Be Careful Wiring Money

BEWARE OF:

FRAUD

HACKING

STEALING wired accounts

Theft of Escrow Trust Accounts

Bad Guys Trying to Take your Down Payment

The internet is not private.

Be careful wiring money.

It's not insured.

Wire and other disbursement instructions

received by email should be confirmed by

telephone at a known or independently

confirmed number, NOT the telephone number

at the bottom of the email you are trying to

confirm. Lookup the Escrow company and Title

company you are using online AND ask your

lender if they are familiar with the persons. Lenders

have their own internal systems of verifying and

approving escrow and title companies which

includes checking with the Secretary of State,

checking loss claims, and verifying they are who

they say they are.

Be especially skeptical of any change in wiring

instructions from us or any parties involved in

the transaction. How often do people and

businesses change their wire instructions-

rare or never are they going to change the

bank account they use, unless it is hacked.

Specifically, if you receive an email or any other

communication that appears to be generated

from our office, containing new, revised or

altered bank wire instructions,

consider it suspect and call two sources to

verify at a number you trust.

Your email address is not private- if for

Example the email you are using for the

Transaction that you provided to the lender

And escrow company is the same as the

Email on Facebook assume a million people

Have the Facebook email. Don’t mention on

Social; media that you are moving, selling or

Purchasing.

Confirm the account to which you are wiring

is in the name of the party entitled to the

funds; encourage buyers and sellers to do the

same.

Be suspicious of emails from free, public

email account domains that pertain to the

movement of money, as these email accounts

are often a source of risk.

DO NOT CLICK ON Links in emails or on

Sites you don’t know extremely well.

Consider what email account domain you

use for any financial business. As stated

above, the free, public email account

domains are a target for cyber-thieves and,

without additional levels of security, are

particularly vulnerable to attack.

Watch out for phishing emails with

embedded links, even when they look like

ones sent from a trusted source.

What is phishing you ask?

People who want to steal ask questions about:

sensitive information 

usernames, 

passwords, 

names of your children

date of birth

credit card details 

Organized crime can access your information.

When you are buying or selling real estate they

know large sums of money are going to be wired.

This makes you a target when wiring your earnest

money, down payment and closing costs

Things to look for: 
Bad grammar ( they use Google Translate)
A website with colors that mimic your Bank of America, Chase or Wells Colors
email address is not from the company name
Rushing you, hurrying you for a deadline
You didn't contact them or login to your account but they say you did

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Chinelos In California

Dancer with flames on velvet costume with toddler daughter

Dancers in blue and white horizontal striped costumes

Chinelos Family Fun and Culture

In 1870 in the town of Tlayacapan (in Northeastern Mexico) a group of young children and teens were fed up with European Spanish and French crown rulers, colonial miners, the Catholic Church and hacienda owners who forbade indigenous people to celebrate in carnival before Ash Wednesday. In protest the teens created masks with cartoon faces of Spanish kings and overlords with beards or rags to cover their faces. Mask making was part of ritual life going back thousands of years to Mesoamerican cultures in Mexico. The teens dressed in rags disguised their identities to avoid trouble with "overlords." They danced to music of hand made drums, whistles and thus on Carnival the tradition of Chinelos was born. Their dance evolved to mock European mannerism, was best refined in Morelos, Mexico.

The trend of American Chinelos is growing as a society for culture and fun passed down by family. It is based in tradition. Dancers tell the history as they share with their children and grandchildren as a political, religious and cultural event. 

The costumes are often made by Grandmothers and relatives. They can cost thousands of dollars to purchase, so children's costumes are often re-sold as the child grows. There are five parts to the costume: A long full tunic, a mesh mask, a feathered headdress, a cape and gloves. There are different styles and colors of robe- striped cotton duck in wide cobalt blue and white or green and white vertical panels which indicate what city ancestors came from in Mexico. Velvet is also used and has a lush sheen but becomes very hot inside the costume.

Underneath the robe a dancer wraps bandannas to wick up sweat and add to the disguise of the face. The mask is structured from palm fronds similar to those used in Palm Sunday mass, which are light in weight.

Children's costumes often have Disney figures, Pokemon, and various Cartoons while adults have religious scenes of Our Lady of Guadalupe, The Passion of Christ, ancient Aztec symbols, eagles, skulls, and flowers are artistically sewn in beadwork. 

Preparing for the Carnival or parades in California is a family affair. Often dancers join in a local's home to secretly prepare their costumes. Up until around 2000 Chinelos would only dance four days prior to Ash Wednesday, keeping with a liturgical calendar. Today the trend is to enter also into parade in Santa Barbara Old Spanish Days, Christmas parades, Swallows Day, and Cinco de Mayo celebrations. The groups have family banners, region flags and carry Mexican and American flags. Families participate together, they are assisted by members who rope off their group as the dancers cannot see well and parades with horses and vehicles can be dangerous and cause accidents.

The dance, is called a “brincon” or “jump.” It derives from Natuatl tzineloa which translates to shoulder and hip movement. There are a set of repetitive steps. The choreography is easy and fun. With feet apart and knees slightly bent, the dancers take two shuffling steps, then leading with one shoulder or the other, take a small jump to the right or left. Dancers join in and drop out for longer events but the group dances as long as the band plays. Audience at the San Juan Capistrano Swallows Day parade all clapped, bounced and enjoyed the energy. 

Side note- if you are signed up for a parade you do not want to be the act right after the Chinelos as nothing will be as delectable spectacle.

