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I recently received an email from a young lady asking me what recourse she can take if she believes she was scammed. She received a letter stating that she had won a foreign sweepstakes for US$1,000,000, accompanied with a check made payable to her for $4,000. The letter stated that before she could get the prize money, she would have to deposit the check in her bank account and wire the $4,000 to cover the taxes. She did just that, and now she has yet to receive her prize money, the bank has returned the check, closed her account, and reported her to collections.

As we continue to see high rates of unemployment, foreclosures, and bankruptcies, a lot of people that are under financial restraints fall victim to these types of scams. One moment you are wondering where your next meal is coming from, the next moment you receive a letter that will almost fix your problems instantly. Unfortunately, once you fall prey to this there’s really nothing anyone can do. You are 100% responsible for everything that is deposited or withdrawn from your account, unless it is a bank error. In my 11 years in banking, I can’t begin to tell you how many unsuspecting people fell victim to this. The reason this scam is so successful is because it relies heavily on
your emotion to get out of your situation. Even though it sounds too good to be true, the possibility seems worth the shot. Well, you know the saying…”If it sounds to good to be true, then it probably is.” So here’s how this scam works:

1. The Scammer obtains your personal information. There are many ways scammers get your personal information. It could be from something you signed up for online, a sweepstakes, survey, mail that’s improperly disposed, newspaper clippings, or magazine subscriptions.

2. The scammer sends you an e-mail or letter. Through today’s technology, scammers are able to create websites, e-mails and letters that look like they are coming from legitimate sources. They send this fake correspondence stating that you are the grand prize winner of a sweepstakes or lottery, and give you instructions on how to claim the prize.

3. The scammer requires you to send them money. You would’ve either received a check in the original letter, or you are sent one via mail after the scammer contacts you. Either way, they will be requiring you to deposit a check into your bank account, and once the check clears, they will need you to withdraw and wire the funds to someone via Western Union or MoneyGram in a foreign country. This should be a dead giveaway that it is a scam, but again, most people are making this decision based on emotion.

4. Your bank returns the check and charges your account. The scammers know that if you deposit a check in the bank, by law, it must clear within 1-7 business days, depending on where the check is drawn from. The check that the scammer gives you is drawn off someone else’s REAL account, but they’re betting that by the time the REAL owner realizes that their account has been compromised, that you would’ve already sent them the money (which is virtually untraceable via Western Union or MoneyGram). The REAL owner contacts his/her bank to inform them of this fraudulent check and, in turn, their bank contacts yours, your bank returns the check as fraudulent, and because
you sent the money via wire transfer already, your account is now in the negative.

5. Your bank reports you to Chexsystems and Collections. With a negative in your account and no way to pay it back, your bank closes your account and reports you to **ChexSystems (**Chexsystems is reporting agency that banks use in deciding whether to open a new account for a consumer. The report contains banking irregularities such as check overdrafts, unsatisfied balances, depositing fraudulent checks, or suspicious account handling that other banks have reported in the past five years). With this record in Chexsystems, you will not be able to open another bank account anywhere else until you pay off the balance. You are also reported to a collection agency that will attempt to collect the funds, but will report you to the three credit bureaus (Transunion, Equifax, Experian).

Obviously, all of these issues are a big inconvenience and can add stress to anyone already going through hard times. As a general rule of thumb, if you did not buy a lottery ticket or sign up for a sweepstakes, then you did not win!! No matter how tempting it may sound, you must understand that in order to win a game, you actually have to
have played and if you’re going to use the excuse… “maybe I forgot,” then you must think you were born yesterday! You know that if you entered a sweepstakes for $1,000,000 or $1, you would not forget.

Don’t let your circumstances allow you to become vulnerable and naive to the scammers out there who are waiting to take advantage of you. This goes for all types of scams! If your name is attached to it, then the chances are that there are going to be some type of ramifications to you personally. Nothing + Nothing = Nothing! There isn’t any replacement for old-fashioned hard work. If you want something in life, then you have to put in the work. Nothing in life is free.

