higgy88

On 2/22/2024 at 1:28 PM, ColeBOzbourne said:

I'm hoping for some insight into Schwab, their accounts, and requirements. My parents had accounts and investments with Schwab that are to be passed on to me and my siblings. Recently my parents passed away, and Schwab has told us that each sibling must first open a separate Schwab account in order for them to make payments to us. 

 

I live in Thailand with no permanent address in Thailand nor in the USA. Opening an account is proving to be difficult for me, and I would really prefer not to open one at all. Does anyone have experience with this requirement by Schwab to open an account? Are they trying to pressure us into opening an account with them when we really don't have to? Thank you for any information.

 

 

I can help you out with that.   My sister and I went through their beneficiary process a couple of years ago when our mother died.  I already had a Schwab account and have been dealing with them for the last 40 years,  about 10 as an international account, and the last couple of years as a US based Trust account,  so I kinda know how they do things.  My sister did not have an account with them, so as you say, she was forced to open separate accounts (both brokerage and IRA) which she did not want to do.  She was not happy with the way they do things, to say the least.   She closed the new accounts as soon as she could, and moved the money and what investments she could to another institution. 

https://aseannow.com/topic/1249786-report-on-successful-transfer-to-us-300k/

My problem was I tried to use my local branch (of Bangkok Bank) who had no idea what to do but didn't want to lose face.  Best to find the main branch of your province who (hopefully) knows what to do.

If you are transferring smaller amounts (looks like it has been increased to 2 mil baht) it is best to use their mobile banking app, as you do not need to supply any documentation and do not need to deal with anyone at the bank.

https://www.bangkokbank.com/en/Personal/Other-Services/Transfers/Transferring-Out-of-Thailand/IFT-mB

I have an ongoing issue with them.  I called them on their toll free number on September 20.  They told me that they would be reviewing my file and would most likely be sending me a form by snail mail to fill out and return to them.  So far I have gotten nothing, but things do move very slowly, especially if it is done by snail mail, so I am not too concerned yet.  But since noise mentioned dealing with them by email, I was wonder what that may be.  I've found nothing on their website on contacting them electronically.  

I've found some very interesting information for those who may be interested.  Apparently Kasikorn Bank does not send money to the US using the SWIFT method,   but rather uses  the ACH direct deposit method.  So at least theoretically you can transfer money from Kbank in Thailand to your USD account in Wise.

This is a screenshot from their web page.

2 hours ago, meechai said:

She says the same as I do..."repatriating money". The account she sent it to was actually our joint account back in the USA, but that was never questioned

as form just asks acct number routing etc & she gave her name on account

(although that account as I said has both names as it is a joint account)

 

The only question they ever had for her was to bring her US passport to show she was in fact a dual citizen US/Thai

 

At no time were either her or I ever asked for inbound proof of funds originating in US etc

 

But if they do not have a dual citizenship then yes they will question why they are sending money out of country

Usual answers for Thai only citizens are things like supporting family abroad or child in school abroad etc

Thank you very much.  That's good information for me.

3 hours ago, meechai said:

No Surprise

 

It was never a problem for a Thai to trans out any amount period

That she has dual citizenship is irrelevant

Which is why this was suggested to you folks by BKB

 

My wife who is also a Thai/USA citizen has also transferred more than 50k USD at a time no questions asked

 

In any case even a US citizen living in Thailand can transfer out up to 50k USD without any questions with Bangkok Bank as I have done it many times  & all you have to say is repatriating the money. I usually kept it under 1.4 million baht to make sure it was easy

 

Lastly, As to them suggesting all at once in her name was just to save her the 1400 baht fee for each transfer

 

meechai,  what exactly does your wife use for the reason for the transfer, and does she transfer it directly into her own account in her own name?

I am using an old canon MP 258 printer/scanner with Xubuntu 20.04, but only use the scanner part as the printer crapped out a long time ago, and the printer part had not even been installed.   You need to remember that even though your eyes see one unit, your computer sees two separate things.  My scanner did not have the problems yours has as it was immediately recognized.  One thing I do like about using linux is trying to solve problems like this, as it really helps keep some of those old brain cells alive.  

