Your chances of talking your way out of a traffic ticket are slim – but it’s not uncommon for a driver to talk themselves INTO one by insulting the officer or annoying them enough to write a ticket when they might have otherwise let them off with a warning. Here are the things NOT to say: “Whatever…” This disrespectful remark will almost always insult the officer and land you with a ticket. Same goes for rolling your eyes, arguing or making profane remarks. “I didn’t run that light!” or other denials of wrong doing. If you did something wrong, admit it; you’re more likely to be given a warning. Of course, if you truly didn’t feel like you did what the officer claimed, don’t say you did something wrong just to agree with the officer. “I know the mayor.” Never pull a power play like this on an officer. They aren’t afraid of who you’re friends with if you broke the law. Remember, they’re doing their job by stopping you. “I’m calling my lawyer.” Again, this won’t threaten the police officer because they deal with lawyers all the time. Threatening an officer with your attorney is a no-win situation for you. “I’m on my way to the DMV/hospital.” If you were pulled over because of an expired ticket, don’t use this line. Cops hear it all the time. “But officer, I was just on my way to the inspection station…” And unless you are truly sick or injured and there’s a real emergency, don’t lie and make it sound as though you were responding to an emergency. Again, officers hear this all the time. “But everyone else was driving 90!” That doesn’t mean it’s okay or lawful. A police officer won’t let you off simply because everyone else is doing the same thing.

Back in April, the largest known e-mail security breach took place when Epsilon, an online marketing corporation, had their clients’ lists of e-mail addresses stolen by sophisticated cyber thieves. Epsilon was in charge of maintaining the e-mail databases and campaigns of some of the largest corporations in the country, including 1-800 Flowers, Best Buy, Walgreens, JPMorgan Chase, Capital One, and more. In fact, there’s a good chance that you’ve received multiple “apology” e-mails from these vendors. While some said the breach didn’t cause a whole lot of damage, we disagree. Essentially, these cyber criminals now have the ability to invent highly sophisticated phishing attacks by creating e-mail offers that look like legitimate promotions coming from companies they (the people whose e-mail addresses were stolen) buy from and trust. And though it’s already common for cyber thieves to impersonate credible organizations with what appears to be legitimate e-mail messages that seek to verify account information, this recent breach of security allows cyber thieves to be smarter and even more targeted with their scams. Two Key Lessons First, you need to be a lot more wary of e-mail promotions and communications that ask you to provide your credit card information or to validate your account information (username, password, social security number, etc.). No valid company will ever ask you to send important, confidential information in that manner. Second, this breach serves as a warning to all businesses that they must have the MOST up-to-date security systems in place for their computer network, especially if you handle client data such as credit cards, bank accounts, social security numbers, passwords, client lists and more. Epsilon has responded to the security breach, apologizing to all of those affected, but the damage is done to their organization, not to mention their clients. That’s why we urge all of our clients to enroll in our . This service allows us to monitor your network’s anti-virus, firewall and security settings to make sure your network is fully protected against these damaging events.

Is privacy in America dead? With all the camera phones, online tracking software and social media sites, you can pretty much bet on it. But that doesn’t mean you can’t protect yourself. For starters, go to Google Maps and search on your name to see if they have a picture of your home mapped out. If so, you can request to be removed. Next, set up a Google alert for your name (and company name if you’re a business owner). Google will e-mail you any time something is posted about you with a link so you can keep an eye on reviews, photos, etc. Next, go to www.Spokeo.com and search on yourself – you might be shocked at how much information is posted about you, your home, your income and personal life. You can request to be removed from this site by going to www.spokeo.com/privacy .

Don’t leave it lying around Although this is common sense, you’ve probably violated this rule more than once. iPads are easy targets for thieves, so don’t let it out of your sight when in a public place – and don’t leave it in plain view in your car or you might end up with a broken window in addition to a stolen iPad. Use a passcode Although it’s not 100% hacker-proof, it will block unauthorized users from accessing your information. Consider enabling automatic data erasing You can configure your iPad to erase your data after 10 failed passcode attempts. Clearly this is not a good solution for anyone who constantly forgets a password or those who have kids who might try to endlessly log in to use your iPad. Sign up for MobileMe As mentioned opposite, this software will allow you to locate a lost iPad and, if it’s not recoverable, you can remotely wipe the device of your private information. Limit its capabilities You can set your iPad to restrict certain functions such as access to Safari, YouTube, installing applications and explicit media content using a passcode. In the corporate world, an IT administrator could set these restrictions for company owned devices. At home, you can use this to restrict what your children can do with your iPad. Install software updates As with all software, make sure you have the latest security updates and patches installed to protect against hackers and viruses. Only connect to trusted WiFi networks Public WiFis are open territory for hackers and identity thieves. Whenever you connect, make sure it’s a legitimate, secure connection.