ARE YOU PREPARED?
Faith-based guidance and practice in prevention, protection, interaction, and survival
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Collaborative workshops on assessing risks, mitigating crises, and managing contingencies
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Partner together to provide 24/7 emergency access, consultation, and threat analysis
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NEWS FOR YOU
MEET MAGECART – THE NEW INVISIBLE SKIMMER
We’ve been trained to detect and avoid the ATM and gas station skimmers, but now our info is being skimmed in our online shopping carts! That’s right, and it’s proven to have surpassed the data compromises of Target and Home Depot. Magecart is essentially a group of hackers who target online shopping carts that use the Magento payment system, an attractive target for collecting card information. 3rd Party apps and clickable ad banners are currently the best avenues to insert a skimming code on e-commerce payment pages, which then begins to capture credit card information such as your name, date of birth, account numbers, passwords and location information. Skimming in real time makes the data more usable and therefore valuable, to either be sold or used to make fraudulent purchases from that point on. Active card value on the Dark Web can range up to $4 per credit card number. Multiple that to the hundreds of thousands of transactions being conducted on any given site and you see the draw for cyber criminals. So how do we avoid or at least diminish it? 1. Shop on well-known, reputable sites. Stay away from or thoroughly inspect shady websites that don’t publish contact info, have bad reviews and complaints online, or are shipping from abroad. 2. Use one-time-use credit cards, which can be skimmed without negative effects. Similar to that is using one-time token systems like Apple Pay, PayPal, or Amazon Pay. 3. Don’t click on pop up banners and advertisements. If something looks interesting, search the name and go directly there without the extras being downloaded. 4. Activate transaction alerts on all credit cards and bank accounts for free. Most financial companies allow you to be notified or give approval for large purchases if you desire. |
TIPS & ADVICE
IS YOUR ROOM SAFE REALLY SAFE?
When faced with leaving valuables behind in the hotel room, we typically choose to place them inside the room safe instead of out in plain view. But are the safes really safe? Frustrating but true, theft still happens from hotel room safes. It’s not rampant but let’s look at how easily it’s done and how to avoid it.
The weak link is the necessary override for letting the absent-minded traveler back into their safe after they forgot the code. Corrupt people are everywhere, including some hotel staff that have access to those master keys and back-door codes.
Wake-up call! – You are not the only one with access to that safe.
Whether they gain access by picking the key lock "hidden" behind the name plate (which is easily pickable) or it’s through the default “secret” admin code of 0000. Yes, that’s right a lot of safes can still be accessed that way. After the criminal is done collecting his…wait I mean your belongings, the safe returns to the locked position with no sign of it being tampered with.
One way of combating this vulnerability is to utilize a secondary lock that blocks the opening of the door even when a pass code is used. Milockie makes a version that serves as a visual deterrent as well. Another solution is to bring your own lockbox or portable safe that has a locking cable to go around large furniture items.
When faced with leaving valuables behind in the hotel room, we typically choose to place them inside the room safe instead of out in plain view. But are the safes really safe? Frustrating but true, theft still happens from hotel room safes. It’s not rampant but let’s look at how easily it’s done and how to avoid it.
The weak link is the necessary override for letting the absent-minded traveler back into their safe after they forgot the code. Corrupt people are everywhere, including some hotel staff that have access to those master keys and back-door codes.
Wake-up call! – You are not the only one with access to that safe.
Whether they gain access by picking the key lock "hidden" behind the name plate (which is easily pickable) or it’s through the default “secret” admin code of 0000. Yes, that’s right a lot of safes can still be accessed that way. After the criminal is done collecting his…wait I mean your belongings, the safe returns to the locked position with no sign of it being tampered with.
One way of combating this vulnerability is to utilize a secondary lock that blocks the opening of the door even when a pass code is used. Milockie makes a version that serves as a visual deterrent as well. Another solution is to bring your own lockbox or portable safe that has a locking cable to go around large furniture items.