You should start here;   http://sane-project.org/

http://sane-project.org/sane-supported-devices.html

Quote

SANE External Backends

This list provides information about the devices that are supported by external backends, i.e. backends that are not yet included in the SANE package. They also contain the reason why these backends are not yet included. Go to the backend's homepage for download instructions and more information.

http://www.sane-project.org/man/sane-pixma.5.html

Quote

Currently, the following models work with this backend:

              PIXMA E410, E510

Have fun figuring out how to fix this!

12 hours ago, jimgilly said:

higgy88, bit confused because you said you have an international account and weren't required to initially put in $25k but I know that is now a requirement. 

 

Biggest question I have is why you have problems with them transferring you to their international department when you now have an international account?  Are there other problems you've had other than that?

I did not open a new international account but transferred all my investments from an existing account, which had over 25k in it, and kept the same account number.

I do not wish to go into any details here as to why I have found Schwab International such a pain in the ass to deal with.  Maybe it's because I was so used to dealing with Schwab USA, who was such a pleasure to deal with.    They may be a part of the same big corporation, but are very different departments.  I am just very happy that they didn't close my account and I am still able to invest in US securities, although I am very much in bear mode right now. 

I've had a Schwab brokerage account for probably close to 40 years.  About 10 years ago, I no longer had a US address I felt comfortable using, so I gave Schwab my Thai address and they said I had to open an international account, so I did.  In a nutshell, I find Schwab international a PITA to deal with.  And anytime I have to contact them, as soon as they see I have a Thai address, Schwab USA will no longer deal with me and will immediately transfer me to international.

I cannot answer your question on the 25k initial deposit as that did not apply to me, and I also cannot answer your question on the ATM as I no longer have an ATM debit card with them.  I can only answer any questions you may have on their customer service.

36 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

I have had all of the stimulus payments deposited into my direct deposit account via the New York branch of Bangkok Bank. And the next one is due to be deposited on Wednesday.

I did a non filers submittal (not available now) on the IRS website to get the first one back in June. I used their "FED Routing No: 026008691" and my account number on the form when I did it.

Thanks alot.   So apparently they are using the IACH format.   Wonderful!

Would anyone have any knowledge and/or experience in trying to get the stimulus check and/or tax refund direct deposited into Bangkok Bank going through their New York office? 

The IRS website does say this

Quote

Eight out of 10 taxpayers get their refunds by using direct deposit. The IRS uses the same electronic transfer system to deposit tax refunds that is used by other federal agencies to deposit nearly 98% of all Social Security and Veterans Affairs benefits into millions of accounts.

So there may be hope.

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Dude enroll in Webster University here in Thailand get your visa and you will have a world wide accredited degree

Not a chance I would attend there..

Why is this? Just had a quick look at the Webster Uni and it seems interesting as a concept - US degree that you can do from Bangkok. It doesn't seem to rank very high in any world rankings though and some didn't even have it listed (perhaps answering my question here?)

I too am very interested in why jdinasia would make that statment, as Webster University is on my short list of universities for my daughter, although she would be going for a bachelors, not a masters degree.

To SS1, be careful how you use the world rankings. If you look at Webster U in wikipedia, you will see that it is a US regional school, not a national school, and is rated 21st among regional universities in the Midwest region according to college and university rankings in US News.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Webster_University

That got me interested in what the difference was.

http://www.differencebetween.com/difference-between-regional-and-vs-national-university/

Regional universities have a wide range of bachelor level degree programs; some masters level degree programs, and very few doctoral programs.

National universities are known for their full range of degree course and programs. These include bachelor level degree courses, masters and doctoral programs. These institutions are also known for their research facilities.

According to this ranking service, Webster U is number 39 in the US Midwest.

http://www.webometrics.info/en/North_america/natmidwest

From what I have seen so far, Webster University does not look too bad, but would like to hear from someone who doesn't have that opinion.

