The End

I haven't done much with this blog in a long time, but I am now officially closing it, and will not make any new posts. I'm thinking of moving my other blogs as well. Update: I no longer have any active blogs on blogspot.

To find out why I'm ending it at this time, read what Google did to this blog. You'll have to click through Google's flag warning you that it's vile and evil. The vileness and evilness consists of holding a libertarian position. If Google regards libertarian blogs as "objectionable," I regard Google as objectionable.

Update: I notice that you can no longer even click through, so I'd better provide a bit more information. The blog, "Just a girl in short shorts," was declared to have "objectionable" content with no explanation provided, so people had to click through. In doing a search to find more information, I found that Blogspot had declared that the reason was nudity in a few pictures. These were harmless things like classical art and pictures of topless women in pools, and they formed a small part of the context. Other blogs on Blogspot have much more blatant nudity yet are untouched.

In response to questions and complaints on several support forums, Blogspot admins declared that the complaints constituted a "denial of service attack." The last time I checked the blog, it had been declared to be in violation of the terms of service. The owner of the blog had previously declared that she was abandoning the blog due to loss of readership, and I haven't seen any further explanation. So it appears to me as if the blog was declared in violation of terms of service because its readers questioned the administrators' decision.

"nitecruzr," who appears to speak for Blogger, told users to "shut the fuck up" and threatened: "Either Blogger may remove the interstitial, or they will delete the blog and give you something to really whine about. I am inclined to recommend the latter, right now."

Blogger admins don't like to have their authority questioned, and will declare blogs to be in violation of terms of service because someone else has complained about the way they were treated.

Blogspot/Blogger treats its users and readers in an arbitrary, authoritarian way and I will have nothing more to do with them.

Update 28-April-2010: Blogspot is currently hosting a blog for the "revolutionmuslim" people who issued veiled threats against South Park. The blog claims that Islam commands the murder of anyone who insults Muhammad. The post claiming that has been up for six days as I write it. Evidently blogspot has no problem with the advocacy of murder, only with blogs with libertarian content nude pictures.

Thomas Van Flein: Sue me

Thomas Van Flein, an attorney for Alaska's resigned governor Sarah Palin, has attempted legal intimidation against bloggers and major newspapers:

To the extent several websites, most notably liberal Alaska blogger Shannyn Moore, are now claiming as 'fact' that Governor Palin resigned because she is 'under federal investigation' for embezzlement or other criminal wrongdoing, we will be exploring legal options this week to address such defamation. This is to provide notice to Ms. Moore, and those who re-publish the defamation, such as Huffington Post, MSNBC, the New York Times and The Washington Post, that the Palins will not allow them to propagate defamatory material without answering to this in a court of law.

As far as I can determine, Van Flein's charge that Moore has reported the existence of a federal investigation as fact, or even that she has used the exact words "under federal investigation" (which he puts in quotes) in connection with Palin, is a pure fabrication. Moore has stated that rumors are flying; a competent lawyer should know the difference between that and an assertion of fact. I've made multiple web searches without finding anything to substantiate Van Flein's assertion about Moore.

It looks to me as if Van Flein is engaging in fabrication and legal intimidation, and that Moore might have grounds for a lawsuit against him.

In the meantime, Shyster Van Flein, please add me to your growing list of people to sue. I'll provide contact information if you want it.

Auto warranty scammers, the latest chapter

Today I got a call from one of the auto warranty scammers, with a caller ID of 516-858-7142. This is the first time these crooks have hit my home phone number. (I'm on the Do Not Call list and unlisted.) I've filed a report.

A comment on whocallsme.com says that these people demand that victims provide their name, address, and social security number to be removed from their list. This simply shows the operation is in the business of identity theft as well as fraud.

See also "An Auto-Warranty Scam Leads to a Solicitation Pileup" (Seattle Weekly) and "Warranty scam preys on auto owners' fears" (Columbus Dispatch).

The warranty scammers strike again

I'm not really using this blog any more, but it's a convenient place to leave my warranty-scam reports for whoever may find them with a web search.

An extended-warranty scammer left a message on my cell-phone voicemail telling me that this was the "last" message I would receive from them (I can only hope I'm so lucky, but the experience of others suggests they'll be calling my phone incessantly from now on.) The caller ID gave a Massachusetts number; one web page I looked up on this number states that it's a forgery, so that the angry calls will be directed at an innocent target. Given the likelihood this is true, I'm not posting the number, but I'll link to this page, which provides an excellent explanation of how these crooks operate. (I can't personally confirm the details.)

