Category Archives: Uncategorized

KYG, Know Your Government (ICE, CBP, SBCSD, USPS)

I recently cited my 30 years of experience in selling to governments by using the acronym B2G (business to government). This confused the person I was talking to, who had heard of B2B (business to business) but not B2G.

By the same token, you have KYB (know your business) and KYG (know your government).

Two recent incidents in Southern California indicate that some of us are pretty bad at KYG.

El Pendón Estrellado

In case you haven’t been paying attention to the news, a lot of people in Southern California and elsewhere are talking about a portion of the Department of Homeland Security called Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Not to be confused with the Queen – David Bowie fan.

I won’t get into the details about why people are paying attention to ICE right now, but let’s just say that when ICE shows up, a crowd gathers.

And that’s what happened at Dodger Stadium this morning when some white vans showed up at the Dodger Stadium parking lot. The Dodgers stated that ICE agents came to Dodger Stadium and that the Dodgers denied them access.

Except that it apparently wasn’t ICE, but Customs and Border Protection, another part of the Department of Homeland Security.

“‘This had nothing to do with the Dodgers. CBP vehicles were in the stadium parking lot very briefly, unrelated to any operation or enforcement,’ Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement.”

The Dodgers may be sensitive about things at the moment, since they apparently attempted to persuade Nezza NOT to sing the National Anthem in Spanish recently.

San Ber’dino

But it isn’t just people in Chavez Ravine that assume that white van equals ICE. Take my county, San Bernardino County. Or as former county resident Frank Zappa put it, San Ber’dino.

Recently the Sheriff’s Department made a statement.

[The] department is sending a message to the community following two incidents involving white department vehicles that it says were “targeted” after being mistaken for Immigration and Customs Enforcement units.

“All white vehicles are NOT ICE,” read Thursday’s post on the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s X account….

“We have had two incidents of our sheriff’s department personnel targeted while driving our unmarked units and in one case they were run off the road,” the post reads.

With so many agencies providing law enforcement and homeland security services, it’s understandable that some people could get confused about exactly which agency is at their door. ICE? CBP? The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department (SBCSD)?

Don’t forget that the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) also uses white vans (although they’re marked).

So if you’re not careful, the white van that you block may not be trying to send people to El Salvador, but instead may be trying to deliver your Amazon shipment.

HP Instant Ink Users and Identity: 1:1 Person-to-NPE Binding Isn’t Always Enough

How many people should use a SaaS service? If your answer is “only one,” you don’t need to read this post.

Last month I discussed a particular use case in which AI-based non-person entities (NPEs) were bound to the identities of carbon-based life forms. My post “Identity-Bound Non-Person Entities” reviewed the partnership between Anonybit and SmartUp. 

This binding doesn’t need artificial intelligence to work. The NPE may be something as simple as a service.

But how many people can be bound to an NPE?

A company and its service

There is a very large technology company; I won’t reveal the company name, but its initials are HP. And this very large company provides a service; I won’t reveal the service name, but it instantly provides ink for the company’s printers…

Never mind. It turns out that I already discussed HP Instant Ink (Ink as a Service) in the Bredemarket blog before. Plus, the company providing IaaS is no longer known as “the Hewlett-Packard Company,” but as “HP Inc.” So much for my attempts at obfuscation.

The 1:1 binding between me and Instant Ink

Anyway, we did sign up for Instant Ink when we purchased a new printer. Specifically, my HP account was registered as the owner of our Instant Ink account.

(Those of you with a keen eye can already see where this is going.)

As part of the Instant Ink service that we purchased, I can obtain two things:

1. The status of Instant Ink shipments to us

Not that these shipments are all that fast. 

So far we have encountered two instances in which we ran out of ink before the new Instant Ink shipment arrived. 

And when you put a regular ink cartridge into the printer while waiting for the Instant Ink shipment, HP sends a nasty gram stating that I put the wrong ink in the printer, and to put Instant Ink in the printer right now. 

Um, my Instant Ink is in Pennsylvania, and it will take 10 days to reach California. What am I supposed to do, fly to Pennsylvania and get it?

2. HP support

For our printer, I can obtain support from HP. I will have more to say about HP support later.

First person…or people

Do all of you see the issue now? If not, let me spell it out.

I am married, and my wife and I bought the printer together. But she has no access to shipment tracking or support; only I do.