TO HEAR THE AUDIO VERSION OF THE DAILY WORD – CLICK HERE.

Ash’Cash is a Business Consultant, Motivational Speaker, Financial Expert and the author of Mind Right, Money Right: 10 Laws of Financial Freedom. For more information, please visit his website, www.IamAshCash.com.

Outasight, (Not) Out of Mind

By: JP DelaCuesta (@JPdelacuesta) Updated Feb 26, 2012 at 8:34amCategory: Alternatives

Since 2007, Richard “Outasight” Andrew has gradually been taking the music world by storm. With the recent release of his seventh mixtape Get It Together, Outasight is giving listeners an opportunity to rediscover the music he’s been creating for the past five years.

Hailing from Yonkers, New York, Outasight has been blazing through the charts with his Gold-certified hit, “Tonight Is the Night.” Before his recent sold-out show at New York’s Gramercy Theatre, AllHipHop.com got the low-down on his background, his influences, his creative process, and what fans can expect from his debut album which is tentatively set for release later this year:

AllHipHop.com: How you feeling today?

Outasight: I’m doing great. Thanks.

AllHipHop.com: I want to ask you about your background first if you don’t mind. I know your parents heavily influenced you with the music they surrounded you with when you were growing up. Can you tell me about those experiences?

Outasight: Well, I mean I just grew up around a lot of music. My mom was a big-time with collecting records, so there was always a lot of music in the house, and my dad played guitar so he was a musician. Not by trade, it wasn’t his main job, but he did play the guitar and when he was younger, he was a player in a band. So I just always saw music around me as a kid, and it always just brought a different kind of feeling that was just different you know? It just sparked something in me.

From a young age, I kind of realized that there was something special about music and the feeling that it brought, so it really started there just in terms of me saying, “I think I want to do this.” You start having those dreams as a kid, and your imagination kind of goes with it, and then as you continue to get older, you start figuring out how you’re going to do it. It has to start somewhere, so it really started just from hearing it at home whether it was The Beatles or Stevie Wonder or Led Zeppelin and Jimi Hendrix, you know, there was so much stuff. Michael Jackson, Prince, whatever.

AllHipHop.com: You just listed off a whole bunch of different and classic artists and icons, but do you remember what genre you first heard that really struck a chord within you?

Outasight: Well, the first CD I ever bought, actually I got it through my Mom’s Columbia House ‘cause I was eight years old, was A Tribe Called Quest’s Low End Theory. I was eight and I saw the “Scenario” video as a kid, and I just thought that was the dopest video ever. Just being a kid, that video was so much fun. It was like a huge party and everybody looked like they were having a blast. I remember sitting there and watching MTV and saying “this is amazing.”

After that, I think it was Black Sheep’s A Wolf In Sheep’s Clothing ‘cause “This and That” was a huge record at the time, but as a kid I loved everything, and I’ve always been a huge music and pop culture junkie. So growing up, I was listening to Punk Rock, Hip-Hop, Drum and Bass, Alternative Rock, R&B, everything, all the classics, and I just loved it all. I think that’s what kind of helped me as an artist just kind of broaden my horizons and become more eclectic.

AllHipHop.com: I definitely hear you on that. Outside of the artists you just named, who are some of your other favorite artists from the past and present that you find yourself listening to on a daily or more frequent basis than others?

Outasight: Jay-Z, Kanye West. I was a huge Mos Def fan during the Rawkus period, just a huge, huge fan. Marvin Gaye, D’Angelo’s Voodoo is my favorite album of all time. The Roots, Stevie Wonder, The Beatles, f*cking so much stuff. The Clash, Elvis Costello…

AllHipHop.com: Damn, man.

Outasight: [laughter] I told you, man, I go across the board for sure. Everyday sparks something different. I love Beck and LCD Soundsystem. I mean, there’s just so much good music out there, so I definitely try and appreciate as much as I can.

AllHipHop.com: Well, I can certainly appreciate that. Since you’ve surrounded yourself with all this great music and based on the music you listened to when you were younger, I’m curious how you would describe your style and sound musically?

