By
Tara Brady

Last updated at 4:15 PM on 5th February 2012

This is the moment a brazen window cleaner was caught red-handed stealing a credit card from one of his customers while on his round.

Thieving Leighton Cuthbert swung from his ladder and leaned into an open bedroom window at Adrian Neal’s home in Telford to grab a credit card – which he used on a £150 spending spree.

But the whole episode was caught on camera by a vigilant neighbour, who grew suspicious of the 30-year-old and the time it was taking him to clean three panes of glass.

Unbeknown to the thief, Andrew Mitchell, who lives opposite, was watching while he worked from home.

Cleaning-up: Leighton Cuthbert leans into Adrian Neal’s open bedroom window to steal a credit card

Brazen: Leighton Cuthbert looks back but didn’t realise he was being filmed by neighbour Andrew Mitchell

As the job dragged on, he took out his mobile phone and started recording the whole burglary after becoming suspicious about the window cleaner’s activity.

Mr Neal, who works for aerospace firm Goodrich, which is based in Fordhouses, Wolverhampton, cancelled his credit card but not before Cuthbert made £150 of purchases including £42 at Domino’s Pizza and topping up his phone.

Shrewsbury Crown Court heard that Cuthbert called at the home of Mr Neal, 57, in Trevithick Close, Woodside, Telford, last August to clean his windows.

Cuthbert, of Mullinder Drive, Ketley Bank, Telford, was jailed on Friday for 14 months after pleading guilty to one charge of burglary and five charges of fraud on August 26.

Janet Pitt-Lewis, defending, claimed Cuthbert stole the card to help feed his family.

‘My client and his family were having acute problems with their benefits,’ she said.

Caught: Adrian Neal outside his home with neighbour Andrew Mitchell holding the phone on which he filmed window cleaner Leighton Cuthber stealing a credit card

After the hearing, Mr Neal said: ‘I thought it was the window cleaner but I could not prove it until my neighbour came out and said he had the video.’

Mr Mitchell, 57, a senior distributor for cleaning agents Kleeneze, said: ‘He was a chancer because the windows were slightly open.

‘It took him 20 times longer to clean the window than it should have done, which I thought was a bit strange so I started recording the whole movements. I work from home so I keep my eyes and ears open for everybody.

‘It was not until afterwards that I realised what I had captured. I knew he was suspicious but I didn’t know what he was actually doing.’

It wasn’t until Mr Neal got back from holiday, when he mentioned his credit card had been used, that Mr Mitchell put two and two together.

‘When I watched it back it became quite clear what he doing,’ he added.

‘You could see it in great detail. He goes about it quite brazenly and was up and down the ladder like a yo-yo.

‘The police could not believe how stupid he was.’

Tom Behlau, former boss at both Anexinet (a Blue Bell systems integrator, successor to several suburban IT firms, that now claims $50 million in yearly sales) and Actium (sold to AccuStaff for $80M in 1998), has joined Jeff Milne (former CIO at  Richard Vague‘s fomer Barclaycard and Juniper Bank operations) and accountant Tom Coffey, plus a lawyer they won’t yet name, at Tarpon Hill Capital, a Berwyn firm they say will “invest in next-stage companies” focusing on “regulated industries such as Life Sciences, Financial Services and Healthcare,” with help from the four Tarpon Hill principals.

Tarpon Hill has raised $1 million (corrected) and plans its first investment later this year, says spokesman Jim Tagliaferri. 

Dear Cashing In,
I’ve never had a cash back card, but I’m thinking about getting one. It all seems confusing — 5 percent back here, 3 percent back there, 1 percent over there — and hard to keep track of. Do you think cash back is a good deal? And what should I watch out for? — Ellen

Dear Ellen,
Cash back cards can be a very good deal, cash being the most user-friendly reward. Given the human tendency to hoard points and miles or to go after pie-in-the-sky rewards that don’t fit our lifestyles, there is something to be said for a payoff that accrues automatically and can be accessed and spent immediately.

In terms of usability, what’s simpler than cash? The dilemma you’re facing is which option will produce the most cash for you — that is, net profit — given your spending and bill-paying habits.

As it happens, this website offers a convenient way to compare cash back cards in one place . You’re right that the variations seem endless at first glance — different annual fees, no annual fees, high APRs , low APRs, sign-up bonuses , percentages for different types of purchases. So let’s break it down.

First of all, you can eliminate one of those variables right off the bat — the APR — by paying your bill off in full and on time each month. If you do that, your account will never be charged interest, so it won’t matter what the APR is. The average APR for cash back cards is 14.61 percent as of Jan. 24, but they can go as high as 25 percent (see current credit card rate averages ).

