We've bought things on the Internet with a credit card many times, and never had a problem before. Unfortunately, I can't send a personal check denominated in dollars to someone in Scotland or England, as their bank charges to exchange the money would be very high. I once paid the Norfolk record Office a little under eight pounds for Hearth Tax copies, and got a money order from my bank denominated in sterling to do it - the money order cost me more than thirty dollars, about fourteen pounds! All the best, Sonia -----Original Message----- From: gordon crooks [mailto:glcrooks@bcpl.net] Sent: Thursday, March 31, 2005 1:43 PM To: MIDLOTHIAN-L@rootsweb.com Subject: Re: [MLN] Re - Birth records and "Research St Leonards UK" check credit card bills for unauthorized charges - STEPHENSON Sonia: NEVER use a credit card on internet you are asking for trouble and you got it. Send them a check, so its takes a few days more, but you are safe from credit card scrams. Gordon ----- Original Message ----- From: "Gil & Sonia Murray" <happyman70@bellsouth.net> To: <MIDLOTHIAN-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Thursday, March 31, 2005 10:33 AM Subject: RE: [MLN] Re - Birth records and "Research St Leonards UK" check credit card bills for unauthorized charges - STEPHENSON > It's a shame that all the records aren't available on line. Years > ago, I had a company in England, Research St Leonards UK, look up > birth records at the Lewes registrar's office for my mystery > G-grandfather, Thomas H. > Brown, > and paid by Visa. This month, I was astonished to find a ninety pound > charge on my Visa bill from them! An advanced Google search for the > string showed the Sussex police have a growing file on the scam. The > firm had been sold, and sold again, and at some time over the years > crooks got hold of old records and are now putting charges on the > credit cards of people who had ever had them do research. Crooks can > get hold of the records of any legitimate company with whom we do > business, so our only defense is to check our bills each month for > unauthorized charges. If all the records were available on line, this > could not have happened. And I would be able to trace my Stephenson > family in Edinburgh so easily! Does anyone in Scotland descend from > them? > > Sonia in the U.S. > > -----Original Message----- > From: brian ware [mailto:lorconbew@yahoo.co.uk] > Sent: Thursday, March 31, 2005 4:04 AM > To: MIDLOTHIAN-L@rootsweb.com > Subject: Re: [MLN] Re - Birth records > > Very true,Duncan.Most folk seem to forget the whole system was set up > at the taxpayerrs expense and still are.The taxpayers pay the staff > wages and eveything else.We all still pay to register family > information.It's high time the whole shebang was free to everyone.I > don't mind paying for certs copies.Regards Brian. > > > Duncan Smith <d.smith.1@blueyonder.co.uk> wrote: > Robin wrote .... "However there is great concern about personation, > identity theft and money laundering ... > So the decision in Scotland that online BMD's indexes are restricted > is apparently to make it less easy for those with criminal intent to > get this information on living people .... > Personal visitors to the search rooms in Edinburgh will all be > identified so they can access all the indeces. > Curiously the English and Welsh BMD indexes are available online > almost up to the present." > > The fact that the English & Welsh indexes are available online right > up to > 2003 shows that it can be done. Any professional crook who wants to > 'steal' > other people's identity (although someone born 90 years ago seems to > me, to be rather an unlikely sort of target) is bound to be adept at > producing false identification, and will be just the sort of person > who will make the effort to go to Edinburgh to use the system at New > Register House. > > It is we poor researchers who can't all get to Edinburgh every day, > who thus suffer from these online restrictions, while any would be > crooks can happily exploit the anomalies in the system to their own > advantage. > > I don't believe that restricting access to the more recent online > records, inhibits the professional fraudsters in any way, but it does > spoil things for genuine researchers. > > Duncan, Dundee > > > > > > Send instant messages to your online friends > http://uk.messenger.yahoo.com > > > >