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ZabaSearch - Free people search and public information search engine.
ClarkHoward.com - A list of states that have credit freeze laws on the books.

People tend to think that e-mail at work is private. But Clark recently read about a company that uses software to temporarily detain every e-mail leaving its network. The outgoing messages are reviewed by an artificial-intelligence program during the hold time. The program looks for keywords -- such as a competitor's name -- and flags suspicious e-mails for review by an actual person. What if you use third-party e-mail accounts like Yahoo! or Gmail at work? You still don't have any privacy rights if you access them through your employer's network. So make sure you're not sending anything that could get you in trouble. Speaking of compromised e-mail security, have you heard about the Spirit Airlines CEO who received a customer complaint forwarded to him internally by a colleague? Instead of just replying directly to the colleague, the CEO hit "reply all" and sent a curt reply back to the already disgruntled customer and others. The gist of the reply was that the airline didn't owe the customer anything for his troubles and that he would be back again when the airline saves him a penny. Clark thinks people should start treating e-mail like they would a party line or message board. Know that what you e-mail can be seen by unintended people. Meanwhile, Yahoo! has launched some new technology that combines IM, text messaging and e-mail capabilities into one. So for example if you get an e-mail, you can respond to the sender via text or IM; if you get a text, you can respond by e-mail or IM and so on. This is great for people like Clark who use all three platforms regularly.

Modern technology brings with it modern crime. Clark loves Craigslist because it offers free local online classifieds across the country. But the website is also beloved by criminals who have made a cottage industry out of selling stolen goods online. The Washington Post reports that very expensive stolen bikes are now showing up for sale on Craigslist. These bikes originally cost their rightful owners thousands of dollars. But because they're not registered with tags or plates, they make a great target for thieves to steal and resell in the anonymity of cyberspace. It's getting to the point where bike theft, which used to be a crime of opportunity, is now like organized crime. Thieves are setting up rings to steal these expensive toys. So people are fighting back on websites where you post pictures and an exact description of your stolen bike. Even better, some owners equip their two-wheel rides with GPS technology so their bikes can be tracked if they're stolen. It's like having LoJack for your bike.

Job seekers who entered their information in the Monster.com database may be at risk of identity theft following a massive security breach at the company. Identity thieves managed to steal the names, addresses, phone numbers and e-mail addresses of 1.3 million people. So beware if someone claiming to be an employer calls or e-mails asking to screen you as a potential employee. If they're an identity thief targeting you, they may ask you to divulge your social security number, mother's maiden name or place of birth. These are some of the remaining key pieces of info they'd need to steal your identity. If you think you've already been targeted or may be in the future, you're best option is to do a credit freeze. Consumersunion.org offers a comprehensive list of states that have credit freeze laws on the books. If you're already a victim, it's free to do a credit freeze. But you may have to pay some nuisance fees if you just want to do a freeze as a preventative measure. Right now 10 million people have their identity stolen each year. So why is there no national credit freeze law? The problem is that Congress is in cahoots with bank lobbyists who want to repel all freeze laws -- even those on the state level. We'll keep you posted...

We've all be hearing about how tough it is to sell a home right now. Clark's read a number of articles that give some advice to sellers that he's been championing for years. Before you go to market, you should hire an inspector to carefully vet your home. Then fix whatever it is that needs repair, and have the inspector's report and your receipts available for prospective buyers to examine. As a seller, you have to psychologically try to get inside the head of a buyer. Even though a buyer may consider a used home, they still want it to be perfect like a doll house. Imagine that a corner of your roof needs repair and you don't spend the money to fix it. When their inspector finds it, the buyer is more likely to blow the potential repair cost out of proportion and make a lower offer on your house accordingly.

What should you do if you're upside down in your home -- that is, you owe more on it than it's worth? Some lenders will permit you to do a short sale, where you sell your property for a lower value before it financially takes you (and the lender) under. This idea came from the government's FHA program, which would allow people to sell for less than they owed on a property and walk away clean without going into foreclosure. Now private industry is learning from the government's short sale idea. Remember that the average foreclosure costs a lender $70,000, so they don't really want to foreclose. A short sale could be a win/win option for everyone.