If you do tend to carry a balance or you’re prone to skipping a payment here and there, figure that in. How much did you charge last year and how much did you pay in interest and late payment fees? If you typically charge $1,000 per month, you will earn $120 in cash rewards a year from a card that pays a flat 1 percent on all purchases and charges no annual fee (1 percent of $1,000 per month is $10; multiply that by 12 months and you’ve got $120 per year). But if you pay $120 in late payment fees and interest over the course of a year, there goes the reward.

Sign-up bonuses range from $100 to 50,000 points (on the Citi ThankYou Premier Rewards card after $2,500 in purchases in the first three months). Those perks are nice, but they’re just one-offs. If you plan to commit to this card, I’d pay less attention to bonuses and look harder at the kind of spending the card rewards versus its annual fees and other ongoing expenses.

Generally, the more you spend — particularly in the higher-percentage categories — the more likely your annual fee will pay for itself. For example, the American Express Blue Cash Preferred card charges a $75 annual fee but offers 6 percent cash back at supermarkets and 3 percent at gas stations and department stores — in addition to the standard 1 percent on other purchases. If you live in a suburb with a family of six to feed and clothe and you’re putting 25,000 miles per year on your car shuttling them around — in other words, spending a ton at those high-percentage outlets — that $75 annual fee could pay for itself fast. (AmEx also offers a no-annual fee version called Blue Cash Everyday which pays 3 percent at supermarkets and 2 percent at gas stations.)

If, however, you live in a city, take public transportation and buy groceries from a corner market, perhaps you’d be better off with the Citi Dividend Platinum Select Visa, which comes with no annual fee but pays (in addition to the standard 1 percent on other purchases) 5 percent cash back on fitness club fees, health care and utilities — at least through March 31, 2012. Each quarter, this card offers new categories you can enroll in to get cash back.

Both of those cards require excellent credit. If you’re still establishing your credit and do most of your shopping online, the Capital One No Hassle Cash Rewards card might work. It comes with a $39 annual fee and, along with the standard 1 percent cash back, offers generous percentages (up to 15 percent) to people with limited credit histories if they shop through Capital One’s online portal, Perk Central, which represents more than 300 retailers.

Cap One also offers the Journey Student Rewards card with no annual fee, a standard 1 percent cash back on purchases, plus a 25 percent bonus on that monthly reward if you pay your bill on time. In other words, if you spend $1,000 in a month, you’ll earn $10 cash back, plus another $2.50 if you pay on time. If you don’t pay on time, you can kiss the next couple months’ rewards goodbye. To make it easier to profit on this venture, you can sign up for text or email reminders — not a bad idea for students!

I guess what I’m saying is: Make your decision based on your spending patterns and credit history . One reason there are so many variations on cash-back cards is that there are so many types of people and we all spend our money (and pay our bills) differently.

See related: Credit card sign-up bonuses are getting more generous , How your FICO score is calculated: payment history.

A former accountant in the Navajo Nation’s Division of Economic Development wiped out an entire department’s operating budget of about $157,000 with purchases of personal luxury items, travel and other purchases, all made on a tribal credit card, or P-card, an audit reveals.

A December 2011 audit reveals that an employee, who worked in DED’s Real Estate Department, allegedly used the card to buy designer handbags, perfume, cosmetics, Pendleton bags and blankets, jewelry, tickets to the National Finals Rodeo, ceiling fans, groceries, appliances, baby items, pet food and supplies, CDs, DVDs, video games, an iPhone, iPod, iMac, a leather coat, saddle blanket, circular saw, torch kit, entertainment center, fire pit, and men’s hat, tie and coat.

The audit was among information under review this month by the Budget and Finance Committee, which is looking at ways to prevent tribal officials from using P-cards to convert money from agency budgets for personal use.

The audit, which examined financial records between October 2007 and March 2011, also found that other DED employees were not properly accounting for P-card purchases.

Auditors found that of $20,859 in tribal credit card purchases, $20,235 or 97 percent were “questionable.”

Division Economic Development Director Albert Damon Jr. asked for the audit after allegations of the employee’s actions were reported to him shortly after he was appointed in early 2011.

Auditors found that the employee’s alleged misuse of the P-card started as soon as it was assigned to her in June 2008, and ended when she resigned in July 2010.

At that time DED was headed by Allan Begay, an appointee of Joe Shirley Jr. The Real Estate Department, which is assigned to issue and administer business-site leases, was headed by Henry Saltclaw.

On Wednesday, Damon declined to discuss the audit findings, saying the matter is under investigation.

Damon said he wanted to assure the public that P-card misuse would not be repeated under his watch, and that he only learned of the situation when he took the DED helm in early 2011.

“I had to pick up the pieces and sweep up the mess,” Damon said, adding that after the employee reportedly drained her department’s operating budget, money was transferred from the General Fund so the office could continue to perform its work.

