13 Top Tips To Prevent Identity Theft

13 Top Tips To Prevent Identity Theft

Protecting your sensitive personal information from thieves is getting harder than ever, thanks to a combination of the growth and sophistication of organized crime, and the lack of initiative on the part of banks and legislators to do anything meaningful to combat it.

Ways To Beat Identity Theft

What follows is a list of the most basic things you can do to prevent your identity from being stolen. While some of them are pretty obvious, its best to take nothing for granted:

Invest in a good paper shredder. Some, like the Fellowes Powershred are less than 100 dollars.

Watch out for so-called "shoulder surfers". Often people will try to get a glimpse of you entering your PIN number into an ATM machine or checkout card reader. Be wary even of the most harmless looking person.

Watch out for the store clerk double swiping your debit card in two places.

Use your credit card. Instead of using a bank debit card, which is likely not insured, use your credit card instead - and pay off the balance each month on time. You see unlike bank debit cards, you are only liable for the first $50 dollars.

Watch what you carry. Never carry certain pieces of ID, such as your Social Security Card it you can help it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bC8pjXn-sWM


To continue reading, please go to the original article here:

https://livesafely.org/beat-identity-theft/

24 Home Security Tips

24 Home Security Tips 

With perhaps the exception of fire, home burglary is the biggest threat to our safety at home. Depending on where you live, government statistics show that a home burglary occurs every few seconds. While the exact number obviously varies, best estimates in the USA have burglaries occurring every 8 seconds.

Unlike the stereotypical burglar we see in the media and movies, most home burglaries actually occur weekdays during work hours. This is for the simple and obvious reason that the burglar chooses the path of least possible resistance, and this includes picking a time when they are least likely to run into the homeowner.

The majority of burglars are potentially dangerous however, should they run into the homeowner. It should be assumed that most of them would be armed in some way, albeit with a screwdriver or crowbar, and the majority of them (approximately 75%) of them use force to gain entry. A burglar, like any other violent criminal will utilize maximal force against what they perceive to be the weakest target. A house that appears to be a "hard target", will usually be bypassed for a more vulnerable easy pick.

This is because most burglars are young males, under 30, looking for an easy score that they can convert into quick cash. In most cases, the drug trade is what fuels this, as the burglar is looking for valuables, TV equipment, DVD players, Laptops, etc., to convert into cash, which then is used to keep them a high for the day until the whole sordid cycle repeats itself again the next day, on yet another innocent victim.

Home Security Tips

Burglars will choose the easiest, softest target in a home. Therefore it is a good idea to use a systematic approach in assessing your home's vulnerabilities, effectively turning liabilities into strengths. As mentioned before, there is no such thing in the "real world" as a burglar proof home, but that shouldn't preclude us from pursuing that value as if it were an absolute. Most burglars will typically spend less than a minute trying to gain entry and less than 3 minutes inside. The enemy of the burglar are, when you get down to it, two things: time and noticability.

Time is a self explanatory natural enemy of the burglar. The longer that he has to work to get in, the safer you are, as the likelihood of him giving up increases by the minute. Every minute longer that he spends trying to get in, brings him closer to the second natural enemy of the burglar, noticability. Noticability comes in two forms: audibility and visibility. Anything that will cause the burglar to be seen or heard is an asset to you!

24 Tips To a More Secure Home!

 Survey your home, thinking like a would-be burglar. Try to assess things that are a threat to your time, audibility and visibility. Are there windows hidden by shrubs? Are there windows out of view from the neighbors?

Are there doors or windows that back onto a ravine, where the criminal could easily exit? Are there valuables visible to anyone who might look in your windows? What doors and windows are the softest targets?

If someone were to break a door or window, is it likely that it would not be heard by a neighbor? Are there ladders in your driveway or backyard that a criminal could use to access a vulnerable second floor window?

Have a look at the locks on your doors, the length of the screws used to secure the hinges, and the screws used in the striker plates that the deadbolts rest in. You do have deadbolts on your doors, don't you? Quite often the screws uses are so short that they are really useless. For example, the place I am renting now is a small house.

When I moved in, I found that the screws holding the deadbolt striker plate into the door frame were only 1/4" long, and the ones used to secure the door hinges were actually 1/2" long. My 70 year old mum could likely kick in the door! Needless to say, I replaced them with 3" screws.

Securing the door frames themselves makes good sense. Mostly they are made of just cheap pine wood, and the force of a strong kick can easily split the frame. It is a good idea to put some of those three inch screws right into the door frame at 6 inch intervals as well. If you live in a high risk area, perhaps consider using a metal brace with staggered screw holes which is about 8-12" long, 1/8" thick, and 1 1/2" wide, screwed right onto the frame itself. That frame, isn't going anywhere!

To continue reading, please go to the original article here:

https://livesafely.org/24-home-security-tips/

Personal Safety and Security Tips and Checklist

From Recaps Archives

Post RV- We all need to think "Security" Take what tips meet your own individual situation and discard the ones that don't........

Information Security & Privacy for the Dinar Holder …You can have Security without Privacy, but you can’t have Privacy without Security!

Personal Security Checklist for Home, Business and Vehicle

A.   Home

· Do not put your name on the outside of your residence or mailbox.

· Have good outside lighting.

· Control vegetation to eliminate hiding places.

· Entrances and exits should have Solid door with deadbolt locks.

. One way peepholes in doors.

. Bars and locks on skylights.

· Restrict the possession of house keys. Change locks if keys are lost or stolen
and when moving into a previously occupied residence.