Outasight: My style right now is definitely Pop, with a hybrid of Hip-Hop, Soul, and Rock. I definitely, even from my earliest work, was trying to perfect the idea and craft of the hook. I’ve always set out to nail the hook. So there was always that wanting to continue to get the melody and the hook, and just make those kinds of records that are just catchy no matter what the production was sounding like. It’s interesting, ‘cause it’s always rooted in some Pop, but you know, I definitely have a hybrid of everything I would say.

AllHipHop.com: From what I’ve noticed, being that the first time I saw you was performing at last year’s Governor’s Ball Music Festival in the summer and have been a fan since…

Outasight: Yeah, thanks so much, man. That was fun. We rocked that one out.

AllHipHop.com: …Yeah that show was great. But I’ve seen this tendency since I went back and listened to your older stuff, and I noticed that lately, the music you’ve been creating and putting out has more of a singing style to it then some of your past music where there was a move evident Hip-Hop style and sound. Is there anything to that?

Outasight: I think it really depends just what you’re listening to. It really goes on like a song-by-song basis. I mean, “Tonight Is the Night” is melodic, but “Stay the Same”, I’m rapping and “Figure 8”, I’m rapping. “Life Or Something Like It”, I’m rapping. I think it really depends. It’s funny because I don’t really think about it ever, and I just kind of create and feel what’s right at the time, you know what I mean? There’s never been a point in my life when I’m in the studio and said “I need to sing this song” or “you know what, I’m singing too much; I need to rap.” I just kind of go with the flow and feel it out, and that’s the beauty of music is that there’s no boundaries to even try and fit you in. If you can do it, just do it. So I just enjoy the creative process and go for it.

AllHipHop.com: I understand. Now back in ’09, a huge milestone in your career happened when you signed with Warner Bros. Records and Asylum. At the time, based on the music that you were creating and releasing, why did you feel that signing with Warner was the right move?

Outasight: Well, I originally signed with Asylum and Todd Moscowitz, and then it basically got me out of a small indie deal. The label was patient enough to work with me and make sure that I was able to get out of a kind of nasty situation, and they were always there and believed in the music. So, I just knew that I had somebody that was definitely going to work with me and try and develop me as an artist and really work to meet the goals of getting more listeners and getting certain things going.

It just felt right and when the guy who signed me became the C.E.O. of the company, basically, I just went to Warner Bros. Records. It’s a process with a new artist, and so when they had the change over at the label, that took a lot of time and amazingly enough, it just worked in my favor, because the guy who signed me ended up becoming the CEO, so I was put in a really good situation of having people who believe in me still there. And so, when it was time to go and they pressed the button, everything started working, and they’ve just been so supportive of everything I’ve been able to do. It’s just been a great working relationship.

AllHipHop.com: Well, that’s great, man, and I’m glad that you’re happy with your label situation.

Outasight: Yeah, I definitely am. Thanks.

AllHipHop.com: Now I want to get into the music itself. Like I said before, I’ve gone back and downloaded and listened to your older mixtapes and EPs, but I want to know about the album. What can you tell me about your Warner Bros. debut?

Outasight: Well, I continue to work on the music always and am always trying to get better, and it comes to a point where I’m still growing an audience. Now that we have a gold record with “Tonight Is the Night”, we’re starting to get different exposure opportunities, we’re planning on putting it out this summer. You just never want to rush it just to say you did it and f*ck it up, you know what I mean?

AllHipHop.com: For sure.

Outasight: We’ve had to really grow this from the ground up, and it takes time, and I still have a lot of growing to do. So the music is really good, and there are certainly some real songs with depth there, and it tells my story and it feels really good. But you want to be able to share that with as many people as possible. That’s why we’re just continuing to fill that audience. Right now, with everything continuing to grow, “Tonight Is the Night” has just been a great launch pad for me on the commercial side of things, so that’s just something we’re continuing to go at.

AllHipHop.com: As a fan and listener, it really is great to hear that an artist wants to take their time with creating the best album they can and isn’t trying to just get it out there and capitalize. So that alone speaks leaps and bounds for you and your character.