Caroline Gerardo copyright  © all rights reserved for article, photographs and videos 

Diversión y cultura familiar Chinelos

En 1870 en el pueblo de Tlayacapan (noreste de México) un grupo de niños y adolescentes estaban hartos de los soberanos de la corona europea española y francesa, los mineros coloniales, la Iglesia Católica y los hacendados que prohibieron a los indígenas celebrar en el carnaval antes del Miércoles de Ceniza . En protesta, los adolescentes crearon máscaras con caras de dibujos animados de reyes españoles y señores con barbas o harapos para cubrirse la cara. Hacer máscaras era parte de la vida ritual que se remonta miles de años atrás a las culturas mesoamericanas en México. Los adolescentes vestidos con harapos disfrazaron sus identidades para evitar problemas con los "señores supremos". Bailaron con música de tambores hechos a mano, silbatos y así en el Carnaval nació la tradición de Chinelos. Su baile evolucionó para burlarse del manierismo europeo, fue mejor refinado en Morelos, México.

La tendencia del Chinelos estadounidense está creciendo como una sociedad de cultura y diversión transmitida por la familia. Está basado en la tradición. Los bailarines cuentan la historia mientras comparten con sus hijos y nietos como un evento político, religioso y cultural.

El vestuario a menudo lo hacen abuelas y parientes. Pueden costar miles de dólares para comprar, por lo que los disfraces de los niños a menudo se vuelven a vender a medida que el niño crece. Hay cinco partes para el disfraz: una larga túnica completa, una máscara de malla, un tocado de plumas, una capa y guantes. Hay diferentes estilos y colores de pato de algodón a rayas en azul cobalto ancho y paneles verticales blancos o verdes y blancos que indican de lo que provienen los antepasados ​​de la ciudad en México. Velvet también se usa y tiene un brillo exuberante, pero se vuelve muy caliente dentro del disfraz.

Debajo de la túnica, una bailarina envuelve pañuelos para absorber el sudor y aumentar el disfraz de la cara. La máscara está estructurada a partir de hojas de palma similares a las utilizadas en la masa del Domingo de Ramos, que son livianas.

Los disfraces de los niños a menudo tienen figuras de Disney, Pokémon y varios Dibujos animados, mientras que los adultos tienen escenas religiosas de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe, La Pasión de Cristo, antiguos símbolos aztecas, águilas, calaveras y flores se cosen artísticamente en abalorios.


Prepararse para el Carnaval o desfiles en California es un asunto familiar. A menudo, los bailarines se unen en la casa de un local para preparar en secreto sus disfraces. Hasta alrededor de 2000, los Chinelos solo bailaban cuatro días antes del Miércoles de Ceniza, manteniendo un calendario litúrgico. Hoy la tendencia es participar también en el desfile en los Viejos Días Españoles de Santa Bárbara, los desfiles de Navidad, el Día de las Golondrinas y las celebraciones del Cinco de Mayo. Los grupos tienen pancartas familiares, banderas de la región y llevan banderas mexicanas y estadounidenses. Las familias participan juntas, son asistidas por miembros que se desprenden de su grupo ya que los bailarines no pueden ver bien y desfilan con caballos y los vehículos pueden ser peligrosos y causar accidentes.

El baile, se llama "brincon" o "salto". Se deriva de Natuatl tzineloa, que se traduce en movimiento de hombro y cadera. Hay un conjunto de pasos repetitivos. La coreografía es fácil y divertida. Con los pies separados y las rodillas ligeramente flexionadas, los bailarines dan dos pasos para arrastrarse, luego, con un hombro u otro, dan un pequeño salto hacia la derecha o hacia la izquierda. Los bailarines se unen y abandonan para eventos más largos, pero el grupo baila mientras la banda toque. La audiencia en el desfile del día de San Juan Capistrano Swallows aplaudió, rebotó y disfrutó de la energía.

Nota al pie: si está inscripto para un desfile, no quiere ser el acto justo después del Chinelos, ya que nada será tan delicioso espectáculo.

Don't Pay Collection Account Until You Read This

Paying Off a Collection Can Reduce FICO Score Here's how why what to do Collection companies have fibbed over the years of telling consumers that paying off collections will raise their credit scores. However, paying off collections lowers their FICO scores. Collections are usually reported on the credit as a “9” status or collection account. This means the account has already been "written off" and assigned to collections by the creditor. Once an account is reported this way on the credit report, the damage to the credit score is irreversible, unless that item is removed completely from the report. If the account is paid off, the collection company reports that the account now has a $0 balance, but they do not usually delete the item off the report. The account has already become a collection, and the risk of the consumer defaulting on another account is already very high, due to that collection. Credit score will increase if it is paid off, because paying off a collection after the fact, doesn't lower the risk of defaulting in the future. It actually may decrease the scores because it shows now as a recent problem in addition to being written off in the past as two strikes.   However, the DATE OF LAST ACTIVITY is updated to the date the account was paid off.  if that account was sent to collections 3 years ago, the date of last activity is 3 years old and the impact to the credit score is not as much. But if the consumer pays off that collection today, they just update the date of last activity to today's date, sometimes causing the scores to go DOWN as a result. Clients try to do the right thing and pay off collections, but their scores can be lower as a result. Some loan programs do not require borrowers to pay off Medical Collections, read the details and know the end program BEFORE you pay anything off. FICO Score is an important piece that drives mortgage interest rates so you don’t want to find out an interest rate is jumping upwards because the Borrower paid off a debt. Oh no – painful. Help your clients work with collection companies to have their negative item removed completely from their report, if they pay it off.  Negotiate a settlement with deletion!!! Any more questions? Call me! Caroline Gerardo Barbeau C G  949- 784- 9699 NMLS 324982