Kids' Karate for Christ

Sam has started a new Kids' Karate for Christ class on Saturdays at 1:00pm at the Forestpark Church Blankenbaker location!

They had a great time, learned some self-defense, and learned that "if you take a serious looking stance, like you know what you are doing, and yell "Hai!" really loud, bad guys will leave you alone. They want someone who won't fight back." (The loved practicing yelling!)

The young man you see at the far right here is Griffin. He is one the the younger guys (13 years old) in our adults class, and he is learning to be an instructor for the kids!

She says, "Hi-Ya Daddy!"

The class is for ages, about 10 and under. Really it was geared for 4-8 year olds, but as you can see, Gracie (age 3) and Samantha (age 10) both put on a uniform, and gave it their best shot, or in this case, kick!

We also have 2 others that couldn't be there on this day.

Thomas is going to Karate!

My First Karate Class! Thomas went to Karate with his Daddy last night! 4/21/09!

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Two News Reports!

On the News Again Tonight!

Sam was on the News again at 11pm tonight on WAVE3! They did a follow up story to their original story that had alerted Sam to the fact that he was not the only one whose credit card had been hit. WAVE3 aired their original story last Thursday. Here are both stories from their websites. Click on the Headline to go to the websites.

Here is the WHAS11 Story from yesterday at 5:30pm:

Watch it Now, Click Here!

Consumer Watch: Scammers using credit card numbers without stealing cards
11:49 PM EDT on Wednesday, October 22, 2008

"Our consumer watch this week is a wake up call for anyone who thinks their credit card account is safe just because their card wasn't stolen. Using the “numbers only”, thieves have found a way to clean out your account in a hurry.

A victim of this kind of crime called WHAS11's Andy Treinen and after Andy answered they may have tracked down the bad guys.

The owner of the Kentucky Martial Arts Academy, John Liddell, in just a couple of days earlier this month, nearly 2000 dollars was charged to this company credit card at a Home Depot, Wal-Mart and Lowes in Lilburn, Georgia. But John's card was still in his pocket. And while his credit card company quickly reimbursed the losses the former marine wanted justice.

It was through that pursuit of justice that Liddell learned how a credit card number alone could be used in a store to steal. He also learned about another martial artist who experienced the same exact thing.

That is Sam Conver of Louisville’s Christian Martial Arts Academy. His bank spotted some unusual charges including one for $804 dollars at the same Lowes in Lilburn, Georgia.

After a series of conversations the two men discovered that they have a common supplier. A company that supplies martial arts uniforms actually has both of their credit cards on file. The question now is will police do anything about it?

"The police locally are doing all they can but yes when I talked to police in Georgia they're not going to come to Kentucky and police in Kentucky are not going to go to Georgia. The bad guys have to know all this. The bad guys know that probably nobody is coming after them," said Conver. (Actual Quote by Liddell- MJ)

Because the victims are reimbursed by their credit card company and the crimes cross so many different police jurisdictions, prosecution isn't easy.

But after WHAS11 promoted this story, a third martial arts instructor called to say he too was stolen from, and he too had a credit card on file with the same Dade County, Florida uniform company.

So how do the bad guys use the numbers?. The surveillance at Lowes shows the guy order two gift cards for $400 dollars each in the check out line. He then swipes a fake card. When the teller says it didn't take the guy says I’ll just type it in and he proceeds to type in the stolen numbers. The teller never asked for the card or an i.d.

There have been no criminal charges yet, so WHAS11 is not naming the uniform company. But it's a nationwide supplier and the only reason our three victims found each other is because of the coverage on television."

Here is the WAVE3 Story from tonight at 11:00pm (Top Story!):

WAVE 3 story leads to possible common link in ID theft cases
Posted: Oct 23, 2008 11:07 PM EDT

JEFFERSONTOWN, KY (WAVE) - Often with identity theft cases the crooks hit more than just one victim. In this case, the multiple victims have something in common and it is a little too strange to be coincidence.

On October 15th, WAVE 3 brought you the story of John Liddell. Liddell, a martial arts instructor from Jeffersontown, found his business account had been wiped out by identity thieves.

"We had charges out of Georgia. Home Depot, Lowe's," said Liddell. "I'm not going to look a six-year-old in the eye and tell them that Sensei doesn't have a uniform for them, because somebody got into the account and took the money."

After that story aired, Sam Conver got a call from his mother. His business account was overdrawn after an $800 transaction from a Lowe's in Georgia.

"She said, ‘You need to turn on the news. Check this out,'" said Conver. "'The same thing that happened to you happened to another martial arts instructor.'"

Turns out both men, both martial arts instructors in Jeffersontown, had a few other things in common.
"I didn't know Mr. Liddell personally," said Conver. "So I figured that the contact had to come through a vendor that we both use."

Jeffersontown Police are investigating the case and tell us they have subpoenaed video from the Lowe's in Georgia where the alleged criminal used both men's cards. Both Liddell and Conver now want to find out who is responsible and hopefully protect others.

"I have faith that this will all work out in such a way that justice is served," said Conver.

