Personal Notes V

Its the holiday season and I will be taking a few days off from this blog for some R&R.

     Its best to end this theme and share a story from my dad which is more heartwarming than the rest of the stories.  As can be seen in these short vignettes, societies where corruption is endemic is harmful not only to the persons living in the culture, but the government as well.  When people have no incentive to pay lawful taxes because of the belief that the government will not help them, then the government loses funding and the trust of the people.  Without such trust in anything, corruption and fraud will flourish.  My dad's "adventures" in pre WWII and Communist Romania were enough to teach me that little lesson.

     Throughout the chaotic years of WWII, my dad lost many friends and relatives.  One of his relatives, a distant cousin, lost his entire family.  After the war, the cousin was contacted by a complete stranger who told him that the cousin's dad left some jewelery with him.  The cousin was told to come and collect the jewelery.  The jewelery turned out to be quite valuable.  This cousin never met this stranger before and has not met him since.  The man did what the cousin's father asked him to do, with no thought to his own benefit.

     As my dad said, this is evidence that there are still some honest people left.  A few.

     Perhaps this is not really an example of fraud, but it is a good lesson that sometimes the best in human nature does shine through.

     For those who celebrate it (on the 25th of December anyway), Merry Christmas.

NOTE: THE INFORMATION IN THIS BLOG IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE NOR IS IT INTENDED TO BE LEGAL ADVICE.  IF THE READER HAS ANY LEGAL QUESTIONS, PLEASE REFER TO AN ATTORNEY.

                                             

Have a great and fraud-free day.

 

http://www.tauskvega.com

 

----------à>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>gene tausk

 

Personal Encounter IV

Further encounters of my dad in pre WWII and Communist Romania.

     Teachers (high -school teachers) were apparently not immune to requesting "help" from students as well.

     My dad related a story to me that when he was in high school (grade unknown), he was required to take classes in Romanian language and literature (which makes sense considering it is the country's language).  He took his tests and thought he did well but consistently received the equivalent of a "C" grade.

     He went to talk to his teacher who informed him that my dad was a good student but needed some extra tutoring to get him through the classwork.  My dad did not understand and went home to talk to my grandfather about it.  My grandfather instantly understood and went to the teacher to ask him about getting a tutor for my dad.  The teacher recommended someone and my grandfather hired him on the spot.  The "fees" paid to this tutor were much higher than normal but it was understood that not all of the "fees" were going to the tutor.  Also, my dad informed me that the "lessons" mainly consisted of my dad explaining Romanian language and literature to the tutor.

    Once again, a very byzantine system of bribery and corruption, but it was expected and everyone knew about it.  Nothing directly was said, nor was anything directly needed to be said.

NOTE: THE INFORMATION IN THIS BLOG IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE NOR IS IT INTENDED TO BE LEGAL ADVICE.  IF THE READER HAS ANY LEGAL QUESTIONS, PLEASE REFER TO AN ATTORNEY.

                                             

Have a great and fraud-free day.

 

http://www.tauskvega.com

 

----------à>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>gene tausk

Personal Notes III

    Continuing on with my dad's adventures in pre-WWII (and Communist) Romania...

     Apparently, giving bribes to officials was more or less a way of life in Romania.  Not only was it expected, it was also required but, as discussed in a previous post, it had to be done in an "agreed upon" manner between the parties.  The words were never said, but the meaning was always there between the parties.

     Once my dad had to get some old paintings out of the country.  They were family paintings and practically worthless to anyone else (unless they were interested in distant relatives).  He needed to get an export permit for the paintings.  However, export permits were very difficult and expensive.  My dad realized that the local art museum had the authority to give permits.

     He bought a bottle of slivovitz (amazing how many stories begin with "I bought a bottle of slivovitz") and went to see the director of the art museum.  After having a shot, my dad complimented the director on the wonderful museum and the fantastic paintings inside.  My dad told the director that, as a loyal son of Romania, he felt obliged to support the museum.  He took out $200 and left it on the table. The director tried to write my dad a receipt, but my dad told him that it was not needed.  My dad then asked, however, if he could have an export permit for the paintings. The director told him it was no problem and gave him the permit. 