· Lock all entrances at night, including the garage. Keep the house locked, even if
you are at home.

· Develop friendly relationships with neighbors.

· Arrange for an unlisted home telephone number (limits accessibility to home
address).

· Don't leave notes on doors.

· Don't hide keys outside house.

· Use a timer to turn lights on and off at varying times and locations.

· Leave radio on (best with a timer).

· Notify the police or a trusted neighbor of your absence.  

******

B. Business

· Install deadbolt locks on office doors leading to hallways and other public areas.
Consider installing a "buzzer" entry door system.

· Managers should issue and control keys, conduct semi-annual inventories, and
have locks changed when keys are missing.

· Have offices cleaned during the day.

· Instruct all employees on operation of your security system.

· Make certain that cleaning personnel do not have access to security alarms or
authorization to turn them on or off.

· Do not allow visitors access to secure areas.

· Do not allow persons visiting one office to have access to other offices or areas.

​· Immediately report persons who appear unannounced in your work area or who
say they "opened the wrong door" or "were looking for another office."

· Do not admit unexpected repairmen or deliverymen.

· Check with a reputable security company for information on available equipment
and services.

Many local law enforcement agencies offer free home and security surveys. You should contact your local precinct, substation or office to avail yourself of this service.

C. Vehicles

· Do not use "vanity" plates that identify you by name or business affiliation.

· Do not have your name or official title displayed at your office parking place.

· Keep vehicle in good repair -- you don't want it to fail when you need it most.

· Keep gas tank at least half full at all times.

· Park in well-lighted areas.

· Always lock your car.

· Don't leave your car on the street overnight, if possible.

· Never get out without checking for suspicious persons. If in doubt, drive away.

· Leave only the ignition key with parking attendants.

· Don't allow entry to the trunk unless you're there to watch.

· Use a remote garage door opener if available. Enter and exit your car in the
security of the closed garage.

· Before leaving buildings to get into your vehicle, check the surrounding area to
determine if anything of a suspicious nature exists. Display the same wariness
before exiting your vehicle.

· Before entering vehicles, check for suspicious objects on the seats and floor.

· Guard against the establishment of routines by varying times, routes and modes
of travel.

· Avoid isolated roads and dark alleys.

· Know locations of safe havens along routes of routine travel.

· Habitually ride with seatbelt buckled, doors locked, and windows closed.

· Do not allow your vehicle to be boxed in; maintain a minimum 8-foot interval
between you and the vehicle in front and avoid the inner lanes.

· Be alert while driving or riding.

· Know how to react if surveillance is suspected or confirmed.

· Circle the block for confirmation of surveillance.

· Do not stop or take other actions which could lead to confrontation.

· Do not drive home if you think you are being followed.

· Get description of car and its occupants.

· Go to nearest safe haven. Report incident to the local police.

· Recognize events that could signal the start of an attack such as:

  . Cyclist falling in front of your car.

  . Flagman or workman stopping your car.

  . Disabled vehicle/accident victims on the road.

  . Unusual detours.

  . Motorist advising you of flat tire or possible problem with your vehicle.

******

Commercial Buses, Trains and Taxis

· Vary mode of commercial transportation.

· Select busy stops.

· Don't always use the same taxi company

· Don't let someone you don't know direct you to a specific cab.

· Ensure face of driver and picture on license are the same.

· Try to travel with a companion.

· If possible, specify the route you want the taxi to follow.

Question Sets to Evaluate Security & Risk

A. In the Home

· My home has good lighting.

· Doors are secured with effective locks (deadbolts).

· Do you have a peephole so that you can see who is outside without having to
open the door?

· Do you always verify a person's identification before opening your door?

· All unused doors and windows are securely locked.

· I always lock all windows and doors when I go out.

· If a stranger ask to use your phone, do you refuse to let them into your home and
offer to make the call yourself?

· Do you as a woman living alone use your first initials only in telephone
directories, on mailboxes, etc?

· Do you always ask to see Company ID before allowing a scheduled (cable,
plumbing, electric) repairman in the house?

· Do you refuse to reveal personal information to anyone on the phone or at your
door?

· Do you always have your keys ready when approaching your home?

· If you return home to find windows and doors tampered with, would you avoid
entering and go to a neighbor's house to call the police?

· Do you have an active alarm system? (active = calls in to alarm company (new
technology uses a cellular phone signal so phone lines being cut won’t affect
efficacy of alarm notification))

*******

B. Telephone Answering

· Do you teach family members not to give personal or family information to
strangers over the phone?

· Everyone in the household knows how to call for help.

· My phone answering message does not imply that I live alone or am not home.

· Do you record only non-specific messages on your phone and avoid  messages like "we'll be back at 7 o'clock on Sunday?

· If you receive an obscene or crank call, would you hang up immediately, saying nothing?

******

C. On The Go

· Do you plan in advance to use the safest route to your destination?

· Do you choose busy, well-lit streets?

· Do you avoid routes that pass by high-risk areas, i.e. vacant lots, alleys?

· Do you avoid isolated bus stops?

· Do you walk facing traffic so you can see approaching cars?

· Do you walk near the curb to avoid the element of surprise or someone hiding between shrubs or in a doorway?

· Do you stay out of reach if someone in a vehicle stops to ask directions?

· Are you wary of approaching strangers?

· If you continue to be followed, do you flee to the nearest safe place?

· Do you try to get a description of the person and/or vehicle following you?

· Do you carry large sums of money in your purse or wallet?

· Do you carry your purse close to your body, without wrapping the straps around
your arm or hand?