Actually, I must confess that I gave her my HP login and password. So she has access to the shipment tracking information. But since her name is not John, we assumed that HP would never talk to her about the Instant Ink service that we purchased.

There is something in the (so-called) HP Smart App that allows me to “invite” someone to the printer. But when I tried to “invite” my wife, HP briefly flashed a message saying that I could not invite my wife because she already had an HP personal account.

I need support

By this time I had piled up 3 support requests for HP:

  1. How can I get new Instant Ink before my old Instant Ink runs out?
  2. How can my wife see information on our Instant Ink service?
  3. Plus there’s a third one regarding multiple HP accounts that I won’t get into here.

I decided to tackle the second support request first. So I found the support page, started a gust, and got a ticket number.

The first support chat

I was routed to a printer specialist, who informed me that they couldn’t help me and routed me to an Instant Ink specialist.

The Instant Ink person asked for the error code that appeared when I tried to “invite” my wife. I explained that I didn’t know because it disappeared so quickly.

So I tried to invite my wife again, pointing my smartphone camera at the laptop screen so that I could take a picture of the error code the…um…instant that it appeared.

I successfully took the picture, and there was no error code. Just a message saying that I couldn’t invite my wife because she already had an HP personal account. And to contact support.

The Instant Ink specialist instructed me to click on a link, then closed the support ticket.

I clicked on the link…and was asked to create a new support ticket.

The second support chat

I was routed to a printer specialist, who informed me that they couldn’t help me and routed me to an Instant Ink specialist.

(Yes, there’s a lot of repetition in this post.)

By this time I tried to boil my request down to a simple question: how can my wife see Instant Ink shipment status and request support on her own?

The Instant Ink specialist went quiet for a while, and finally—over an hour after I started the initial support chat—provided the solution to my problem.

Give my wife my HP login and password. And sure, she’ll have no problem contacting support, even though I’m the named user.

Suffice it to say that I was not pleased.

A systemic problem

But to be fair, none of the 4 support people I talked to could have solved my problem.

Because HP has made the underlying assumption that its Instant Ink service can only be managed by one person, not two.

And HP is not alone in this. There are multiple services that assume single person management. This affects married couples often, where one spouse is the named user for a service but knows nothing about it because spouse 2 handles it.

This results in a number of conversations like this:

SERVICE: John?

WIFE: No, this is his wife.

SERVICE: I need John’s authorization to continue.

WIFE: (carries phone to me in the Bredemarket world headquarters) Amazing and wonderful husband, could you authorize me to discuss our account?

(Some portions of this conversation may have been fictionalized.)

ME: Hello, this is John.

SERVICE: John, what is your date of birth?

This is not a technology issue, but an organizational issue. Except where laws (such as HIPAA) regulate this, an organization should allow multiple people to be assigned to a service or other NPE.

It would make my—I mean our lives easier.

NFI is Charged Up

(Imagen 4)

It’s been over three years since I mentioned NFI Industries in the Bredemarket blog. At the time I said:

“NFI is working with Volvo, Daimler, and others on an ambitious project to “[o]perate the first 100% zero-emission drayage fleet in the U.S. with the deployment of 60 battery-electric tractors.” NFI wants to achieve this by 2023.”

Well, now it’s 2025, and NFI has nearly 90 battery-electric tractors. And a place to charge them:

“NFI and Prologis Mobility launched a new electric truck charging depot in Ontario, California. The 1 MW facility features 10 dedicated charging ports and charges up to 20 vehicles daily.”

Biometric Marketers: What About WRITER Personas?

(Imagen 4)

Biometric marketing leaders already know that I’ve talked about reader personas to death. But what about WRITER personas? And what happens when you try to address ALL the reader and writer personas?

Reader personas

While there are drawbacks to using personas, they are useful in both content marketing and proposal work when you want to tailor your words to resonate with particular types of readers (target audiences, or hungry people).

I still love my example from 2021 in which a mythical Request for Proposal (RFP) was issued by my hometown of Ontario, California for an Automated Biometric Identification System (ABIS). The proposal manager had to bear the following target audiences (hungry people) in mind for different parts of the proposal.

