Some interesting stuff to read on identity theft:
- Federal Trade Commission on Identity Theft. Here is a brief intro to what this is about:
Each year, millions of Americans have their identity stolen. The Federal Trade Commission, the nation’s consumer protection agency, wants you to have the information you need to protect yourself against identity theft. This information is summed up in the FTC’s clear and concise message on identity theft: Deter, Detect, Defend.
There are 3~4 pdf files on the this website that explain, in a very simple language, the preventive and remedial measures against identity theft. This is a must read, if you haven’t seen it yet.
- Also, I will take this chance to draw your attention to Dateline’s interesting identity theft investigation series aired by MSNBC. If you missed it last Tuesday, here is a link through which you can catch up. The concluding part of the series will be aired on the coming Tuesday @ 8:00 pm EST. Don’t miss it this time.
In other news, our tax returns are done and both of us will be getting two digit returns this year. Without the $30 standard credit for Telephone Excise Tax refund, my total came to only $12!…not even enough for a pizza. Man, I had some lofty dreams of fattening up our savings account with the tax return. 
Also, on a totally different note, I figured out that my blog is not accessible in China (and probably many other wordpress.com blogs are blocked too). Check out if your blog is also blocked in China on this website - Great Firewall of China. [hat tip: Weblog Tools Collection] No wonder the traffic levels are low 
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
I thought since I am a Chinese and they won’t let me go through, but apparently that’s not the case “You URL is Blocked!” :D.
However, I don’t think the test is as reliable as you may think. Just a couple of days ago, there are some links and clicks through a blog on Sina.com, China’s largest internet portal, to one of my posts. If this is indeed blocked, I don’t think they can get an access.
On the bright side, having a small refund means you didn’t loan the government any money through this year.
Sun: Yeah..also there are some tech troubles with the Great Firewall of China tool. Btw, how popular are English websites in China? Do they get *popular* at all?
Steve: Yep…either that, or I filled up my tax forms like a moron and forgot about half the deductions.
That element of surprise that comes attached with a larger tax return carries a lot of value (in my opinion), even though it means that we loaned it 0% APR to the government.
Bad beat on getting excluded from China! I am sure a lot more of us bloggers will be joining that list, if we haven’t already! It’s a sick sad world I tell ya!
I owe the government money on my tax return. I’ll hang on to it as long as possible to try to get as much interest as I can…
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