· Do you avoid leaving a purse unattended, even for a moment?

· Do you avoid displaying large amounts of cash in public?

******

D. In Your Car

· Do you always lock your doors while driving?

· Do you keep windows rolled up whenever possible?

· Do you avoid picking up hitchhikers?

· Do you keep your car in good running order to avoid break downs in dangerous areas?

· Do you look for well-lit areas to park your car?

· Do you always lock your car when it is parked?

· Do you look around the car before you get out, especially at night or in deserted
areas such as underground parking lots?

· When returning to your car, do you have your keys in hand?

· Do you look in the back seat before getting into the car?

· If you are being followed, do you avoid going home and go to the nearest place
of safety instead?

E. On Campus

· Door and window locks are secure.
· Halls and stairwells have adequate lighting.
· Dorm doors are not left unlocked or propped open.
· I do not give dorm or residence keys to others.
· I keep my door locked.
· I do not allow strangers into my room.
· I do not walk, jog, or exercise alone at night.
· I use campus escort services or walk with friends.
· I know the areas that security guards patrol and stay where they can see or hear
me if possible.

If you answered "NO" to any of these questions, consider a change in behavior to increase your security, privacy and safety.

Summary

We should never wait until we have experienced a breach of our personal | private information before we react. Proactively addressing potential risks now can make any loss a non-issue to your information, assets, and well-being. Properly and robustly Implementing the products and practices mentioned in this document should mitigate, or lessen the risks we all face now, and in the future.
.
Taking stock of your security posture should become part of your daily routine.

If you hire an individual or a firm to provide bodyguard services, be sure they provide you with a list of assessment criteria that they will use in assessing your personal safety.

Some Post RV/GCR Tips and Ideas 8-13-2020

Some Post RV/GCR Tips and Ideas: 

3 Types of Concealed Safes - How Do You Hide a Safe?

Apr 21, 2020

How do you hide a safe? Some hidden safes are designed as hidden safes.

Wall safes and floor safes are the two best examples of that.

But there are other after market products that hide safes too.

https://youtu.be/AfWeVXzfkk8?t=3

INCREDIBLY INGENIOUS Hidden Rooms and Secret Furniture

Hi! This video is the list of INGENIOUS Hidden Rooms and Secret Furniture Compilation that we've collected to show you.

Hope you like! 15 Hidden Rooms Compilation at iCreatived  https://bit.ly/3bu6ksc

https://youtu.be/T61-twuvJA4?t=4

INCREDIBLY INGENIOUS Hidden Rooms and Secret Furniture ➤ 2

Hello! We're back with part 2 of Incredibly Ingenious Hidden Rooms and Secret Furniture!

https://youtu.be/XgQCtbtyUuE?t=9

FANTASTIC HIDDEN Rooms AND INGENIOUS SECRET Furniture

Apr 24, 2020

https://youtu.be/0Klc7PkGWko?t=6

Under This New Law, Cryptocurrency Could Become Illegal

Under This New Law, Cryptocurrency Could Become Illegal

Notes From The Field By Simon Black    June 29, 2020  Bahia Beach, Puerto Rico

In early 1775, Benjamin Franklin and his European colleague, Charles Dumas, developed a secret method of communicating with each other.

Dumas had spent years gathering intelligence in Europe to assist the Americans in their revolt against Britain. But the two needed a secure way to pass information across the Atlantic.

So they developed a special cipher-- a crude form of encryption where letters and words were substituted for numerals.

The decryption key changed with every letter; so, for example, in a letter from Franklin dated March 2, 1781, the word “MERCHANT” was written as “23. 3. 4. 13. 6. 14. 24. 18.”

At the same time, the physician James Jay (brother to the first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, John Jay) developed an invisible ink so that revolutionary leaders could communicate in secret.

These encrypted communications became critical to the Revolution. And it’s safe to say there would probably not be a United States if they hadn’t developed a secure way to send information.

Ironically, politicians are trying to destroy modern methods of encryption.

Over the past few months while everyone has been in mandatory isolation, cowering in fear in their homes… and over the past few weeks while the Land of the Free has been consumed with rage. . .

. . . a few US Senators have once again proven that chilling political adage-- ‘never let a good crisis go to waste.’

Exhibit A: Senate Bill 4051, the “Lawful Access to Encrypted Data Act”, which was quietly introduced last week when everyone’s attention was consumed elsewhere.

First thing’s first, like all freedom-killing bills, this one has a catchy name.

The Lawful Access to Encrypted Data Act is LEAD for short, as in “Move over China! The Land of the Free will LEAD the way in destroying the last remaining freedoms of its citizens.”

(In that way it seems more like ‘lead’, the highly toxic metal that poisons the brain and creates severe intellectual disability.)

At its core, the LEAD Act is an encryption killer. It aims to require technology companies to build ‘back doors’ into their products to ensure that the government can remotely access your data, your device, and your life.

This is nothing short of earth shattering.

Apple, for example, currently provides device encryption on its iPhones and iPads. And once you encrypt your device, only YOU can decrypt it. Apple can’t. Hackers can’t. And the government can’t.

So if your device is ever stolen (or confiscated), your data cannot be compromised.

Under the LEAD Act, this practice would become illegal. Apple would no longer be able to offer device encryption, and they’d have to provide a way for the federal government to remotely access your device, and all of its contents.

The same goes for your favorite chat applications.

WhatsApp, for example, is one of the most popular texting apps in the world. A few years ago, Facebook (which owns WhatsApp) began implementing end-to-end encryption for all WhatsApp data.