Outasight: No doubt. You’ve just got to take pride in what you do. I love making music, I love performing, so I just want to make sure that when it’s all said and done, I can look back and be proud of what I did.

AllHipHop.com: Regarding the people that you’ve worked with in the past like Asher Roth, Big K.R.I.T., Freddie Gibbs, Naledge, will any of those guys be appearing on the album?

Outasight: Right now my album is collaboration-free.

AllHipHop.com: I like that.

Outasight: I just kind of want my album to be my story, and I’m always down to collaborate, so it’s not like I’m saying “no” to people. But I think there’s a time and place for each collaboration. Like I just did a song with Don Trip, so I am open to doing collaborations with dope artists. But for my album, I’ve really kind of kept it to myself, not to be selfish.

You know, the same way I write my own songs and I’ve been able to start and be successful, is the same way I want to do my album and be successful. I want to do it my way.

AllHipHop.com: I hear you. Is there any plan to drop another mixtape or EP before the album’s release or are you 100 percent solely focused on finishing that?

Outasight: I’d love to. You know, that’s something I’ve really got to talk to my team about. I’ve got a lot of material so once I get off the road – I don’t know when that is – I’ve got a little bit more time in March in New York, ‘cause I’ve been on the road for two months straight now, so I haven’t really been able to sit in the studio and get it all together. Every time I’m in the studio I just bang out a song, and I keep it moving.

Putting out a mixtape before the album could definitely be a possibility. I’ve been thinking about it, I just got to figure out the details so I don’t know yet.

AllHipHop.com: Well, I hope you do. I just want to say that I’ve definitely noticed your sound evolve and mature over the past couple of years, at least based on what I’ve heard from you. Where do you see you music and sound heading in five years from years now?

Outasight: I’m constantly just trying to get the sound bigger and bigger. Not even on a commercial level, just like sounds and the idea of making music that can take over a stadium, you know what I’m saying? There’s a part of me that’s just jonesing to make anthems and make music that people will listen to for a very long time. That’s what I’m going to continue to try and get better and better as an artist; everyday I’m trying to get better.

I listen to myself and I’m very critical of myself. I know what I want to do and how I want to take it there so I’m just continuing to improve as a person and artist and just kind of make music that, like I said, some people can listen to for a very long time.

AllHipHop.com: We can’t wait to hear the new music for sure. Is there anything else you want the fans or readers to know before we part ways?

Outasight: If any readers are unfamiliar with my work, they can download the Get It Together mixtape, which was like a compilation of work over the past year and some new stuff. It’s a free download, and it’s hosted by DJ Benzi, so everybody who doesn’t know who I am can get familiar with it.

AllHipHop.com: OK, great. Thanks for your time, man.

Outasight: Thanks a lot, JP.

For more information, visit www.IAmOutasight.com. Follow Outasight on Twitter (@Outasight).

Ja Rule to Celebrate His Leap Year Birthday with Special Help from Fans

By: seandrasims Updated Feb 25, 2012 at 4:39pmCategory: News

(AllHipHop News) Fans can wish Ja Rule a “Happy Birthday” in a special way this year – by contributing to a gift made especially for the incarcerated rapper.

A leap-year baby, Ja Rule will celebrate his birthday on Wednesday, February 29, a day after the release of his album, Pain Is Love 2. Fans can participate in a contest/birthday giveaway for Ja Rule by submitting a photo of them buying the new album as a birthday gift. The photos from fans will be compiled into a book and sent to Ja Rule in prison.

To participate, fans should tweet photos with the hashtag #HappyBdayJaRule.

Ja Rule has led an active life writing and releasing music recently, despite his current incarceration at Mid-State Correctional Facility in upstate New York. He is expected to be released from prison in February 2013.

Ja Rule’s album, Pain Is Love 2, is available in stores and on iTunes on February 28.