The tribal auditors recommended that the employee be required to reimburse the tribe for P-card charges made for personal items.

In a Dec. 28, 2011, memo to acting Auditor General Elizabeth Begay, Damon stated that the Ethics Office reported the employee to the White Collar Crime Unit on March 2, 2011, and that an investigation was started.

Damon stated that upon receiving the audit findings he immediately had the tribal credit cards assigned to the Real Estate Department confiscated and cancelled.

“In addition, the former employee resigned from her position upon initial discovery and days earlier, the real estate department director resigned before any disciplinary action could be undertaken,” Damon stated, adding that the former director, Henry Saltclaw, had authorized issuing a P-card to the employee.

Damon added that his staff has started using the recommendations of the auditor general to better account for P-card purchases by his division.

He has scheduled staff training on their proper use, and reduced the number of P-cards in circulation.

Auditors reported that 29 of the 114 DED staff were assigned tribal credit cards from March 2007 to March 2011. As of May 2011, 23 of 72 DED employees had P-cards.

Auditors noted that P-cards were intended to make procurement more efficient by eliminating the “costly and inefficient” system of using a requisition, purchase order, invoice and check payment. DED started using them in 2008.

“With P-cards, organizations can procure goods/services in a timely manner, reduce transaction costs, track expenses, take advantage of supplier discounts and eliminate petty cash,” auditors stated. “However, to realize cost savings and efficiency, the P-cards need to be managed on the premise of strong internal controls.”

In the case of the employee’s purchases, the auditors said when they visited the Read Estate Department as part of their audit, they could not find a majority of the items she purchased with the tribal credit card.

The largest charges made by the employee were for “computer/software accessories,” which amounted to about $34,000.

The second biggest category was “operating/office supplies,” which totaled about $29,000, followed by charges for “cellular phones” that amounted to about $23,000 and included cell phones, calling plans, replacement phones, upgrades and accessories.

The fourth biggest category, labeled “miscellaneous,” included about $15,000 worth of purchases that the employee claimed were for “gifts/awards, promotional items, donations, books, training and decorations.”

Auditors reported that about $6,000 of the $15,000 was for bags, door prizes and gift cards for employee retirements, appreciation, gifts and birthdays and that more than $2,000 was for holiday decorations.

The employee also charged about $12,000 for the Real Estate Department’s Internet service, propane and lease/rental fees.

The employee provided no description for about $10,000 of her P-card charges, the auditors said, so those charges were classified as “unidentified.” They included purchases at Walmart, Home Depot, Target, T&R Feed and Dollar Tree.

Under “food/meals,” the auditors reported that the employee charged more than $8,000 for groceries purchased at Walmart and Basha’s that were served as refreshments and meals at restaurants for staff, committees and business meetings.

“Food was also purchased for staff luncheons during the holidays,” auditors stated.

Under the “electronic/furniture” category, the employee purchased an electric stapler and Global Positioning System unit for $826 and office furniture and small appliances for more than $5,000.

She charged about $2,000 for fuel and Internet connectivity, which she reported as travel expenses from the Real Estate Department in St. Michaels, Ariz., to local destinations including Window Rock, Fort Defiance, Gallup and Tsé; Bonito, N.M.

The auditors said the employee provided no “supporting documentation” for tribal credit card charges and so “there is no assurance that the categorization accurately reflects the actual purchases.”

They also noted that the employee used her P-card at 103 vendors. This showed that the program had no restrictions on which vendors could be used or the type of purchases that could be made with the P-card, thus increasing the risk of “misspending and misappropriation” of tribal funds, the auditors said.

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How many credit cards do you have?

Like most people, I regularly receive mail-outs from banks offering me a fancy new credit card, but I always toss them into the recycling bin. I’ve had one credit card with one bank for almost 20 years, and I’ve never really felt the need to have another. It appears, however, that I’m in the minority.

According to the Canadian Bankers Association, there were 71.3 million credit cards in circulation as of 2010. That’s a lot of plastic in a country with a population just under 35 million. Clearly, many of us have a couple of cards in our wallet, maybe even three, four or more. Lately I’ve been wondering if I should make a move and get a second card, or whether it’s just asking for trouble.

Jeffrey Schwartz, the executive director of Consolidated Credit Counseling Services in Toronto, says there are benefits to getting a second credit card: To build credit, to take advantage of travel or other rewards, to have a spare in case your card is lost or stolen or to keep expenditures organized (using one card for business and one for personal expenses, for example).

As well, he says a second card can be useful if you want to give a card to someone, but still keep an eye on their spending – a child in university, for example.

However, all those benefits are counterproductive if having more than one card causes you to rack up more debt, Mr. Schwartz said.