This means that any message you send someone via WhatsApp is immediately encrypted the moment it leaves your phone.

That messages arrives to the WhatsApp servers fully encrypted. So any hacker (or Facebook engineer) who intercepts the data will see nothing but a garbled mess.

And the message isn’t decrypted until it arrives to the intended recipient’s device. So the only people who can see the message in “clear text” are the two people participating in the conversation.

No one else can eavesdrop, or download the data.

But again, under the LEAD Act, this too would become illegal… and Facebook will be obligated to build in a ‘back door’ for the government to remotely access your conversations.

LEAD also requires developers of operating systems, like Microsoft Windows and Apple’s MacOS, to provide backdoor access to your computer.

It’s extraordinary to think of how far-reaching the effects of this legislation will go.

For example, do you use an online password manager like OnePassword?

They will also be required to give the government access to your data… which essentially would give the government access to EVERYTHING you do online.

Do you upload files and photos to iCloud? Yup. That too. Apple will be required to build a back door and give the government access to your data.

Any ‘zero knowledge’ encryption, whether it’s for storing files, sharing photos, texting friends, making video calls, sending encrypted emails, etc., will become illegal under this legislation.

And to be crystal clear about what that means, CRYPTOCURRENCY will effectively become illegal under the LEAD Act as well.

That’s right. Cryptocurrency relies on data encryption too.

Your ‘wallet’ is essentially a public key / private key combination. And in theory, only you are supposed to have access.

But that’s exactly what this legislation aims to prevent. The government wants backdoor access to everything.

Honestly this legislation would be hilarious if it weren’t actually true… because it shows how totally clueless these people really are.

The politicians are calling it ‘lawful access’, as if only the government would be able to use these back doors. Clearly these people understand nothing about cybersecurity.

There is no such thing as a ‘back door’ that only the government can access.

Once a technology company creates a way to remotely access a device, then that back door is available to ANYONE who can crack it.

It’s not like some hacker, or foreign intelligence agency, is going to probe the back door on your iPhone and say, “Oh, nevermind, this is only for the US government. I guess I’ll try to find another way in.”

If this law passes, not only will the government be able to access your devices, but hackers will have endless new treasures of data to steal… courtesy of the United States Senate.

It’s genius.

 To your freedom & prosperity, Simon Black, Founder, SovereignMan.com

https://www.sovereignman.com/trends/under-this-new-law-cryptocurrency-could-become-illegal-28066/

How to Protect Yourself From Credit Card Theft

How to Protect Yourself From Credit Card Theft

By Emily Guy Birken   February 2020

Last fall, I received an email that appeared to be from my web host. The email claimed that there was a problem with my payment information and asked me to update it. I clicked on the link in the email and entered my credit card number, thinking that a recent change I'd made to my site must have caused a problem.

The next morning, I logged onto my credit card account to find two large unauthorized purchases. A scammer had successfully phished my payment information from me.

This failure of security is pretty embarrassing for a personal finance writer. I know better than to click through an email link claiming to be from my bank, credit card lender, or other financial institution. But because the email came from a source that wasn't specifically financial (and because I was thinking about the changes I had made to my website just the day before), I let myself get played.

Thankfully, because I check my credit card balance daily, the scammers didn't get away with it. However, it's better to be proactive about avoiding credit card theft so you're not stuck with the cleanup, which took me several months to complete.

Here's how you can protect yourself from credit card theft.

Protecting your physical credit card

Stealing your physical credit or debit card is in some respects the easiest way for a scammer to get their hands on your sweet, sweet money. With the actual card in hand, a scammer has all the information they need to make fraudulent purchases: the credit card number, expiration date, and the security code on the back.

That means keeping your physical cards safe is one of the best ways to protect yourself from credit card theft. Don't carry more cards than you intend to use. Having every card you own in a bulging wallet makes it more likely someone could steal one when you're not paying attention and you may not realize it's gone if you have multiple cards.

Another common place where you might be separated from your card is at a restaurant. After you've paid your bill, it can be easy to forget if you've put away your card (especially if you've been enjoying adult beverages). So make it a habit to confirm that you have your card before you leave a restaurant.

If you do find yourself missing a credit or debit card, make sure you call your bank immediately to report it lost or stolen. The faster you move to lock down the card, the less likely the scammers will be able to make fraudulent charges. Make sure you have your bank's phone number written down somewhere so you're able to contact them quickly if your card is stolen or lost.

To continue reading, please go to the original article here:

https://www.wisebread.com/how-to-protect-yourself-from-credit-card-theft

Security Tips From Security Pro

A Post From Dinar Recaps Archives

Security Tips From Security Pro

Think Security - Serious Info on ALL Safety Measures Good Read

I just wanted to pass on a bit of caution. As a former professional Executive Protection Specialist (Bodyguard to the Super Rich) Many of you will walk out of the bank as millionaires, multi-millionaires and some of you Billionaires.

 You have been given great advise when it comes to Identity and computer security and some things to do to protect your identity. (All Computers should have VPN protection and encrypted emails -)

 All great information and thought. But, please think about this! Please don't let the most blessed day of your life be the beginnings of some of the most frightening and horrific experiences of your life!

 That's when you get that dreaded call that your daughter, son or wife will not be coming home unharmed until a paper bag full of un-marked 100 dollar bills is brought to this remote location and traded for the safe return of your beloved. (please, please, please) don't think this plot is reserved for the movies.