Jim Jones Arrested In Connecticut Casino Brawl

By: Jake Crates Updated Feb 25, 2012 at 3:44pmCategory: News

(AllHipHop News) Last night, Jim Jones was involved in a fight that turned into a melee, resulting in his arrest and reportedly requiring the use of mace.

According to TMZ.com, Jones was walking through the party hosted by Diddy at the MGM Grand at Foxwoods, when an intoxicated patron began arguing with Jones.

Jones allegedly ignored the taunts, but when the patron hit Jones in the face, the rapper fought back in self-defense.

Both sides then began to fight and it took five officers to calm the angry Harlem-bred rapper, who was arrested and has since been bonded out.

The hotel, Jones, and the Connecticut State Police have not responded to the reports at press time.

Wale Launches “Slight Work” Dance Contest

By: AllHipHop Staff Updated Feb 25, 2012 at 3:39pmCategory: News

(AllHipHop News) After releasing the Chris Brown-directed video for “Slight Work” featuring Big Sean, Wale is inviting dance crews everywhere to participate in the “Slight Work” video dance contest.

Dance crews are invited to submit a 1-2 minute video dancing to the Diplo produced song with original choreography. Wale will choose the winner himself, and the winning crew’s video will be featured on all of Wale’s social media channels, as well as receive merchandise and a signed copy of Ambition.

The deadline for video submissions is March 22, 2012.

For further details on how to participate, visit http://on.fb.me/SlightWorkContest.

Hip-Hop Rumors: No More Outkast?! New Solo Album for Andre 3000?

By: ginatorres27 Updated Feb 25, 2012 at 3:03pmCategory: Rumors

Andre 3000 recently sat down for an interview with our friends over at MTV’s Rap Fix, and while he revealed that he was working on a new solo album, he shot down rumors of any Outkast albums in the future.

“There’s been a lot of talk on the Internet about an Outkast album and I have to say that as of now, there are no plans for another Outkast album,” Andre said.

“I think I’m planning to do a solo project. I don’t know when it will come out, but hopefully it’ll come out this year. As far as Outkast, I really don’t know if or when that will happen.”

He doesn’t know “if or when that will happen.” Could this be the end of Outkast???

Source: MTV

Hip-Hop Rumors: Trick Daddy Calls Plies a “B*tch,” Doesn’t Like Kobe Bryant!

By: ginatorres27 Updated Feb 25, 2012 at 3:00pmCategory: Rumors

Oh man, Trick Daddy is going in on everybody in the new issue of Ozone Magazine. Check out a few excerpts from the magazine below, with Trick Rick Ross calling Plies “a b####.” hating on Kobe Bryant, and speaking on his issues with Rick Ross.

On Rick Ross:
“Everybody’s doing music. They read my interview in OZONE or hear my interview on the radio and then they go from being a Trick Daddy fan to thinking they can be better than Trick. Think about someone who has a clean [criminal] record who graduated at the top of their class. They have a clean driving record and always say “yes ma’am” and “yes sir.” If he gets on a record and tells all these lies about robbing and killing and dope dealing and you fall for it, and later you find out [it was a lie], he should be punished for that. I never did music like that; that’s why my music is timeless. People don’t do that anymore in rap music, it’s all LaLaLand, so when the rainbow washes away it ain’t nothing but a sad story. Everybody’s looking crazy and dumb and all the fourteen, fifteen, sixteen year old killers are on First 48. I refuse to be the victim. I refuse to be the one on the other end of the stick and they’re saying, “Yeah, he’s locked up for killing Trick.”

Are you referring to a fellow Miami rapper whose occupational background may or may not affect the credibility of his music?

I said it before and I’ll say it again. I’ve always been a fan of the man’s talents. I never really had a problem with it. I think what blew [the whole situation] out of proportion was that he had a problem admitting it. I don’t have a problem with him. We never had no beef or nothing like that. I just felt like the people who were around him at that time when [that news] came out could’ve avoided all that. You can’t have too many yes-men and mini-me’s and me-too’s around you. I think if the right people had been around him, [that situation] wouldn’t have went that far.

