Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of NJ exposes 300,000 customers to fraud

I come home tonight to find multiple letters addressed to myself, my wife and young children informing us how Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey lost our confidential personal information Read more

GE Money Loses Data on 650,000 Credit Customers

Reuters reports that GE Money Loses Data on 650,000 Credit Customers

A computer tape containing personal data of 650,000 customers of about 230 retailers including J.C. Penney Co is missing, credit card issuer GE Money. Social Security numbers of about 150,000 people were also included on the tape. The tape had been stored at an information protection and storage company. The company claims that there has been no evidence suggesting that the identity of any person had been compromised.

• More articles about careless organizations that allow data to be stolen…

British Ministry of Defense Looses Data on 600,000 People

Earlier this month, the British Ministry of Defence had a laptop stolen containing the personal details of 600,000 people interested in joining the armed forces. The laptop was stolen from a Royal Navy officer’s car on January 9th.

The unencrypted data included family details, national insurance, passport and driving licence numbers and NHS numbers.

“In total 69 laptops and seven personal computers have been lost by the Ministry of Defence over the past year.”

Related Links:

• Data loss prompts Whitehall laptop ban
• Ministry of Defence Laptop Data Loss Dramas Worsen
• More articles about careless organizations that allow data to be stolen…

Don’t screw up at the company Christmas/Holiday party

eWeek so kindly published a list of stupid things you should not do at your company’s Christmas holiday party: “10 Office Holiday Party Landmines to Avoid.” eWeek even put together a cute slide show to help illustrate their top ten list.

I can distill their essay into the following quick guidelines:

• Don’t be stupid
• Don’t say anything stupid
• Don’t dress stupid
• Don’t do anything stupid
• Don’t bring uninvited stupid people

Look, common sense should prevail. It’s not a time to get drunk and cut loose in front of your bosses and colleagues. Be smart, be sober, be polite. Let some other clown make a fool of herself/himself.

Have fun!

Roland Reinhart is an interactive marketing professional. His observations can be found at Chaos365.com and AdMadMan.com.

©2006 Roland Reinhart. All Rights Reserved.

Coworker humor

I did a random search using the keyword “coworkers”. I was suprised by the variety of links that appear in the top results:

• Stories about stupid coworkers
• Advice how to get along with bad coworkers
• Spreading faith to coworkers
• Using astrology to determine your compatibility with coworkers
• Articles about coworker murders

Here are a few links you may enjoy:
StupidCoworkers.com — Stories
iWorkWithFools.com — Stories
AnnoyingCoworker.com — Send anonymous emails

Hedgehog advocates bully McDonalds

Hedgehog advocates have successfully bullied McDonalds to change its McFlurry product packaging.

Hedgehogs humble McDonald’s

For five years, hedgehog advocates claim that McDonalds McFlurry containers must be redesigned because hedgehogs stick their heads in, get stuck, and eventually die. Starting this month, the wide-mouth lid is being reduced in size.

“This is excellent, it is long overdue news,” said Fay Vass, chief executive of the British Hedgehog Preservation Society. “We have been in touch with McDonald’s about this problem for over five years and are delighted that they have at last solved the problem.”

McDonald’s said in a statement the design change had resulted from pressure from the society which prompted “significant research and design testing” to develop new packaging.

Rather than a campaign (e.g. “Give a hoot, don’t pollute”) to educate consumers not to litter because it harms wildlife and the environment, the British Hedgehog Preservation Society instead targeted the McDonalds corporation.

The source of the problem is not McDonalds. The source of the problem is careless human behavior. Once again, people fail to take responsibility for their own actions. Apparently, the BHPS figured it’s easier to shame a corporation into spending money to change packaging than changing the behavior of 6 billion humans.

Roland Reinhart is an interactive marketing professional who is concerned about how companies handle personally identifiable information. His observations can be found at Chaos365.com and AdMadMan.com.

©2006 Roland Reinhart. All Rights Reserved.

Stupid People and Responsibility

New Jersey Star Ledger: Suit over loft bed falls short

A New Jersey appeals court “ruled the risk of falling from a loft bed is obvious, at least when that bed is used by a college student. It overturned a $179,001 award to a college senior who blamed his fall from a loft bed on the lack of a warning label.”

Thank you!

However, what’s annoying is:

• The 21 year old wouldn’t take responsibility for his own clumsy actions.
• His parents apparently failed to teach their son common sense.
• A court originally awarded $179,001 to the student.
• The student isn’t forced to compensate all parties for wasting their time and tax payer’s money.

We read about these nonsense lawsuits too often.

I am personally offended that my coffee cup has “HOT” printed in 6 different languages.

I did not sue my health club when I slipped off a climbing wall and twisted my ankle.

I did not sue my rail fence installer when I slipped off the fence and twisted my ankle.

I did not sue Anderson Windows when I cut my hand on a broken window.

I did not sue my contractor when I stepped on a rusty nail.

Accidents happen! All you can do is try your best to avoid them.

So use common sense. If it’s your fault, take responsibility, accept what happened, learn from it, and don’t try to pin the blame on someone else.

What are your thoughts?
-Roland

Roland Reinhart is an interactive marketing professional who takes responsibility for his own actions. His observations can be found at Chaos365.com and AdMadMan.com.

©2006 Roland Reinhart. All Rights Reserved.

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