It happens all the time, 100s of kidnapping cases each year occur and are never on the daily news channel. These unscrupulous types are what my team always referred to as land sharks. Yes they are out there, they are hungry and they are dangerous. It is true these land sharks smell blood 1000 miles away and the blood these pirates smell is money, Easy money!

 The day you walk out of that bank with that receipt for 1 mill plus, your blood trail just started! They will be watching, car, yacht, expensive homes etc. being purchased. Don't think for a second that don't have feelers out there, car dealers, bank employees, construction workers, you name it.  Yes, even Baby sitters. These dirty players have feelers everywhere.

 One case a team member worked on shortly after I got out of the business involved a baby sitter who gave out security codes, travel plans, work schedules and this teenager even left the lock on the basement door unlocked all for a few hundred bucks.

 The bad guys walked in, the three year old girl was taken, the parents forked out 3 million dollars and the money was gone in a flash and the three year old is still a picture on a milk carton somewhere!! I really don't want to scare you or insult your intelligence. But you WILL be a target of these evil players.

 How do you protect your family and yourself? you contact a professional security specialist, a reputable Private Investigation firm can direct you. I strongly suggest that you get a hold of ESI (Executive Security International) it is a very well run Bodyguard training center.

 The instructors are former Secret Service Agents. They train hundreds of protection specialist (both men and woman) They are the best of the best and can hook you up with the right people.

 It is not my intention to scare anybody, I hope you find this information useful and thought provoking. If this post makes it and gets your attention I would be glad to write part 2 and tell you how to make sure you are hiring a true professional and not being taken by con men.

Security is a business full of snakes and I will tell you how to   avoid them as well as some things you should start doing right away to prepare for your wealthy future

Think Security

I suppose that after such a tremendous response to my post called Think security part 1, I owe it to my new friends to post part 2 and to answer some great questions when it comes to the security of your family and I will share how I will go about protecting my own family. Also I will attempt to correct my writing skills to make this more readable.

 According to Sun Tzu in "The Art of War" It says ""If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles." Based on this idea, let me use a scenario to illustrate the point.

 Put yourself in the position of the land pirate. Remember that most pirates run with a crew. They work as teams and they don't care who gets hurt as long as they get what they want and we all know that is money!

 They have done some snooping and have identified you as a potential target. In clandestine interviews with neighbors etc. These deviants learned that you have a wife, four kids at the ages of 2 to 8 yrs. old. They learn that your oldest son attends the local elementary school and that he rides the bus, which leaves and arrives at the same time every day.

 These criminals sit outside of your home and take diligent notes on what time you leave for work and the fact that your wife stays home with the other kids most of the day occasionally leaving at random times to run errands etc.  They make tedious notes about the activities and routines of your family. Information is vital to these scurvy dogs.

 They have to decide how they will get you to part with your money and the easiest way to do that, extortion, blackmail, theft/robbery or kidnapping. Kidnapping is one of the most common methods with the least risks on their part. You are now the distraught loving parent and are under their control.

 You are too afraid to call the authorities and you are now motivated to give up the money because they have your child or wife and we all would do anything on earth to keep our loved ones safe.

Ok, let me drive to the point and this is a crucial point when thinking about what security expert or agency you hire. These pirates have already determined through multiple ways, paid off bank employees, yard workers, remodeling contractors etc. (these info sources are endless.)

 That you are a target and that In order to be successful they must gather as much information as possible in order pull off a successful kidnapping to assure that you willingly give them the money they desire. By watching your every move and noting the activities of each of your family members they can determine how vulnerable your family is as well as the best plan to make their move. 

Ok I know this is very long and to spare you having to read all day I will post part 3 this evening I will go over all about hiring professional executive / family protection specialists and how they function in and around you family to keep you safe.  Here is a parting tip.

 Start getting used to changing your routines. This is the first thing  a protection specialist should train you to do is to change the times you leave, the times you come home, especially your routes, start taking your kids to school, stop sending them on the bus, that is too predictable.

 Change all the established patterns that you do day to day. Deviate your routes as much as possible. I must implore, don't, and I repeat! DO NOT live your life in fear, just go about your life, live well and help others as much as possible just take necessary precautions. Follow the advise of your protection agent like you will your wealth managers, attorneys etc. 

In Answer to a question about how many bodyguards will you need to hire. (you are millionaires now, you can afford it) One good agent can train and protect your family, he/she will work with alarm companies to set up the best security system around your homes he/she will also work with trained dogs. Will you have them or not? I will have very well trained Dobermans and German Shepherds.

 Your agent should be a counter surveillance expert. Stopping the free information flow simply cuts out the bad guys ability to plan any event against you or your family. Most protection experts work with teams as well.

Think Security  

What is the first thought when I say bodyguard? I'll bet you thought of  a 250 lbs weightlifter, ex-football player, all star wrestler or the like. A big muscle bound man standing around your front door with folded arms and an Uzi under his suite coat. Right?  

Well maybe in the movies, but certainly not real life. Take me for example: I am 5'9" I can't lift my own body weight above my head more than a few times, I might be able to do ten pushups without collapsing and chin ups - forget it!! I am a normal guy.

I'm not a nerd, jock or playboy I am just an ordinary average single dad with four wonderful kids that like to wrestle in the living room and they usually always win.

My history.  (There is a point.)

In 1987, I attended and graduated Executive Security International, a school located in Aspen Colorado. This is the premier school for professional executive protection specialists. My instructors were former Secret Service agents, top of the line protection agents, navy seals, and bodyguards for the super wealthy.  

