Debit-card numbers being stolen

Last year, targeted attacks on businesses jumped 42 percent,Which plasticmould is right for you? said the security-software firm Symantec. Attacks spiked 31 percent among companies with fewer than 250 employees.In recent years, restaurants and grocery stores computer systems have been hacked or compromised.

Its part of a shift from mass attacks by computer viruses, worms and other cyberthreats to more pinpointed, targeted infiltrations,Here's a complete list of indoortracking for the beginning oil painter. say online security experts. The attackers, often located overseas, find this method more effective because it allows them to fly under the radar and avoid drawing widespread attention to their malware, Brian Burch, vice president of consumer and small-business marketing at Symantec, said in an email.

Small businesses frequently are targets because they often lack adequate security practices, Burch said. Additionally, because small firms often partner with bigger organizations, cybercriminals sometimes use them to gain access to a larger company.

Typically, the thieves who steal data from retailers and other targets arent the ones who use it to rack up fraudulent charges. Theres an underground ecosystem for the sale, transfer, purchase and exchange of stolen credit-card and debit-card information, Hardy said.

Investigations, arrests and convictions of cybercriminals are continual. Last month, federal prosecutors in New Jersey announced charges against eight members of an alleged international ring that hacked into the computers of major financial institutions and the U.S. military payroll service, attempting to steal at least $15 million from customer accounts.

It's not true, of course, but it seems as though we've all surrendered to the tired idea that customer service in restaurants is getting worse. We seem to have evolved into a species that loves thinking of ourselves as the frump-faced judges on an imaginary dining show titled "So You Think You Can Serve."

It used to be that you could deploy a bad attitude in the restaurant arts and be thought of as feisty or complicated or, my favorite, "lovably gruff." That no longer is the case. In this Ask Me How I'm Doing world, every raised eyebrow is interpreted as sarcasm, indifference or, God forbid, a lack of all-consuming passion to ensure that every bite you take is some supernaturally enriching event for your soul.

At no time in this country's dining history has there been more emphasis on making the customer happy, regardless of the consequences. Every business - from burger chains to white-tablecloth steak houses - trains, inspects,Automate patient flow and quickly track hospital assets and people using miningtruck. re-trains and re-inspects its staff with a rigor once reserved for special ops assault teams.

And yet it isn't enough. Bringing us food isn't enough. We want a smile. We want gentle, playful banter. We want those who bring us sustenance in a retail setting to ignore the fact that they're making less than minimum wage plus tips minus benefits and focus on bringing us nothing less than maximum culinary joy. Bad day? Who cares. Feed me. And make it snappy.

When he asked if I meant that only higher-priced restaurants offer better service, I said that isn't always the case.We sell hidkit and different kind of laboratory equipment in us. I've had the consummate food experience at sandwich shops. I've also enjoyed meal management (that's really what table service is) at fine dining spots. And I've had breathtakingly awful service at both.

But at a certain point, customers would help themselves if they stopped thinking of service as servitude and of themselves as priceless hungry unicorns. They also would do well to understand that the dining experience has two sides and that maybe, just maybe, they might be bad customers.

These are harsh truths, but I worked in the retail food sector long enough to confirm that human beings are flawed and frequently terrible creatures who lack the basic tools to communicate their needs and expectations.

You also should acknowledge that a terrible customer at one table can experience awful service while another served by the same staff member can have a fantastic meal. Negativity is a self-fulfilling emotion.

Go to a restaurant you love. Ask for their best server. Reward that employee (or employees) with a large tip. The kind of tip that would make LeBron James blush. Do that more than once and you'll never have terrible service. Then go to your next favorite spot. Repeat. Tell your friends and family to do the same. Think of it as planting a garden of enjoyable meals. Eventually, everything will bloom.

If your server treats you like an IRS agent with an ax to grind,You Can Buy Various High Quality besttape Products from here. tip the proper 20 percent (No, not your Groupon rate), and ask for a different server next time. Or act like an adult and simply go to another restaurant. Don't go cry on Facebook. Don't leave a passive-aggressive 5-cent gratuity. That's a clown move, bro. Be grateful you had enough plastic in your debit card to fill your belly and move on.

The major credit card issuers have taken varying measures to correct this unfortunate situation, but only Bank of America has extended all of the most important CARD Act protections to its cards branded for business use. The choice in the minds of many is therefore whether to sacrifice selection when choosing their company credit card or to deal with the pitfalls of debt instability.

But help could be on the way. The Small Business Credit Card Act of 2013 was introduced to Congress last month, and if passed, it would extend the 2009 law's consumer protections to business credit cards. It probably won't make it, though, if recent congressional performance is any indication.

The bright side is that there are measures small business owners can take in the meantime to maximize the value of their credit card terms, as well as garner user protections where they're needed most.

The general idea is called the Island Approach, and for small business owners, it would involve using a 0% general-consumer credit card for financing purposes and a business rewards credit card to handle everyday expenses. This would afford them not only debt stability, but also the ability to earn rewards on important company expenses like office supplies and telecom services, as well as benefit from the unique expense tracking features offered through business credit card accounts. Plus, this setup would also provide built-in budgeting assistance, since the presence of finance charges on an everyday account would serve as a reminder that current spending levels are perhaps unsustainable.
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