It would be easier to make a suggestion if we had some idea about the monitor ie: brand, size, age etc. If it's just a small item that is several years old I'd be inclined to buy a new one. If it's a high end model or a fairly recent purchase then yes, I'd look into getting it repaired. You can get a new 21" LED monitor nowadays starting at around 4000-5000 baht (Samsung, LG, Acer).

It's 5 years old an Lg Flatron W1952

I have a 5 year old LG Flatron W1934, which I think is about the same as yours but a smaller screen, that had exactly the same problem. The problem was a couple of bad capacitors, which cost me 100 baht to have replaced. That was a little less than a year ago and it is still working fine.

From my own experience;

The hospital is not allowed to release the body to anyone without written permission from the government of the appropiate country. In the cases I was involved in, this was the US Consulate in Chiangmai, and the permission was given by fax. Before this permission is given, the Consulate's job is to notify the next of kin. For me that was immediate, but I imagine it could be more difficult if the next of kin is not available or back in the home country, or worse yet, if the next of kin is not known. I imagine that if the body needs to be identified, it would have to be someone who actually knew the person, not the government involved.

As far as the creamation is concerned, I've been told that only the bones are taken because the ashes could also contain the casket, clothes, flowers, etc. With only the bones, you are pretty much guaranteed that you are getting only the remains with nothing else mixed in.

As to whether or not the police are involved, I imagine that is entirely up to the circumstances. And from other cases I have heard about, no one really knows what to do, including the police.

The only thing I can think of is that perhaps clicking OK allows it to install a tiny gps proggy that gives them your coordinates. Notice you have to do two things. You have to click OK, and then there are coordinates that you have to paste into a window and only then can it give your location.

I don't think it necessarily has anything at all to do with your IP address.

The one thing we all know is that you can send things from your computer that someone can't get from outside it.

This was copied from the Gibson Research Corporation (www.grc.com) Shields Up! Test, but I replaced my own IP address with xxx

The text below might uniquely

identify you on the Internet

Your Internet connection's IP address is uniquely associated with the following "machine name":

cm-xxx-xxx-xxx-xxx.revip11.asianet.co.th

The string of text above is known as your Internet connection's "reverse DNS." The end of the string is probably a domain name related to your ISP. This will be common to all customers of this ISP. But the beginning of the string uniquely identifies your Internet connection. The question is: Is the beginning of the string an "account ID" that is uniquely and permanently tied to you, or is it merely related to your current public IP address and thus subject to change?

The concern is that any web site can easily retrieve this unique "machine name" (just as we have) whenever you visit. It may be used to uniquely identify you on the Internet. In that way it's like a "supercookie" over which you have no control. You can not disable, delete, or change it. Due to the rapid erosion of online privacy, and the diminishing respect for the sanctity of the user, we wanted to make you aware of this possibility. Note also that reverse DNS may disclose your geographic location.

If the machine name shown above is only a version of the IP address, then there is less cause for concern because the name will change as, when, and if your Internet IP changes. But if the machine name is a fixed account ID assigned by your ISP, as is often the case, then it will follow you and not change when your IP address does change. It can be used to persistently identify you as long as you use this ISP.

There is no standard governing the format of these machine names, so this is not something we can automatically determine for you. If several of the numbers from your current IP address (xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx) appear in the machine name, then it is likely that the name is only related to the IP address and not to you. But you may wish to make a note of the machine name shown above and check back from time to time to see whether the name follows any changes to your IP address, or whether it, instead, follows you.

Just something to keep in mind as you wander the Internet.

I can say that while I supposedly have a dynamic IP address that is supposed to change, this machine name has not changed since I signed up with this ISP and started using this Shields Up test, so I am pretty confident that it uniquely identifies my machine.

I've been kinda following this thread, and there have been a number of interesting points made, and I thought I'd add another one.

I do want to say to inthepink, don't do it. Don't knowlingly download and run any kind of malware on a machine that you are still using. There is no need to put yourself at risk just to make any kind of point on this forum.