The training included shooting with top competitive shooting champions, driving with top race-car drivers, Martial arts with navy seal instructors etc. The point is that this school trains and qualifies hundreds of agents each year.  

Many go on to work in law enforcement, special ops etc. in order to get endorsed by the school you must graduate as what they refer to as level 3. Anything below that and you do not get an endorsement a referral or as much as a good word.

ESI only refers or places the top of the top the best of the best and my point of all this is, I myself, even as a graduate of this incredible school will be interviewing and hiring agents for my family protection from there.

Heck I might even be real nice and hire one for my ex-wife. Only the kidnapers would pay me to take her back!  My class had about twenty students; only four of us graduated level 3 and got endorsed and placed. One went on to work at the white house with the Secret Service.

Two went to Tanzania to protect executives for Exxon. I went on to protect the family of a wealthy cookie company executive in Utah. You have probably all had free samples in a mall somewhere.

After that, I worked for a wealthy newspaper executive from India, and many other wealthy executives and a presidential candidate who you all know as the governor of the state of CA.

I then started my own protection agency where we guarded high profile executives, celebrities, country music performers and even other presidential candidates.

The point is this. If after you read the rest of Part 3 you decide that you do want to hire a professional, I have nothing to gain by telling you that I will be hiring someone from ESI, probably a female agent since I have small kids and a woman tends to be a lot more observant.

So before we go on let me say this, the best security that you can employ is simply, secrecy! The fewer people that know you have money or access to it the better off you are. (Hands down) I believe that the NDA, which I have read so many complaints about, will be the best thing for you over all. Create your story and stick to it. I do believe that the NDA is there for your own protection.  

Think about it, if signing the NDA is for the contract rate only what is to say that those that take the street rate won't go write books and make movies. It is because they won't walk away with as much money. The ones who really need to keep their mouths shut are the ones making the big bucks and are more likely to be targets of the bad guys.

So you are now worth a few million dollars, some of you billionaire is the word. But, why does anyone, and I mean anyone need to know that? Keep your financial affairs in the lowest part of the kitchen drawer.

Don't flaunt your wealth; don't expose yourself to the pirates from the beginning. Yes, they have their feelers and you may get exposed through them but the more you can do to avoid un-needed attention the more you can rest assured that you are less of a target.

RECOMMENDED: a book called "the Millionaire Next Door" Read it! Read it again and live it. '

Do you know that Sam Walton lived in a modest home in a normal neighborhood and he drove a 1970s pick-up truck? Most people around him had no Idea he was a billionaire. The guy that started and sold Micro-soft lived in my hometown and nobody knew he was worth billions when it sold. He drove the same old VW bus around.

He eventually bought a really nice home in a secured neighborhood but not for several years and not until his kids begged him to move to a bigger home. Most millionaires are average people with the same wardrobe that I like, T-shirts and jeans, my boots are the most expensive things in my closet and it will stay that way even post RV.

I will not buy or drive a Bentley or a Ferrari. A new truck and maybe a Dodge Challenger is my extreme. I will not be chauffer driven except for a limousine that takes my four kids and I to the airport to go on our vacation.  Yes average, ordinary people splurge sometimes and limo's are the max of that rare splurge.

 If you must buy Lamborghinis, mansions and high roller toys do it in the name of an offshore corporation. Many people believe that the super wealthy use things like bank accounts in the Bahamas as tax avoidance but the downright truth is its hiding their wealth from the pirates of the world.

 Its about 90% privacy and maybe 10% tax avoidance. Your financial planners and wealth advisors can help you manage your funds and maintain you privacy. However, don't forget pirates have well paid feelers everywhere.

 If you own your own business, if you bought an expensive yacht, you moved out of your modest 200 k home into a 3 million dollar home on the beach, if you come across as a person of means with access to big money. You may still be considered a target and the surveillance begins.

 Remember I told you that a successful kidnapping requires information, observation, and tailing the target. Your protection agent should be an expert in surveillance and counter surveillance. A master martial artist or a quick draw and a dead aim are cool talents to possess, however none of the professionals that I worked with nor myself ever carried a gun. The best talent a security expert has is observation skills.

 Now pay attention. The name of my agency was Silent Shadow Detectives. The name says it all. My mission was to protect the client and the client never knew we were there. We were silent and we remained in the shadows. Nobody and a do mean nobody knew we were there. 

I will apologize now for the length of this writing but I feel this is important so I want to share a story to bring home my main point when it comes to hiring a top protection team.

 When I worked for the cookie company, she was a Mrs. and her name was their brand. Her husband ran the company and did all the hiring and firing. One day I turned in an invoice and he did not want to pay me. During our meeting he said he would not pay for services not rendered.

  I gave him the detailed report of where his wife and family had been at every moment of the day, I included all the routes she had taken and what car she had taken and then switched throughout the day as she was instructed to do in our initial training. I also gave him detailed descriptions of the Private Investigator that he hired to follow her while watching for us.

 His PI had lost the trail of his wife four different times, as my team was able to derail him in his pursuit. As far as we knew initially he was a watcher for the bad guys until our research team identified him as a local Private Detective. I did have to apologize for the three flat tires and his disabled vehicle.

 Nevertheless this executive was comforted to know that his family could be themselves, live their lives and live as normal as possible without muscle bound goons in suites standing around every corner.

 The point is this; you can have protection without having your life style cramped by a bunch of armed men in fatigues.

 So you want to hire the best. Call ESI arrange for interviews with several agents. As the agent comes into your office for the interview excuse yourself for five minutes and then leave. Come back, make yourself comfortable, ask some basic qualifying questions and then ask them to describe the picture on the wall directly behind them.