“The reality is, do you really need more than one? Probably not. Are we encouraging people to have more than one in our office? Absolutely not,” he said.

If you’re only paying the minimum each month on the one card you do have, that’s a clear indication you should not have more than one, said Mr. Schwartz. To maintain an excellent credit score, you don’t need multiple credit cards – you just need to be paying your bills on time and keeping your balance low.

“We encourage people to pay off their balance each and every month because the interest rates are what they are,” he said. “The minute you start only paying the minimum each month, you could see the purchase cost of a specific item almost triple based on all the interest you’re paying on it.”

Mr. Schwartz has seen the negative impact of multiple credit cards on some of his deeply indebted clients, and says the danger is when people view their credit limit as “free money.”

“When they think it is free money and they’re running short on one credit card, they’ll use another one to pay it off,” she said. “That is one of the quickest ways to spiral downwards in your financial situation.”

Multiple credit cards intensify the temptation to shop impulsively, said Mr. Schwartz, to fulfil our “wants” instead of our “needs.”

“It’s our wants that are driving our purchases right now and that’s getting us into trouble,” he said. “If we have room on our credit cards to do that, and we have more than one credit card, it adds even more availability to feed these temptations.”

Bottom line? Stick with one card, said Mr. Schwartz.

“Put the leash on.”

Updated: Wednesday, 28 Dec 2011, 5:50 PM CST
Published : Wednesday, 28 Dec 2011, 5:50 PM CST

Hacktivist collective Anonymous appears to have been making charitable donations to a number of organizations using credit card information stolen from US-based security think tank Stratfor.

According to a Telegraph report, one of the alleged perpetrators said the hack marked the beginning of what will be a week-long series of similar attacks, with the aim of using gathered credit card data to make further Christmas donations to the tune of $1 million.

Posts on a Twitter feed linked to the group suggested it had pulled more than 200GB worth of sensitive information from Stratfor’s servers, a company that Anonymous says has the US Army, the US Air Force and the Miami Police Department among its client list.

Anonymous claimed that Stratfor had failed to encrypt any of the credit card information on its servers, which if confirmed would be hugely embarrassing for a global intelligence company. The hacker group later tweeted a link to images it said were of receipts for donations made to charity using the credit card information it had stolen. 

One of the receipts bore the name Allen Barr, who up until his recent retirement had been working for the Texas Department of Banking. Barr confirmed that $700 had been transferred in a number of transactions from his bank account to several charities, without his consent.

“It was all charities, the Red Cross, CARE, Save the Children,” Barr explained. “So when the credit card company called my wife she wasn’t sure whether I was just donating. It made me feel terrible. It made my wife feel terrible. We had to close the account.”

An emailed statement to members signed by Stratfor’s chief executive, George Friedman, said the company was taking steps to deal with the incident. “We have reason to believe that the names of our corporate subscribers have been posted on other websites. We are diligently investigating the extent to which subscriber information may have been obtained,” Friedman wrote.

It’s not the first time Anonymous has hit the headlines for its hacking activities. In August, for example, it defaced the website of Syria’s Ministry of Defense in response to the government’s brutal crackdown on those protesting against its regime.

This article was originally posted on Digital Trends

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December 26, 2011 – 10:53 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – The hacking group Anonymous which appears to have recently hacked servers belonging to security think tank Stratfor, is said to be planning to donate around $1 million to various charities in the coming days, Digital Trends reported.

Hacktivist collective Anonymous appears to have been making charitable donations to a number of organizations using credit card information stolen from U.S.-based security think tank Stratfor.

According to a Telegraph report, one of the alleged perpetrators said the hack marked the beginning of what will be a week-long series of similar attacks, with the aim of using gathered credit card data to make further Christmas donations to the tune of $1 million.

Posts on a Twitter feed linked to the group suggested it had pulled more than 200GB worth of sensitive information from Stratfor’s servers, a company that Anonymous says has the U.S. Army, the US Air Force and the Miami Police Department among its client list.

Anonymous claimed that Stratfor had failed to encrypt any of the credit card information on its servers, which if confirmed would be hugely embarrassing for a global intelligence company. The hacker group later tweeted a link to images it said were of receipts for donations made to charity using the credit card information it had stolen.

One of the receipts bore the name Allen Barr, who up until his recent retirement had been working for the Texas Department of Banking. Barr confirmed that $700 had been transferred in a number of transactions from his bank account to several charities, without his consent.

An emailed statement to members signed by Stratfor’s chief executive, George Friedman, said the company was taking steps to deal with the incident. “We have reason to believe that the names of our corporate subscribers have been posted on other websites. We are diligently investigating the extent to which subscriber information may have been obtained,” Friedman wrote.