    Nothing directly was said.  Nothing directly needed to be said. 

    

NOTE: THE INFORMATION IN THIS BLOG IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE NOR IS IT INTENDED TO BE LEGAL ADVICE.  IF THE READER HAS ANY LEGAL QUESTIONS, PLEASE REFER TO AN ATTORNEY.

                                             

Have a great and fraud-free day.

 

http://www.tauskvega.com

 

----------à>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>gene tausk

Personal Notes II

     One of my favorite stories from my dad involves the annual ritual my grandfather had around Christmastime with the chief of police for the town in which my dad grew up (Timisoara).  From the way my dad described it, in pre WWII Romania, any position of authority was given to Romanians (with very few exceptions) despite the fact that the city (third largest in the country) had equal populations of ethnic Hungarians, Jews, Germans and Romanians (this is apparently no longer the case).

     Despite having access to government positions and authority, these posts were very poorly paid.  It was tacitly understood, however, that any such deficiencies in salary would be made up for with good bribes.  It was expected that bribes would be paid for "services."

     My grandfather apparently went every year to the chief of police with a good bottle of slivovitz (a type of plum brandy which is the national drink for many of the Balkan countries) and an envelope stuffed with cash.  My grandfather and the Chief would have a toast to each other's health and the New Year and then my grandfather would hand over the envelope telling the Chief that this was a donation to the Policeman's Athletic Sports Complex.

    The moral of the story, of course, was that bribes were expected, but you couldn't just call it a bribe.

      It goes without saying that there was no Policeman's Athletic Sports Complex.

NOTE: THE INFORMATION IN THIS BLOG IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE NOR IS IT INTENDED TO BE LEGAL ADVICE.  IF THE READER HAS ANY LEGAL QUESTIONS, PLEASE REFER TO AN ATTORNEY.

                                             

Have a great and fraud-free day.

 

http://www.tauskvega.com

 

----------à>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>gene tausk

Personal Notes

Every so often, it is worth talking about how fraud affects me personally.  Fortunately, I have not been in a situation where I lost a great deal of money on fraud schemes (I have, unfortunately, been a victim, but emerged more or less unscathed).

     In this case, I want to talk about my dad.  He is from Romania and lived in that country until about 1960.  He was unfortunate enough to endure both Communism and Facism and in all situations, even before the country was transformed into a Communist "utopia," Romanian society was far from ideal.  More specifically, the country was a cesspool of fraud and corruption in the 1930's.  Keep in mind, of course, that Romania was hardly unique in this respect.  Fraud and corruption are enemic in many societies but, as my dad always told me that Romania had a special blend of corruption.

    It was always interesting hearing him talk about his experiences in dealing with Romanian officials who demanded "baksheesh," a term involving bribes that is a holdover from the time when Romania was part of the Ottoman Empire (the word is of Turkish origin). 

    Over the next few days, I will relate a few of my dad's stories.  For those who live in corrupt societies, these stories will seem all-to familiar.  For those that live in lawful societies, give thanks.

NOTE: THE INFORMATION IN THIS BLOG IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE NOR IS IT INTENDED TO BE LEGAL ADVICE.  IF THE READER HAS ANY LEGAL QUESTIONS, PLEASE REFER TO AN ATTORNEY.

                                             

Have a great and fraud-free day.

 

http://www.tauskvega.com

 

----------à>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>gene tausk

Personal Encounters V

Need to take a break for the next two days since I will be celebrating my 20th wedding anniversary (hard to believe) but I will be back on Monday with a new topic.

Hope everyone has a great weekend.