The message said that I could press 1 to talk to them and 2 to be removed from their list. They apparently believe in magic.

If you get a call or postcard from an unknown party claiming your car warranty has expired and that they can extend it, assume it's a crook unless you can definitely connect it with your manufacturer or dealer.

Motor Vehicle Warranty [scam] Notification

Postcard received today from Dealership Warranties, 12131 Dorsett Rd., Maryland Heights, MO 63043.

In big letters: MOTOR VEHICLE WARRANTY NOTIFICATION

Below it is a meaningless "Registration identification number" and the phone number 1-866-533-9966.

The message:

VEHICLE SERVICE NOTIFICATION
 
Dear Gary McGath:
 
This notification is to inform you that your factory warranty has expired or is about to expire. To avoid the high cost of automobile repairs, call us immediately with your Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) and exact miles to extend coverage on your vehicle.

In fact I never had a factory warranty on my car, since I bought it used, and even the dealer warranty expired long ago. In spite of what the postcard wants suckers to believe, "Dealership Warranties" has no connection with either the maker of my car or the dealer that sold it to me.

Maryland Heights isn't far from St. Louis. For some reason this area is a hotbed of automobile warranty scams. Click on the "scams" tag for earlier posts about warranty scams.

See also:

• Vehicle warranty sales pitch
• Dealer Warranty Services complaint. Scroll down to the comment titled "FORMER EMPLOYEE" for a detailed account of how these crooks operate.

Taking License

This blog is basically inactive, but in case anyone still drops by, I'd like to mention my new blog, Taking License. This is a one-subject blog, on user licenses which you agree to by opening a package or clicking a button, and which you might not even read. Some of those licenses have really nasty features, and I'll be reporting on them.

reunion.com

As long as I'm posting about scams today, in the hope that someone will find these posts with a web search and not be duped: reunion.com is the latest of the rogue "social networking" sites that asks users to give them their webmail passwords, and then of course spams everyone in their address book. The spam impersonates the owner of the account and tries to get the victim to sign up.

Any web site that asks for a third-party password is up to no good. Terminate any relationship you have with them. (I haven't followed this advice myself for LibraryThing, which started soliciting third-party passwords after I bought a lifetime membership; maybe I should. I've never heard of their spamming anyone, but it's inexplicable that they'd adopt such a practice.)

Some of the links I've found claim that reunion.com also bills people's credit cards without telling them in advance that they are incurring a charge.

Update: Lots of information here, especially in the comments. Reunion.com may be using some sneaky dodge to steal people's address books, possibly involving OpenID spoofing.

Links:

• Reunion.com Will Scrape Your Address Book, Then Spam Your Contacts
• Classic Spam: Reunite This!
• ReUnion.com complaints
• Reunion.com scam

Car warranty scam

Yesterday I received yet another automobile warranty scam postcard:

FINAL WARRANTY NOTICE
Call 1-888-963-6723
This is to inform you that this is your FINAL NOTICE to extend the warranty coverage on your vehicle. Call us immediately with your exact miles and VIN# to take advantage of this final offer. You have been pre-selected for this exclusive program.
 
Additional 20% discount off the already low price if you call within 48 hrs and use promotion code PC-327
 
Be advised your 20% discount expires in 48 ours so Call 1-888-963-6723 now.

The return address on the other side of the card is:

Dealers Warranty
745 Friedens Rd., Ste. 201
St. Charles MO 63303

Several points flag this as a scam:

• There is no information identifying my vehicle. The manufacturer that issued your warranty already has your VIN, yet the postcard wants you to supply it. (Some extended-warranty scammers do get this information, which is on public record, so its presence is no guarantee of legitimacy.)
• Nothing in the card mentions the manufacturer of my car. The sender in fact has no affiliation with the issuer of the warranty, and no power to extend it.
• Any piece of mail which claims that an offer expires in "x hours" or "y" days" is trying to rush you into a hasty response. The sender has no way to start a timer when you pick up your mail.
• The return address is in St. Charles, which is right next to St. Louis. The large majority of extended-warranty scams are based in St. Louis or its immediate vicinity.

Here's a little more information on the scammer. Dealers Warranty has reportedly been making auto-dialer hangup calls to cell phones, which is illegal several times over.