 Remember observation skills are the most important skills a protection agent has. So, he/she can't tell you the color of the balloons or exactly how many clowns but they do at least know it is a picture of a circus. Get the point?

Then move on to the critical test. If they are not willing to do this test, then move on whether you are interviewing ESI grads or PI agencies from the yellow pages I would conduct this test on any protection team I am considering, ask them to follow and report on a brother, friend, neighbor or anyone willing to take detailed notes of their day.

 Several potential agents have followed my bother before I hired then to work on one of my protection teams. Compare the notes from your assigned target with the notes of your interviewee.

Do not forget, a great counter surveillance operative is going to be an expert at surveillance, especially if you are hiring a team.

Once you have hired the right agent to work for your family you should have daily contact and they should be able to tell you where you have been where your children have been. If they discovered any possible watchers for the pirates and what counter measures were taken to thwart even possible surveillance operations.

 It is true that on a daily basis you, your family members are going to come into contact with strangers. What you do not need is some overzealous bozo jumping out of the bushes to tackle every unknown passerby.

 What your agents are looking for is watchers and then they eliminate all possibilities for these watchers to gain any usable info. At some point the pirates figure out that you have real pros working for you and they simply move on to the next target.

 Thank you for reading this I hope this information is helpful.  I personally thank God every day that I know about this opportunity. If this information I have shared has done nothing more than to start you thinking then I am at peace with myself.

 So, I will leave you now with this final thought. How many times in your life did your bicycle NOT get stolen because you had a good lock on it? We will never know. So how many times will your family be kept safe because you have a true professional watching the watchers? Think about it.

The best advice the security team told us on what to do once the RV hits, Is to keep your mouth shut & Mind your own Business!...

Millionaire Next Door - Thomas J. Stanley - Audiobook

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4psbb5RzdU

 "Taken" For "Ransom" Trailer (recut)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rpiicbMzi7Y

 Man on Fire (2004) Trailer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iC8LGmR7CV8

How to Protect Yourself From Credit Card Theft

How to Protect Yourself From Credit Card Theft

By Emily Guy Birken February 3 2020

Last fall, I received an email that appeared to be from my web host. The email claimed that there was a problem with my payment information and asked me to update it. I clicked on the link in the email and entered my credit card number, thinking that a recent change I'd made to my site must have caused a problem.

The next morning, I logged onto my credit card account to find two large unauthorized purchases. A scammer had successfully phished my payment information from me.

This failure of security is pretty embarrassing for a personal finance writer. I know better than to click through an email link claiming to be from my bank, credit card lender, or other financial institution. But because the email came from a source that wasn't specifically financial (and because I was thinking about the changes I had made to my website just the day before), I let myself get played.

Thankfully, because I check my credit card balance daily, the scammers didn't get away with it. However, it's better to be proactive about avoiding credit card theft so you're not stuck with the cleanup, which took me several months to complete.

Here's how you can protect yourself from credit card theft.

Protecting Your Physical Credit Card

Stealing your physical credit or debit card is in some respects the easiest way for a scammer to get their hands on your sweet, sweet money. With the actual card in hand, a scammer has all the information they need to make fraudulent purchases: the credit card number, expiration date, and the security code on the back.

That means keeping your physical cards safe is one of the best ways to protect yourself from credit card theft. Don't carry more cards than you intend to use. Having every card you own in a bulging wallet makes it more likely someone could steal one when you're not paying attention and you may not realize it's gone if you have multiple cards.

To continue reading, please go to the original article here:

https://www.wisebread.com/how-to-protect-yourself-from-credit-card-theft

Residential Burglary Prevention Tips

Residential Burglary Prevention Tips -

Keep and Pass On to Family and Friends

 From Raleigh NC Northwest Police Department Please remember your home security during the holiday season. Remember to call 911 to report suspicious people and vehicles. Refresh yourself with the following tips for preventing a break-in to your home. 

 Residential Burglary Prevention Tips 

 1. Make your home look like someone is at home (i.e. leave interior lights on, burn exterior lights, install motion lights, leave radio/TV playing, park an extra car in driveway) 

2. Install quality dead-bolt locks with a one-inch throw bolt on entry doors and double cylinder dead-bolt locks for doors that have glass within 40 inches of locking hardware. ALWAYS keep the key for double cylinder dead-bolt locks in close proximity to the door, and always in the same place, so that it will be there in the event of escaping during a fire. 

3. Install a heavy-duty 4-screw strike plate, with 3-inch screws to penetrate into the 2x4 rough framing, not into the trim wood. 

4. Install solid-core wood, fiberglass, or metal exterior doors. 

5. On sliding glass doors, use a wooden dowel, or a track blocker to prevent opening. 

6. Use alarm decals, beware of dog decals, and/or community watch decals near doors.

7. LOCK EXTERIOR DOORS AND WINDOWS 

8. Replace broken locks on windows 

9. If you drill holes in window sashes for pins, ALWAYS remember that this presents a hazard for escaping quickly in the event of a fire, especially for children and the elderly. 

10. Cover windows with blinds or curtains. 

11. Don’t hide your house key in close proximity to entry doors. 

12. Mark valuables with your driver’s license number, using an engraving tool, take photos of valuables that would be defaced if marked. 

13. Find GOOD hiding places in your home for high-ticket items, especially jewelry. Jewelry boxes make things quick and easy for the burglar. Don’t use the typical places like under mattresses, in drawers, in desks/file cabinets, etc. 