I'm actually a linux user, but I still have a 10 year old computer running XP. It's only function now is to continue to run magic jack, the one and only thing that has tied me to windows. My 5 year magic jack subscription will run out in March 2015, so I only need to keep this old computer going til then. At that time I will not be renewing with then so this computer can be retired.

My addition to this discussion is a podcast of a show called Security Now, with the host Leo Laporte and security guru Steve Gibson, episode 450 from 8 April 2014. Here is the transcript.

https://www.grc.com/sn/sn-450.htm

A short quote from the transcript

Steve: ...But all of what we are seeing, with few exceptions, are problems in the apps, in the things that run on the operating system. That's what gets exploited. The browser gets exploited, Flash, Java. I mean, this podcast is all about those things. It's true that there are occasionally kernel OS-level problems. But, for example, even the topic of today's podcast is not about Apache or about Linux. It's about OpenSSL, a library running on top of the operating system. So my argument is nothing is going to happen, I mean, that all of the things that we run on XP, they continue to be patched except for Office 2003. That stops.

Leo: And IE. Got to remember, IE also is not going to be updated anymore. And in fact it hasn't been updated in a while on XP.Steve: Right. And so, as we've said...Leo: Don't use IE.Steve: ...Chrome or Firefox, exactly. So anyway, I think this is a tempest in a teapot. I could be wrong, but I'm happy to plant my flag, and we'll all see whether I end up with egg on my face or not. I think, I mean, I'm going to keep using it. I haven't patched since '08, I think it was. And I'm just fine. And I'm not going to stop right now, working on SQRL and then on SpinRite 6.1, I'm not delaying those in order to move to Windows 7 because for me, it's a huge, I mean, it's weeks of downtime to set everything up again. And it is unfortunate that that's what Microsoft has done with their operating system, that you just can't move everything to a new platform, but you just can't. You have to reinstall everything.So we'll see how this goes. There really is no news. You were showing a minute ago a clock that Microsoft has created. I mean, Microsoft is milking this for all they can in order to generate revenue, to force people off a platform which is working just fine. And you've probably seen in the news also that some major governments, I know over in the U.K. several large organizations have paid lots of money for the privilege of continuing to receive the XP patches which the rest of us won't be getting any longer. So Microsoft is now turning their vulnerabilities into a revenue stream for the first time. Which, I mean, remember that when the idea of getting auto-patched first happened, it was really controversial. We've gone from that extreme to exactly the opposite extreme, where people are freaked out now about this IV drip being turned off. So anyway, we live in interesting times.

The story from my daughter is that a fake bomb (wrapped with a clock) was found by a teacher in a trash bin in a new building at the high school at PRC that had just been completed and will be opening for the begining of the next term. The source is my daughter's facebook/twitter account.

With two kids in the Thai school system, and both required to have their own flash drives and to do work using the schools' computers, I have been fighting usb infections for years.

I have USB disk security on my windows computers http://www.zbshareware.com/solutions/ and have "vacinated" both the flash drives and the computers. This has been pretty effective, but it is mostly for protecting my home computers and not so much for protecting the flash drives. The flash drives continuously get infected and reinfected every time they are plugged into an infected computer at school, and I use my linux machine to continuously disinfect and restore any files that had been tampered with, such as the recycler that was mentioned. I have also had files that were even made into protected MS operating system files. That was fun.

So, I'd also be interested in if anyone knows of any software solution to not having an infected computer pass on the infection to the flash drive. What I can suggest to the OP is a hardware solution of getting himself a write protected flash drive for when he needs to just print something out on a school computer.

As for Chicog's solutions of simply not using an infected computer and getting the infected ones fixed, good luck with that.

I've also been searching and reading various sites about this interview and what was actually said, as well as the AV gurus take on it and the responses in various forums. This has sure been a big bombshell thrown in the middle of the AV community.

While being a linux user, I still must live in a windows world, and I maintain a number of windows computers for my family and a few friends, three of which are using MSE. So far, from everything I have read, I'm not going to be installing other AVs in those computers.........yet. I'm going to wait a while for all of the dust to settle down and see what response MS may have to all this.

