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Mike Tribolet of Vonage Speaking at ITEXPO
November 9, 2006
You know I have been meaning to blog about Mike Tribolet speaking at Internet Telephony Conference & Expo for a while but got sidetracked with a million things. As luck would have it I am going to be on the road tomorrow – I thought I would be out today. But back to Mike, this is one of the first speaking opportunities Mike will have since Vonage has gone public and since he has been promoted to President.I am sure there will be many questions answered by Mike Tribolet at the show and I can’t wait for this keynote which will take place 10:30 to 11:00 on Thursday, January 25th 2007 in Ft. Lauderdale, FL.
Mike is a veteran of the VoIP industry and perhaps is best known for working at DialPad Communications. As you may recall DialPad is a part of Yahoo! now and they were way ahead of the VoIP curve. At the company’s peak they had somewhere near 20 million subscribers using their service for PC to phone calls.
The company’s flaw (like just about everyone else) was they thought they would be able to sell ads to monetize their growth. This didn’t happen and we know about the post-bubble issues. I am digressing but Mike has certainly seen the riches to rags to riches story live in his career. I am looking forward to hearing what he has to say.
There is just so much speculation about this company. The best way to hear what the future of Vonage is will be coming to the show.
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Cash that Check -- Go to Jail
November 9, 2006
Apparently it is becoming increasingly possible to go to jail when you receive a fraudulent check. This can happen when selling products on craigslist and eBay.
An article in the San Francisco Chronicle explains San Francisco resident Matthew Shinnick tried to sell a pair of mountain bikes on Craigslist late last year. He attracted a buyer, received a check in the mail -- and ended up handcuffed by police in a downtown Bank of America branch and jailed for almost 12 hours.
Shinnick, it appears, was a victim of the classic "Nigerian 419" scam, adapted in this case to sucker in unwary Craigslist users.
Typically, the scam involves a bogus check being sent by a fraudster as a part of a transaction. The transaction is subsequently canceled and, before the bank has spotted the check as a phony, the fraudster requests some or all of his money back -- money that the victim unknowingly pays out of his own pocket.
Shinnick said he wasn't aware of the scam while he was negotiating to sell his bikes -- his first foray onto Craigslist. But he was made suspicious by the unexpectedly large payment.
Shinnick said, he'd spent about $14,000 clearing his name. He wanted that money back and he felt Bank of America the bank who reported the fraudulent check and had him arrested should pay it.
BofA felt otherwise. Earlier this month, a bank vice president, William Minnes, wrote to Shinnick's lawyer to say that "Bank of America can certainly understand that your client is angry at the bank."
Shinnick, it appears, was a victim of the classic "Nigerian 419" scam, adapted in this case to sucker in unwary Craigslist users.
Typically, the scam involves a bogus check being sent by a fraudster as a part of a transaction. The transaction is subsequently canceled and, before the bank has spotted the check as a phony, the fraudster requests some or all of his money back -- money that the victim unknowingly pays out of his own pocket.
Shinnick said he wasn't aware of the scam while he was negotiating to sell his bikes -- his first foray onto Craigslist. But he was made suspicious by the unexpectedly large payment.
Shinnick said, he'd spent about $14,000 clearing his name. He wanted that money back and he felt Bank of America the bank who reported the fraudulent check and had him arrested should pay it.
BofA felt otherwise. Earlier this month, a bank vice president, William Minnes, wrote to Shinnick's lawyer to say that "Bank of America can certainly understand that your client is angry at the bank."
However, he said, BofA has no legal liability in the case because of the 2004 Supreme Court ruling. Minnes warned that "litigation would not prove financially beneficial" to Shinnick.
Minnes was referring to a 2004 state Supreme Court decision that shields institutions and people from liability when reporting suspected crimes to the police.
Certainly this is an extreme case but is one that could become increasing annoying to customers selling products online. It would seem that the government and police should become more familiar with this sort of problem and not arrest first and ask questions later.
As far as Bank of America goes, despite articles to the contrary, what choice does the company have? They are legally obligated to report illegal activity. Still perhaps it up to the banks to become aware of this problem and proactively solve them before all of their customers migrate over to PayPal.
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Camrivox
November 9, 2006
Yesterday I ranted a bit about VoIP devices and the fact they aren’t interoperable. I just learned about a product from Camrivox that supports SIP and Google Talk. Now if we can get Skype and Yahoo! support we will be all set.
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Heading to Jersey
November 9, 2006
I am getting ready to travel to new Jersey today. If you are in the northeast you know about the monsoon we had yesterday. Weird things are happening with the weather these days. I just stepped outside without a jacket and it felt like early September. Still I prefer the warmth to cold so I am happy. It should be good driving weather today. I will keep you posted.
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