14. Secure guns in safes that are bolted to the floor or are large enough that someone could not move without a lot of help. 

15. Limit the amount of cash kept in the home and store it in a creative hiding place. 

16. Get a dog. They can be scary and they draw attention by barking. 

17. Establish a relationship with your neighbors, so that they will keep an eye on your home, especially if going out of town. Encourage neighbors to call the police if they see suspicious activity around your property. Give them contact numbers for reaching you. 

18. Start a community watch group in your neighborhood. 

19. If out of town, have your neighbor collect your mail, newspaper, packages; leave radio and lights on automatic timer, etc. 

20. Report suspicious people, door-to-door solicitation, strange vehicles in area, people asking for work, anyone with stories that don’t add-up, and anyone carrying items from someone’s home, or carrying back-packs, bags in the area. 

21. Consider an alarm system or video surveillance system. 

22. Do not advertise your travel plans on social media. 

23. Be careful of who you invite into your home. Know them.

Shared with Northwest Raleigh in Crime & Safety

.Smartphone Unlock Pattern vs 6 Digit PIN Security

Smartphone Unlock Pattern vs 6 Digit PIN Security

Security:  Don't Rely On An Unlock Pattern To Secure Your Android Phone

By Andy Greenberg

SMARTPHONES TODAY COMPETE over which can best secure your secrets. They encrypt your data, store the digital keys to unlock themselves on specialized hardware, and even offer fancy biometrics from fingerprints to faceprints.

But many millions of smartphones remain open to an absurdly low-tech attack: a sly glance at someone's phone while they unlock it. One new study has quantified just how easy an Android-style unlock pattern—as opposed to a six-digit PIN or biometric unlock—makes the job of any over-the-shoulder snoop.

Security researchers at the US Naval Academy and the University of Maryland Baltimore County this week published a study that shows that a casual observer can visually pick up and then reproduce an Android unlock pattern with relative ease.

In their tests, they found that six-point Android unlock patterns can be recreated by about two out of three observers who see it performed from five or six feet away after a single viewing.

Spotting a six-digit PIN of the kind used in most iPhones, on the other hand, proved surprisingly difficult: Only about one in ten observers in the study could reproduce it after one look.

That disparity is in part due to how memorable an Android unlock pattern is for human brains, says Naval Academy professor Adam Aviv.

"Patterns are really nice in memorability, but it’s the same as asking people to recall a glyph," says Aviv, who along with his fellow researchers will present the paper at the Annual Computer Security Applications Conference in Puerto Rico in December. "Patterns are definitely less secure than PINs."

In their tests, the researchers recruited 1,173 subjects from Amazon's Mechanical Turk crowdsourcing platform to watch carefully controlled videos of the unlocking online, and had subjects try guessing PINs and unlock patterns after watching the phone's owner unlock it with commonly used PINs, or patterns from five different angles and distances, averaging out those variables.

They also repeated the video test with 91 people in person, just to check their online results.

They found that around 64 percent of the online test subjects could reproduce a six-point pattern after one viewing, and 80 percent after two. Only 11 percent could identify a six-digit PIN after one viewing, and 27 percent after two.

To continue reading, please go to the original article at

https://www.wired.com/story/android-unlock-pattern-or-pin/

.How to Secure Your Online Financial Accounts

How to Secure Your Online Financial Accounts

By Dirk Cotton   The Retirement cafe

In my previous post, You're Responsible for Your Own Online Security, I noted that online fraud protections from banks, credit unions, investment companies, and other financial services companies are significantly weaker than consumer protections for credit cards, debit cards, ATMs, and EFTs.

The "100% online fraud guarantees" advertised by financial services companies can have a lot of fine print and they are backed by the companies, not by consumer protection laws.

You may be thinking, "That's a lot of trouble. In the unlikely event that my account is hacked, the financial services company will reimburse me." I think that's a mistake for a few reasons.

First, even if the company covers your losses, recovering from the fraud is unlikely to be a pleasant experience. Second, if you don't meet the company's security requirements spelled out clearly on their websites, you might not be covered by their online fraud guarantee, at all. Do you want to take that risk with your savings?

My goals for this post don't include boring you to tears, though that is certainly a risk when one explains technology to people who just want things to work. The truth is that Internet passwords don't work. We need a very different solution for securing online access but unless and until we get that, we have to work with what's available.

One of my goals is to help you avoid losing your hard-earned wealth to online fraud. A second goal is to help you avoid the long, painful process of recovering from online fraud when recovery is possible — you'll find it much easier to stop fraud before it happens than to tidy up afterward.

And, my third goal is to keep you from running afoul of requirements that might preclude those "100% online fraud guarantees" offered by financial services companies. I used to refer to them as "online financial services companies" but now almost all of them are.

I warn you up front that some of these measures can be complicated to implement and that they will complicate your financial life a bit. It won't be as easy for you to access your online financial services but it should be a lot more difficult for a thief to do so.

And finally, before diving into security measures, be aware that many online services offer different levels of security that you can implement depending on how much set-up work you are willing to do  and how much inconvenience you will tolerate to achieve greater security.

 You can improve security significantly with stronger passwords, for example. With more work and complexity, you can greatly improve on long-password security by adding two-factor authentication.

You will need to decide if the extra security is worth the effort.  You might also think, "This is way too difficult. I'm just going to avoid online access to my accounts altogether."

To continue reading, please go to the original article at

http://www.theretirementcafe.com/2019/08/how-to-secure-your-online-financial_6.html