk.

The scandal that comes on the surface discloses that none of the visa cases were processed as prescribed under rules. A document made available to the foreign office (Copy available with this scribe) from thePakistan consulate inDubai says that the Americans given multiple visas illegally include one male and six suspicious ladies.

They had stated in their visa forms that purpose of their visit to Pakistanwas meeting the president or visit to the Zardari House,Islamabad.

The lady Ms Cathleen Margret, passport NO. 208330960 who had applied on March 3, 2010 was issued multiple visa for 90 days the same day. In the justification submitted to the Foreign Ministry, the consulate said, the visa was issued without any inquiry under the specific orders received from Awais Tappi, stepbrother of President Zardari.

On the same day multiple visas were also given to two Americans for three months. They were Ms Mary Jane, Passport No 219245827 and Mr. Nicholas Louis, Passport No 208266130. Their cases were also recommended by Awais Tappi. On March 26 three more American ladies who basically hailed from Ukrainewere awarded 3 months’ multiple visas. They are Ms Luba Dembovsky, Passport No 217861895, Mrs. Larisa Dembovsky, Passport No 212813645 and Mrs Angelik A Vectoria. They had also noted that their purpose was also the visit to Aiwan-e-Sadr,Islamabad.

Just after five days another American lady Nicole Vernica, Passport No 203171445, was issued multiple visa for three month with the permission to visitIslamabad and Karachi. Instead of visiting the Aiwan-e-Sadr, they had noted to visit Zardari House Islamabad as their destination.

Sources said that Americans involved in suspicious activities had started using Dubai and Aiwan-e-Sadr route after the Pakistan security agencies had adopted strict conditions for the issuance of visas and thePakistan Embassy in US had stopped issuing visa without scrutiny.

In all these security breaches one name is standing alone apart from the President of Pakistan and that name is Owais Muzzaffar, aka Tappi. A De Facto King in his place, he is behind major land scams and grabbing plots and valuables of people inPakistan through official endorsement. His present involvement in flushing terrorists inside Pakistanthrough Dubai raises serious questions about the integrity of the President of Pakistan.

Courtesy: The News.

http://www.thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=17200&Cat=2&dt=12/8/2010

The suicide by rat poison of the 18-year-old bride of one of the two slain men would seem to point to the victim’s being more than just a petty street thief, too. The young woman, from her hospital bed, before dying, said that she was killing herself because she despaired of seeing justice done for the murder of her husband.

The suspicious position of Raymond Davis in the case of multiple murders becomes a question mark for the US Administration which claims thatPakistan is its ally in the war on terror. People of Pakistanalready feel quite surely that the problems that are faced by the nation every day are aggravating due to American policies in this region. Without proper direction and without specified goals, the approach ofAmerica in this region is like a fast running blind folded horse. American Government should reassess their approach and should try to build some trust in the hearts of the common Pakistani people. It would be better for America to leave the issue of Raymond Davis for Courts and undue pressure that has been severely exerted onPakistan to accept Raymond as a Diplomat would only complex things that are already messing up with every passing second.

It is also the duty of the media and most importantly of the political leadership to handle this issue in the best interest ofPakistan. We cannot see our people dieing helplessly by the hands of those who find themselves not answerable to any court of law.

Pakistani nation’s unity on the issue of Raymond Davis is a key factor that has strengthened the shoulders of the Government to bear the enormous pressure exerted by the US Government. Pakistanshould act as a resilient and a sovereign country when National interests are to be protected. We should be more vocal against the Drone attacks that killed numerous Pakistanis since last few months. We should express our anger on the issue of Drone attacks more aggressively than the issue of Raymond Davis. It is very true that Drone attacks are the main reason for the emergence of revenging youth that come out of the regions under attack in the tribal belt of Pakistan.

We should as a nation stand united and should multiply our anger if any wrong action is taken by our Government against the esteem and sovereignty of our Country. PakistanZindabad.