Meanwhile, jocko, your attachment looks very interesting, so if you wouldn't mind posting the link, I would be interested in reading more of the responses. I think a link to this would be OK for the mods, but if not, you can PM me.

For a computer that is unable to boot into windows, I am still partial to the Dr Webb boot CD, but the Tywais link shows 3 more that are probably just as good. As a linux user, I am partial to Bitdefender as it make what I consider a very good antivirus for unices, which I can use when booting into my linux USB to clean up a windows pc. I gave up on Clam AV both for linux and windows a few years ago.

If you can boot into windows, may I suggest The Emsisoft Free Emergency Kit. http://www.emsisoft.com/en/software/eek/

I see this is your 2nd attempt for information on this subject.

In the first one, you mentioned Li, which is a city at the opposite end of Lamphun Province and a good couple of hours drive away from the city of Lamphun. You also mentioned that your son is 7, has been educated in England for the last 3 years, and has poor Thai language skills. Good luck in finding a school in this area that will be able to accommodate him. Your best bet for his education will be in Chiangmai.

My kids were 3 when they started kindergarten at a local private school in the city of Lamphun, as we wanted to keep them closer to home. Both had very good English language skills (for their age) and very poor Thai language skills. They both had difficulties adjusting to school, even at that very young age, especially my son. We sent them both to Chiang Mai for their secondary school education. I do not know any other mixed couples with school age children here, but I do know many Thai couples who send even their very young children to Chiang Mai for their education. The schools in Chiang Mai are considered much better.

I can give you some names of private primary schools here in Lamphun, but you will have to check them out and talk to them yourself. I assume you have a Thai wife or someone who will be able to communicate with them in Thai, as English is not widely used here. You can do your own google searches, but the results will mostly be in Thai. I can get you phone numbers and/or email addresses and specific locations if you need it.

Orapin School, which is where my kids went but does not necessarily mean that I recommend it.

Rapeelert School, which is currently advertising for their new primary school English program.

Baiboon School, and

Laohajit School.



As far as places to rent, I have no direct experience, but I have a friend who recently found a house here to rent. This is something that you are going to have to come here and do for yourself. Houses that are for rent go very quickly. Most people want to sell, but will rent if they can't find a buyer, especially if the house had been sitting vacant for a while. There are plenty of one room dorimatory style buildings, which you probably don't want to live in, especially with a child. There are a couple of new "condos", one which was just completed and one still under construction. However "condos" seems to be the new catch phrase to also describe appartments and flats. Again, you will most likely have to come and look around yourself.


Personally, if I were you, I would not be looking to live here with a British educated school age child, I would be in Chiang Mai.

I've been doing what you want to do for a number of years, except I'm using two flash drives, one 8 GB for the OS and the other a 16 GB for my data. That way I can change OSes whenever I want to without affecting my data. My current distro of choice is the Xubuntu LTS, and I have been using it this way since 4/2012. I have also installed a few other distros this way, but not with your favorite, SUSE, although I did play with their live CD once a while back, and I have never tried Knoppix. If you can make a live SUSE USB, I can't see why it wouldn't work with that.

What I did was make a live Xubuntu USB from the iso, and used that to do a full installation onto the 8 GB flash drive, using a very old Pentium 4 HP Pavilion desktop which no longer has a functional CD drive. I did physically disconnect the hard drive to make sure that the Windows MBR was not written over during the installation.

I just took a look at it, and of the 8 GB, 2.1 is for the swap and 5.9 is usable, and the installation, along with all of the additional apps I have installed, comes out to 4.5 GB, which still leaves me with 1.2 GB free. I am able to get all updates, including kernel updates, but I need to keep it clean by getting rid of all of the old kernels and other removeable residual stuff no longer needed. I just now did an update to the new 3.2.0-43 kernel.

I have used this to boot a number of different computers with no problems, but these have all been relatively old computers (the newest being a 2 year old Sony Vaio) before the secure UFEI bios, which after reading about I am afraid to go near. I must also say that it is very slow running from a USB flash drive this way.

Mornin' Zippy

This morning I went right into the site, no VPN needed. Go figure.

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