Wow, that's insane. Spending $50m/year to notify people and process these claims could easily be justified given the sheer size of the assets being held.
When we wrote this software, we tried hard to get a follow on contract to fix this 180 day problem using more automation. But, there was no budget, and the claims processors did not want to lose their jobs. We toured the location where they process the claims. They literally had piles of filing boxes containing the submitted claim forms in a secured room. I forget how many they do per day, but I remember being surprised at the volume. The site does many millions of searches per month...
To find and release publicly personal information about someone -- name, address, phone number, and even SSN and credit card numbers -- in such away that they become identifiable to just about anyone online.
It would not be legal (in general) in EU. Data Protection etc.
Yes, child porn is banned on reddit. But things that are protected free speech, but not child porn ("sexually suggestive images of minors") are also banned on reddit.
A term used to describe speech protected under the US Constitution / First Amendement, i.e. it's illegal for the government to ban this sort of speech (they can ban other sorts of speech). Reddit is based in USA, and learn close to the US legal definition of free speech (except in some cases).
Eh, call my annoyed. When people complained about some subreddits that took sneaky sexualised photos of people (usually women) without their consent or knowledge, "free speech" was cited as a reason as to why it couldn't be closed. However when people started tracking down these photographers and publishing their personal info, suddenly that speech should be blocked.
Reddit seems to think it's OK to ban some protected speech to protect straight dude who want to perv at women, but it's not OK to ban some protected speech to protect women from being photographed in public.
(I think the creepshots subreddits probably should have been banned earlier)
There's good evidence that some of the creepshots were just regular photographs taken from existing websites, sometimes cropped or mirrored, and then given a new context. Some of this was done just to troll - linking a local meet subreddit to a creepshot group could generate a lot of anger.
People being angry about photos is one thing; real life information about people can lead to devastating witch-hunts and intense campaigns of harassment.
So I guess I can see why Reddit bans one, but not the other.
Sure, some of the creepshots and other things might be other photos. Doesn't mean all aren't though, one must address that.
People being angry about photos is one thing; real life information about people can lead to devastating witch-hunts and intense campaigns of harassment.
Sexualized photos of people taken without their consent is bad. The very fact of taking sexualized photos without consent/knowledge (e.g. upskirt photos) is harassment.
Witch-hunts can be a problem. People violating privacy and harassing people and then avoiding any consequences is a problem too.
So I guess I can see why Reddit bans one, but not the other.
The cynic in me thinks it's because of the general gender of who's affected.
> Sexualized photos of people taken without their consent is bad. The very fact of taking sexualized photos without consent/knowledge (e.g. upskirt photos) is harassment.
In Sweden, tax records are public information, so every year around tax time, tabloids will print long lists of names of "the richest people in YOUR neighborhood". Compared to that, this is nothing.
Is there a time limit on making claims? If they do expire, where does the money go? This money could (and should) make a huge difference to the lives of the public.
I had a small amount of money in a bank account that I found in the Australian version; not long after I claimed it, I received a letter from 2 solicitors saying that I had unclaimed money (although they wouldn't say where from) that they could help me retrieve for a fee.
My nephew has $0.26 coming to him. I wonder if he'll track down a notary for the form that will charge less. Next question is: drive in the form or mail it? ;)
I have lived in several states including CA and found four claims for myself in the CA system due to forgotten accounts from prior addresses, here are a few that might be typical examples of what is being held in this program:
1. Pacific Bell Telephone Company $72.24
2. Verisign (SSL or domain payments) $73.50
3. 20 shares of TravelZoo stock ~$400.00 value?
That TravelZoo stock was from back in the crazy/genius dotcom days when they gave out free stock for email referrals and sign ups. :) They did something right since they are still in business.
I do appreciate this program as these were my oversight/losses, things I had forgotten. However the process to place claims is a bit of a hassle: I need to physically print out forms, include copies of ID, etc. I'll write up a blog post of the process of claiming it when it's all said and done.
I cannot believe the "SEC has not asserted any violation of law by Travelzoo" for "the first offering of 'free shares' over the Internet" [1]. Technically, only a registered broker-dealer agent is allowed to transact shares, and never at a price unrelated to the market.