I know you and Plies had issues at one point. Was that ever squashed?
Plies is a b*tch. Me and Plies’ problem started because I walked up on Plies [in Orlando at the Roxy] talking about he didn’t want me at his show, and I was only coming to support. Ever since then he has refused to even get on the phone like a man and talk to me about it. Anytime I walk by accidentally they start running. When I shot the [DJ Khaled] “Out Here Grindin’” video shoot in New York, Plies wouldn’t come because he didn’t know I was on the record.

What would you want to tell Plies?
I just hope he understands he’s still a Trick Daddy fan. That “bruh bruh” sh*t, that’s some Miami sh*t. He just took it and ran with it. I know he’s still a Trick Daddy fan. Don’t let the animosity and envy that you have for the man interfere with the legacy.

But why would Plies would have animosity towards you in the first place? Some n*ggas just ain’t built for this. I don’t like Kobe Bryant. I love his basketball game, but I don’t like him as a man. I don’t like the sh*t that happened with him and Shaq and what happened between him and Pau Gasol. I didn’t like [the alleged rape] situation. He went straight from high school to the league with a hundred something million dollar contract. You never see him at parties. You never see Kobe on TMZ. He doesn’t have any friends. He’s not sociable. He’s very arrogant. He thinks he’s better than a b*tch.

You could be the greatest player in the world but [that attitude] takes a lot away from you. But I saw him say something last week that made me understand him. They asked [Kobe] on [TV], “How do you compare yourself to Robert Parrish and Michael Jordan and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and all the big-name basketball players?” Kobe said, “I would never put myself above them because I got everything I learned from them.” If Plies would realize that I’m the ni*ga who made him wanna get in his ugly ass ‘vert and ride to Slip N Slide Records and sign [a record deal], he shouldn’t have no hatred in his heart about me.

I just think Plies should just realize that it’s easier to be amongst us than on top of us. When I listen to [Plies’] music, he tries to be so ghetto and hard. Then I research and find out the n*gga graduated at the top of his class. The n*gga went to college. I would trade for that. You could be Trick Daddy, sh*t. If I could go to college and have a clean record and graduate as valedictorian, I’d trade Trick Daddy for that.”

Wow, hate much???

Source: Ozone Magazine

Jimmy Henchman Charged With Ordering Murder Of 50 Cent Associate

By: Grouchy Greg Watkins (@GrouchyGreg) Updated Feb 25, 2012 at 1:42pmCategory: News

(AllHipHop News) James “Jimmy Henchman” Rosemond has officially been charged with ordering the murder of an associate of 50 Cent.

Jimmy Henchman, who is already in a Brooklyn federal prison for running a $10 million a year cocaine operation, now faces the death penalty for the murder of Lowell “Lodi Mack” Fletcher.

Lodi Mack was gunned down in September of 2009 in the Bronx, just two weeks after he was released from prison, after serving almost two years for smacking Jimmy Henchman’s young son, as well as an unrelated narcotics charge.

The incident happened in March of 2007, during an altercation between 50 Cent, Tony Yayo, and Lodi Mack.

Henchman’s young son was walking to the Czar Entertainment offices, which were on the same street as Violator Management, which manages 50 Cent’s career.

50 and crew allegedly spotted the young man walking down the street wearing a Czar Entertainment sweatshirt, at the height of the feud between G-Unit and rapper Game, who was managed by Czar Entertainment at the time.

The young man was surrounded by Tony Yayo and his associates, harassed and eventually smacked in the face.

The assault was condemned by activists like Charles Barron and Al Sharpton.

Tony Yayo eventually pled guilty for his role in the altercation.

He was sentenced to probation and ordered to create anti-violence PSA’s.

In June of 2011, two men were officially charged with the murder of Lodi Mack.

Rodney Johnson and Brian McCleod, two men from Florida, are currently in jail, accused of being the triggermen in the hit.

The men claim they did the hit in exchange for a shipment of cocaine.

Jimmy Henchman is being represented by Gerald Shargel, who has refused multiple requests to comment on the case.

Prosecutors have not indicated if they will seek the death penalty against Jimmy Henchman.