------------->>>>>>>>>>>>>>gene

Personal Encounters IV

As I mentioned in my last post, the important step once it is discovered that your passport has been stolen is to report it immediately so it can be cancelled.  Failure to do so can lead to enormous problems not only for you, but possibly for the government as well.

     As I mentioned at the beginning of this thread, their is a vast industry of underground passport sales and tracking.  As anyone who has received a new passport in the past five years knows, passports are not just folded cardboard books anymore.  They are high-tech devices with built in transmitter chips that can be electronically read and transmitted from various points around the world.  The entire point of this is to deter passport fraud.

     However, even with these high tech devices, passport fraud and forgery is still a big issue.  Once an identity thief has an actual passport, it is much easier to try and use this actual passport as a way to create a forged one - on the back of the actual person from whom it was stolen.

NOTE: THE INFORMATION IN THIS BLOG IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE NOR IS IT INTENDED TO BE LEGAL ADVICE.  IF THE READER HAS ANY LEGAL QUESTIONS, PLEASE REFER TO AN ATTORNEY.

Have a great and fraud-free day.

http://www.tauskvega.com

----------à>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>gene tausk

Personal Encounters II

So - I mentioned in the last post that my passport was stolen.  I immediately moved to report it stolen and get a new one.  Why is this so critical?

First, from a practical point of view, a person cannot travel internationally without a passport.  So, unless I wanted to get stuck in Russia (which would not be a bad thing), I would have to get a new passport in any case. It makes sense to take care of this sooner rather than later.  I discovered that my passport was missing on a Friday and since the Consulate would have been closed over the weekend, it was practical to get it taken care of when I knew the Consulate was open.  To do otherwise would have meant that I would have been without this vital document for at least two days; two days when I might have needed it.

     Second, from a fraud examiners point of view, passport fraud is a big worldwide industry.  Passports from advanced nations such as the U.S. are in high demand because they are sold to high-tech "passport surgeons" who try and alter the passport for a new identity for someone else.  My stolen passport may have been used for such a purpose.  It is important for the American Consulate or Embassy to know about my stolen passport ASAP so they can put a stop to my passport and passport number to prevent it from being used by anyone else.

More on this tomorrow.

NOTE: THE INFORMATION IN THIS BLOG IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE NOR IS IT INTENDED TO BE LEGAL ADVICE.  IF THE READER HAS ANY LEGAL QUESTIONS, PLEASE REFER TO AN ATTORNEY.

Have a great and fraud-free day.

http://www.tauskvega.com

----------à>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>gene tausk

Personal Encounters

Well, the "major project" to which I referred earlier was a trip to St. Petersburg, Russia.  Just got back in town and although I had a great time (I love Russia), I myself was the victim of theft which could lead to fraud.  So, there is no time like the present to discuss how I took care of this situation.  Yes, anyone can be the victim of fraud and theft.  The most important part is taking care of the situation.

     So, long story short, my passport was stolen.  Aside from being the victim of a theft, which is always difficult and unpleasant, the most irritating part of having a passport stolen in a foreign country is that it needs to be replaced.  A person cannot travel internationally without a passport.  So, this means that an American citizen, or a citizen of their own country, must go to their country's Embassy or consulate and get a new one.  Since I was in St. Petersburg, Russian Federation, I had to go to the consulate in St. Petersburg (in Russia, the USA has its embassy in Moscow [the capital], and consulates in St. Petersburg, Vladivostok, and Ekatirinburg).

     So, a few hours later, I was able to report my passport stolen and get a new one (and I give extreme props to the good people at American Citizen Services at the St. Petersburg consulate for their excellent work).

   But - why is it important to report when a passport is stolen and get a new one as soon as possible?

More later.

NOTE: THE INFORMATION IN THIS BLOG IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE NOR IS IT INTENDED TO BE LEGAL ADVICE.  IF THE READER HAS ANY LEGAL QUESTIONS, PLEASE REFER TO AN ATTORNEY.

Have a great and fraud-free day.

http://www.tauskvega.com

----------à>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>gene tausk