Investigators tell WAVE 3 there could still be more victims out there. Police say you should check your bank account closely for any unauthorized transactions. If you see similar charges, call the Jeffersontown Police Department at (502) 267-0503."

I made a link out of both headlines above so you could go straight to the stories if you are interested! On the WHAS11 Site you can actually watch the interview online.

*Notice in the WAVE3 write up of the story they have given Sam credit for John's quote. I made a note of it in the story, but did not correct it for accuracy sake.*

We still haven't received credit for the disputed charges, but we'll wait and see!

MJ

Sam was on the WHAS11 News

Sam was on the News at 5:30 Tonight!

Sam was on the News tonight! We had our credit card number stolen and $800 spent at a Lowe's in Lilburn, GA. These charges were made on 10/8/08...but we weren't the only ones.

When we got out of the hospital from his hip surgery, there was a letter here about our Karate Account being Overdrawn.

We looked over the charges, and one of them was for $800 in Georgia, the same day as his surgery!

The second letter told us that the bank knew we had not made this charge and had frozen the account. There was a phone number to call, which I did right away.

They told me that we needed to come into the branch as soon as possible and dispute the charge, which we did.

Then a couple of days later, we got a call from Sam's Mom during the 11pm news. She told us to turn on WAVE3 news, where we discovered another martial arts Instructor had been the victim of the same crime! Sam and I pulled the following article up on the WAVE3 website, and seeing not only the same locations of the charges, but the same DATE, Sam called the JTown police.

"Business owner blindsided by ID theft
Posted: Oct 16, 2008 06:49 AM EDT
John Liddell

JEFFERSONTOWN, KY (WAVE) - It is a crime you hear about all the time, but many of us still believe we won't fall victim to identity thieves. As WAVE 3's Scott Harvey reports, that is the reality for a Jeffersontown man whose bank account was cleaned out in two days. He called WAVE 3 News to send a warning to others living with the "not me" philosophy.

John Liddell knows how to protect himself when a bad guy attacks, but this time he never saw it coming.
John Liddell, a former Marine, has been protecting people most of his life.
"How many chances do we get if the bad guy attacks?" Liddell asked his students. "One Sir," they shouted back.

He now teaches others to protect themselves at his martial arts studio in Jeffersontown. But on October 8th, Liddell was sucker punched.

"I look at this situation as if a bully attacked me," said Liddell. "Just like it was on the street."
His business account was wiped clean.

"We had charges out of Georgia. Home Depot, Lowe's," Liddell said.

Somehow, someone, somewhere, got the numbers off the debit card he uses.

"I'm not going to look a six-year-old in the eye and tell them that sensei doesn't have a uniform for him, because somebody got into the account and took the money," Liddell said.

Now Liddell wants to find the crooks himself. By calling the stores where his account number was used, he has already been able to locate video of one of the people that used his account number.

The man who personifies irony usually charges for his expertise.

"I think it's time we turn the tables around a little bit. At some time, bullies and crooks pick on the wrong person," Liddell said. "It's time for them to be looking over their shoulder wondering who is coming after them."

And this lesson on taking the initiative is free not for Liddell. "I have to prevail and I will only prevail when I know who the bad guys are and they can't hurt anybody else," he said.

Jeffersontown Police are investigation this case and advise others to check their bank statements, and if something similar happened to you recently, call the Jeffersontown Police Department at (502) 267-0503."

We then contacted John Liddell, the owner of the other Martial Arts Academy, leaving him a message, as well as emailing the news reporter on WAVE3.

The next day Mr. Liddell called Sam on his cell phone, and after a brief conversation, it became apparent that they both used the same uniform supply company! Mr. Liddell told Sam that he had been in contact with the detective on the case, and would relay this info.

The next day, Andy Treinen, of WHAS11, called Sam asking for an interview. That was on Thursday, I think. The interview was held at Forest Park Community Church, where we host our Karate classes, on Monday.

Then, this morning, Andy Treinen called back to say that they'd had another Martial Arts Instructor call in after seeing the 5am news report this morning! He teaches in Indiana, and had his card hit on this past Saturday, the 18th!

Then at 5:30pm WHAS11 aired the follow up story, including extended interviews with John Liddell and Sam Conver!

They say the police won't give up until they catch the guy, and that the third Martial Arts Instructor who called in had also used the same uniform company!

If WHAS11 posts a story about it, I'll post it right away! Sam did great in his interview, which of course they only played a few seconds of.

CONCLUSION: (So Far)

Good News: The credit card companies are supposed to be crediting us back with the stolen charges, although nothing yet on our end.

Bad News: The bad guy swiped a fake credit card in the store, and then when it wouldn't go through, he READS the number to the clerk, who doesn't ask to see an ID or anything. She then sells him 2 $400 gift cards!

Good News: He was allegedly caught on video using the fake card, and then giving the stolen #'s.

Bad News: The police here in Kentucky are not going to go to Georgia to catch him. Also, the police in Georgia won't come here to Kentucky to deal with any of us. So.... he gets away with it...maybe....so that's the end....

MJ