  • The field investigators who run across biometric evidence at the scene of a crime, such as a knife with a fingerprint on it or a video feed showing someone breaking into a liquor store.
  • The examiners who look at crime scene evidence and use it to identify individuals. 
  • The people who capture biometrics from arrested individuals at livescan stations. 
  • The information technologies (IT) people who are responsible for ensuring that Ontario, California’s biometric data is sent to San Bernardino County, the state of California, perhaps other systems such as the Western Identification Network, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. 
  • The purchasing agent who has to make sure that all of Ontario’s purchases comply with purchasing laws and regulations. 
  • The privacy advocate who needs to ensure that the biometric data complies with state and national privacy laws.
  • The mayor (Paul Leon back in 2021, and still in 2025), who has to deal with angry citizens asking why their catalytic converters are being stolen from their vehicles, and demanding to know what the mayor is doing about it. 
  • Probably a dozen other stakeholders that I haven’t talked about yet, but who are influenced by the city’s purchasing decision.

Writer personas

But who is actually writing the text to address these different types of readers?

Now in this case I’m not talking about archetypes (a topic in itself), but about the roles of the subject matter experts who write or help write the content.

I am currently working on some internal content for a Bredemarket biometric client. I can’t reveal what type of content, but it’s a variant of one of the 22 types of content I’ve previously addressed. A 23rd type, I guess.

Anyway, I am writing this content from a product marketing perspective, since I am the self-proclaimed biometric product marketing expert. This means that the internal content fits into a story, focuses on the customer, highlights benefits, and dwells on the product.

But what would happen if someone in a role other than product marketing consultant wrote this content?

  • An engineer would emphasize different things. Maybe a focus on the APIs.
  • A finance manager would emphasize different things. Maybe an ROI focus.
  • A salesperson may focus on different things. Maybe qualification of a prospect. Or eventually conversion.

So the final content is not only shaped by the reader, but by the writer.

You can’t please everyone so you’ve got to please yourself

With all the different reader and writer personas, how should you respond?

Do all the things?

Perhaps you can address everyone in a 500 page proposal, but the internal content Bredemarket is creating is less than 10 pages long.

Which is possibly already too long for MY internal target audience.

So I will NOT create the internal content that addresses the needs of EVERY reader and writer persona.

Which is one truth about (reader) personas in general. If you need to address three personas, it’s more effective to create 3 separate pieces than a single one.

Which is what I’m doing in another project for this same Bredemarket biometric client, this one customer-facing.

And the content targeted to latent examiners won’t mention the needs of Paul Leon.

In which I address the marketing leader reader persona

So now I, the biometric product marketing expert writer persona, will re-address you, the biometric marketing leader reader persona.

You need content, or proposal content.

But maybe you’re not getting it because your existing staff is overwhelmed.

So you’re delaying content creation or proposal responses, or just plain not doing it. And letting opportunities slip through your fingers.

Plug the leaks and stop your competitors from stealing from you. Bring Bredemarket on board. Schedule a free exploratory meeting today at https://bredemarket.com/cpa/.

CPA
Bredemarket’s “CPA.”

Applying Common Sense to Employment Fraud

Jobseekers need to know their potential employer when something about a job opportunity doesn’t feel right. And there are ways to do that.

Trusting the person who says to trust your gut

I’ve previously talked about how common sense can minimize the chances of being fooled by a deepfake.

But common sense can help prevent other types of fraud such as employment fraud, as noted by Rachel Lund, chief risk officer with Sandia Area Federal Credit Union.

“Trust your gut- if it feels off, it probably is.”

But can we trust Lund? 

Using search engines for employment fraud scam research

Let’s look at another tip of hers:

“Research the company: Google “[Company Name] + Scam” and see if anything comes up.”

Although you can use Bing. Google isn’t the only search engine out there.

So I entered “Sandia Area Federal Credit Union Scam” into Bing…and found out about its warnings about scams.

From Microsoft.

As far as Bing is concerned, Scandia Area Federal Credit Union is not a scammer itself.

But Bing (and Google) are old fashioned dinosaurs.

Using generative AI for employment fraud scam research

So I clicked on the tab for Copilot results. (ChatGPT isn’t the only generative AI tool out there.)

From Microsoft.

Well, it’s good to know that a regulated credit union isn’t a scammer.

So credit unions are fine

But what about something with a slightly sleazier reputation…like stuffing envelopes?

From Microsoft.