Maybe they could enact a law that allows them to take ownership of unclaimed property after a certain amount of time? It seems to work that way for abandoned storage units, lost property at airports, etc.
California does have escheat[1] laws which deal with unclaimed property and how the state handles situations where no rightful owner comes forward to claim.[2]
94 comments
[ 3.0 ms ] story [ 171 ms ] threadThe average per potential claimant ($6B / 17.6MM) is only about $340.
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2002-03-08/news/020308001...
Ahhh, memories! Almost worth leaving the money unclaimed.
Could you just claim that against your own ID?
Illinois' search is no better, but it does not display dollar amount details: https://icash.illinois.gov/
This was a hot topic a few months back when reddit had to deal with it: http://www.wired.com/opinion/2012/10/truth-lies-doxxing-inte...
Yes, child porn is banned on reddit. But things that are protected free speech, but not child porn ("sexually suggestive images of minors") are also banned on reddit.
Reddit seems to think it's OK to ban some protected speech to protect straight dude who want to perv at women, but it's not OK to ban some protected speech to protect women from being photographed in public.
There's good evidence that some of the creepshots were just regular photographs taken from existing websites, sometimes cropped or mirrored, and then given a new context. Some of this was done just to troll - linking a local meet subreddit to a creepshot group could generate a lot of anger.
People being angry about photos is one thing; real life information about people can lead to devastating witch-hunts and intense campaigns of harassment.
So I guess I can see why Reddit bans one, but not the other.
People being angry about photos is one thing; real life information about people can lead to devastating witch-hunts and intense campaigns of harassment.
Sexualized photos of people taken without their consent is bad. The very fact of taking sexualized photos without consent/knowledge (e.g. upskirt photos) is harassment.
Witch-hunts can be a problem. People violating privacy and harassing people and then avoiding any consequences is a problem too.
So I guess I can see why Reddit bans one, but not the other.
The cynic in me thinks it's because of the general gender of who's affected.
Oh yes, I agree.
I bet this guy made keyboards.
1. Pacific Bell Telephone Company $72.24
2. Verisign (SSL or domain payments) $73.50
3. 20 shares of TravelZoo stock ~$400.00 value?
That TravelZoo stock was from back in the crazy/genius dotcom days when they gave out free stock for email referrals and sign ups. :) They did something right since they are still in business.
I do appreciate this program as these were my oversight/losses, things I had forgotten. However the process to place claims is a bit of a hassle: I need to physically print out forms, include copies of ID, etc. I'll write up a blog post of the process of claiming it when it's all said and done.
[1] http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1133311/0000950138010...
http://scoweb.sco.ca.gov/UCP/PropertyDetails.aspx?propertyRe...
http://scoweb.sco.ca.gov/UCP/PropertyDetails.aspx?propertyRe...
http://scoweb.sco.ca.gov/UCP/NoticeDetails.aspx?propertyRecI...
I suppose Oracle Shareowner Services has had a hard time reaching this reclusive character since their last reported contact date of "10/2/2008".
Also, looks like Woz hasn't claimed his $5.61 from Apple yet: http://scoweb.sco.ca.gov/UCP/PropertyDetails.aspx?propertyRe...
Edit: Related to an article posted earlier about John Draper/Cap'n Crunch, looks like he has some property to claim too:
http://scoweb.sco.ca.gov/UCP/PropertyDetails.aspx?propertyRe...
http://scoweb.sco.ca.gov/UCP/PropertyDetails.aspx?propertyRe...
Edit 2: Hmm, looks like Jesus Christ has some unclaimed property too: http://scoweb.sco.ca.gov/UCP/PropertyDetails.aspx?propertyRe..., http://scoweb.sco.ca.gov/UCP/PropertyDetails.aspx?propertyRe..., http://scoweb.sco.ca.gov/UCP/PropertyDetails.aspx?propertyRe...
So I guess some of this is people using fake names.
[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Escheat
[2] http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/displaycode?section=ccp...