 

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Mohammad Mansoor Ali Ansari -
About the Author:

Creator of Blog “Pakistan Hope” http://pakistan_hope.bravejournal.com

There was a time when credit counseling had been considered a highly credible field. However, as a result of of the emergence of fraudulent firms, credit scams and controversies, the name of this field has become tainted. And these things remodeled credit counseling into a field filled with doubts and uncertainties.

Now, suppose you’re designing to require the services offered by a credit counseling agency, what things do you need to consider 1st? What ought to you be cautious of? And the way might a sound debt relief guide help you? You may find the answers to these queries in the rest of this article.

Some Things to Take into account
Before enrolling in a very program offered by a credit counseling agency, first you need to contemplate whether or not you really need to take such program or not. Finance experts have identified the following criteria that you’ll use choose whether or not to seek skilled assistance from a credit counseling agency:
- You have a laborious time paying even the minimum monthly charges of your credit accounts;
- You always build late payments of your bills and credit charges;
- Creditors have consistently referred to as you to collect your monthly payments; and
- All your compensation plans failed.

If any of those criteria work the state of your current finances, then you ought to seriously take into account taking credit repair help. After all, this service can provide you a particular reimbursement program that you’ll be able to use to retire your existing credit obligations. Not solely that. A trained finance specialist can conjointly offer you practical steps that you’ll take to rebuild your credit reputation. Through their facilitate, you may not solely receive debt relief guide, but you’ll additionally discover ways in which on how you can absolutely recover your money health.
But what ought to consumers be wary of after they search around for credit repair facilitate programs?

Tips to Bear in mind Before Enrolling in Credit Counseling
1st and foremost, you wish to steer clear from counseling firms that are not affiliated with a national credit organization or an accrediting body. You wish to try and do investigate the profile, accreditation or license also because the record of the credit counseling agency you plan to visit. In therefore doing, you can have the guarantee that the firm is legitimate and credible which it may provide you sound debt relief guide.

Second, you wish to avoid agencies that need you to pay before you even begin your credit counseling program. Remember that the federal law prohibits credit counseling companies from collecting payments from shoppers, before they supply their services.

Third, back far from firms that offer give surreal promises. Once you’ve got seen the features and guarantees of a specific agency, ask yourself this query: Are the guarantees realistic? Can the company very deliver these services? If you have got doubts, then you would possibly further look for one more company and shop for other credit repair offers.
Bear in mind the issues and tips that we have a tendency to have discussed during this short article, and for sure you’ll avoid succumbing to the schemes and cunning machinations of fraudulent credit counseling agencies.

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Eve Achilleos -
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Eve Achilleos has been writing articles online for nearly 2 years now. Not only does this author specialize in Credit Counseling ,you can also check out her latest website about: Bulova Watch Bands Which reviews and lists the best

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The tasks that an average nanny usually does are:

1.) nanny agency is similar to a referral agency. The slight difference may be the convenience of registering and checking fro available work. The internet is full of crazy people and you never know when you might be a victim of a scam. Make sure that the online nanny recruiting agency you are going with is legitimate and be wary of those who ask for a placement fee in advance.

Answering nanny wanted ads in the paper is a practice that has often yielded great results. Many employers may prefer to post help wanted ads than to post it on the internet. Many ads may ask you to contact a certain telephone number or the paper itself for security reasons. Help wanted ads cost some money to advertise so not all advertisements can be scams.

Some Useful Tips for Nannies

It is best to learn even the most basic first aid. Children usually get in trouble a lot and this will come in handy when it happens. Nannies will also benefit from taking note of the responsibilities and chores outlined for her by the employer. Ask about house rules and be clear regarding how the parents want you to discipline their child. Making things clear will avoid misunderstandings and conflict later on.

For those doing interviews, it is best to appear calm and collected as well as neat during the interview and onwards. We may not like it but many people judge by appearances. Being neat in appearance may reflect on your work ethics and how you do your job.

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Jack Chord -
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NannyPoppinz.com provides twenty four hours full or part time, live-in or live-out regular and corporate child care services.