OK, Copilot isn’t hot on envelope stuffing opportunities. 

So envelope stuffing isn’t fine

But what if we get personal?

From Microsoft.

TL;DR: “That’s not us.”

Know your business. Know your employer.

Know Your Law Enforcement Officer (or ICE Agent)

People can use forged government identities to scare you, rob you, or kill you. How can you protect yourself from fake law enforcement officers, or fake ICE agents? And how can police agencies and ICE protect THEMSELVES from these fakes?

I’ve already shared the story of the person driving around Delaware with flashing lights. Nothing terrible happened in that encounter, but similar impersonation encounters have been more critical.

That was not ICE in Philadelphia

A little over a week ago, an auto repair shop in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania received a surprise visitor.

The visitor, wearing an American flag-adorned baseball cap and a tactical vest with the words “Security Enforcement Agent,” announced the single word “Immigration,” implying that he was from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Several employees fled the scene, but the cashier did not and was immediately zip-tied.

So what happened next?

The so-called ICE agent took $1,000 and was gone 30 seconds later.

That was not police in Minnesota

As I write this, details of an incident in Minnesota are unfolding.

Vance Boelter is alleged to have shot Minnesota State Senator John Hoffman and his wife Yvette at their home, then shot and killed State Representative Melissa Hortman and her husband.

In both cases Boelter presented himself as a police officer.

How do you know if it IS police?

In terms of an encounter from a local law enforcement agency, Colorado State University has provided some tips on verifying the identity of police. While the tips are specifically written for people driving in a car, they can be generalized for cases in which the police officer shows up at a residence or business.

“[C]all 911 from your cell phone. Tell the 911 dispatcher that you are concerned that someone…may not be a police officer.”

Of course a person in a car is generally safer than a person at the front door of a home or business, but in any case you can call 911 and ask for confirmation.

“Do not flee.”

This appears to be sound advice if the person is a real police officer. But if the employees hadn’t fled from the fake ICE officer in Philadelphia, perhaps they would have been robbed also.

“If the dispatcher cannot confirm that you are being [visited] by a police officer, stay on the line with the dispatcher, and ask for police assistance.”

Wise to get the real cops on the scene.

“Do not provide personal documents – driver’s license, insurance information or other documents – to someone who you suspect of being a police impersonator.”

No need to add identity fraud on top of everything else.

How do you know if it IS ICE?

Unfortunately, telling true ICE agents from fake ones is a little more difficult. Your local 911 dispatcher isn’t going to know if that’s a real ICE agent at your door.

5NBCDFW published some tips for those who receive an email, call, or visit from ICE. In regards to personal visits, the station offered this advice:

“ICE agents carry official badges and credentials. They may have identification cards with their name, photo and the department logo. You can ask them to show you their badge or ID.”

The American Civil Liberties Union reminds us that the ICE agent can show their identification (or a warrant signed by a judge) through a window or peephole before you open the door. And according to Motion Law:

“If they refuse to show their identification, you are under no obligation to open the door.”

This of course is not foolproof, since anyone can print a fake business card (perhaps on their own printer, avoiding a commercial business such as the UPS Store), create a fake ID, or create a fake badge.

At least Justin didn’t claim to be with ICE.

And how can you tell whether that ID is real? Remember that in the Leonardo Garcia Venegas episode, ICE agents themselves couldn’t identify an authentic REAL ID.

Challenges of identifying police officers or ICE agents

It’s a challenging identity problem. Especially since police officers may NOT be required to identify themselves. Uniformed officers are required to identify themselves in California (California Penal Code Section 830.10), but plainclothes officers obviously don’t wear badges, and California identification laws don’t apply in other states.

“Hey,” someone suggests. “Why not create a database of all the police officers and ICE agents so that can immediately prove their authenticity?” Unfortunately, that runs into a huge privacy problem, because what happens when (not if) that database is hacked? Or if the data is intentionally leaked?

(And before you say “not my problem, those people need to be in a database,” what if it WAS your problem? In my case, what if all marketing/writing sole proprietors were required to be in a database managed by the Department of Commerce? You’d be worried if it affected YOU.)

The only way that this will change universally is when the police officers, ICE, and other agencies have to deal with impersonators. For example, if fake ICE agents cause problems for the real ones, then ICE itself will insist on positive identification of real ICE agents.