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As groundbreaking leaders in personal security and risk management for travelers, we stand ready to equip and serve as you are called to the ends of the Earth.
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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
TIME FOR SOME EVALUATIONS!
Tis the season for church cantatas, pageants, and extra services. For most churches, that means a full house with unrecognizable faces during potential inclement weather. Every time a service comes together, there are safety concerns: Health issues, mental health problems, accidents, child safety, relationship conflicts, custody issues, fire/flooding/weather issues, etc. I ask the following questions not to depress you, but to bring the situations to mind and make you think about preparing. Here are ten to get you started: ~ Do you have an emergency response plan that addresses weather, medical, fire, and mechanical failures? ~ Do you have an emergency response plan that can help prepare you for a violent event and other victimization incidents? ~ Has your team been trained to deal with conflict without using physical force or weapons? ~ Have you conducted an assessment to identify what areas of your ministry are most vulnerable? ~ Have you formed, trained, and equipped a safety team to handle emergencies that would include: evacuations, lock-downs, lock-outs, first aid, and communication? ~ Does your team maintain certification training in CPR, basic First Aid, and AED? ~ Do you regularly conduct drills and exercises to practice what you intend to do during and after a crisis? ~ Have you implemented security monitoring equipment (i.e. cameras, alarms, intercoms, etc.) to help ensure the safety and communication of your members? ~ Does your team have primary and secondary means to communicate during emergencies in order to manage crowd movement (i.e. radios, intercoms, alarms, etc.)? ~ Do you regularly communicate with your congregation about what to do in the event of an emergency? Do they know when and how to evacuate and where to rally together? Have you planned for the disabled and nursery? Check out our classes on Church Safety and Risk Management for further discussions, practices, and collaboration. |
TIPS & ADVICE
TOP SCAMS OF THE YEAR
This year has been big on COVID related scams such as false stimulus check and phony COVID cures or insurance claims, but they weren’t on the top 5 list!
Here are the tricks that tricksters are using to trick people:
1. Deceptive Social Media Ads
Scrolling through your social media feed, you often see items for sale from small businesses. Sometimes the business even claims to support a charity to try to get you to order, or they offer a free trial. Unfortunately, many people have reported that they paid for items that they never received, were charged monthly for a free trial they never signed up for, or received an item that was counterfeit from the one advertised.
What to do? Do your homework and research the company before ordering. Check out the business profile and read the reviews.
2. Holiday Apps
Apple's App Store and Google Play list dozens of holiday-themed apps where children can video-chat live with Santa, watch Santa feed real reindeer, track his sleigh on Christmas Eve, or pass on their holiday wish-lists. Better think twice though.
What to do? Review privacy policies to see what information will be collected. Be wary of free apps, as they can sometimes be FULL of advertising or malware.
3. Account Alerts
An increasing fraud going around is an email claiming your Amazon, Paypal, Netflix or bank account has been compromised. Victims receive an email, call, or text message which explains that there has been suspicious activity on one of their accounts, and it further urges them to take immediate action to prevent the account from being compromised.
What to do? Be extra cautious about unsolicited calls, emails, and texts. Contact them directly without using the included hyperlinks or provided numbers.
4. FREE Stuff!
Nothing brings good cheer like the word 'FREE'. Scammers have been known to take advantage of this weakness by sending bulk phishing emails requesting personal information to receive free gift cards. In some of these emails, scammers impersonate legitimate companies like Starbucks, Costco, or Amazon and promise gift cards to loyal customers that have been supporting their business throughout the pandemic. They may also use pop-up ads or send text messages with links saying you were randomly selected as the winner for a prize.
What to do? Do not open it. Instead, mark it as Spam or Junk. However, if you opened the email, do not click on any links.
5. Fake Donation Requests
Typically, 40% of all charitable donations are received during the last few weeks of the year. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many organizations had to cancel their usual fundraising events and awareness campaigns and are now inviting donors to support online.
What to do? Avoid spontaneous donation decisions to unfamiliar organizations. Responsible organizations will welcome a gift tomorrow as much as they do today. Where possible, donate to the charity through their website and use a credit card.
This year has been big on COVID related scams such as false stimulus check and phony COVID cures or insurance claims, but they weren’t on the top 5 list!
Here are the tricks that tricksters are using to trick people:
1. Deceptive Social Media Ads
Scrolling through your social media feed, you often see items for sale from small businesses. Sometimes the business even claims to support a charity to try to get you to order, or they offer a free trial. Unfortunately, many people have reported that they paid for items that they never received, were charged monthly for a free trial they never signed up for, or received an item that was counterfeit from the one advertised.
What to do? Do your homework and research the company before ordering. Check out the business profile and read the reviews.
2. Holiday Apps
Apple's App Store and Google Play list dozens of holiday-themed apps where children can video-chat live with Santa, watch Santa feed real reindeer, track his sleigh on Christmas Eve, or pass on their holiday wish-lists. Better think twice though.
What to do? Review privacy policies to see what information will be collected. Be wary of free apps, as they can sometimes be FULL of advertising or malware.
3. Account Alerts
An increasing fraud going around is an email claiming your Amazon, Paypal, Netflix or bank account has been compromised. Victims receive an email, call, or text message which explains that there has been suspicious activity on one of their accounts, and it further urges them to take immediate action to prevent the account from being compromised.
What to do? Be extra cautious about unsolicited calls, emails, and texts. Contact them directly without using the included hyperlinks or provided numbers.
4. FREE Stuff!
Nothing brings good cheer like the word 'FREE'. Scammers have been known to take advantage of this weakness by sending bulk phishing emails requesting personal information to receive free gift cards. In some of these emails, scammers impersonate legitimate companies like Starbucks, Costco, or Amazon and promise gift cards to loyal customers that have been supporting their business throughout the pandemic. They may also use pop-up ads or send text messages with links saying you were randomly selected as the winner for a prize.
What to do? Do not open it. Instead, mark it as Spam or Junk. However, if you opened the email, do not click on any links.
5. Fake Donation Requests
Typically, 40% of all charitable donations are received during the last few weeks of the year. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many organizations had to cancel their usual fundraising events and awareness campaigns and are now inviting donors to support online.
What to do? Avoid spontaneous donation decisions to unfamiliar organizations. Responsible organizations will welcome a gift tomorrow as much as they do today. Where possible, donate to the charity through their website and use a credit card.
FILE THIS UNDER...INTERESTING
Everybody understands that advertising platforms like Google and Facebook collect personal information. You’ve heard us remind you continuously that to some degree or another we're always being tracked, especially when it comes to what we do online, but this may give some of us pause.
The "Covid-19 Mobility Report" is what Google is calling the reports which detail the change in travel patterns due to social distancing across six categories, including Retail & Recreation, Grocery & Pharmacy, Parks, Transit Stations, Workplaces, and Residential. Seriously, Check It Out.
According to the company, the data comes from people who have turned on the Location History feature “voluntarily”. We’ve recommended you turn that feature off whenever possible, but evidently --at least based on this data set--most people leave it on.
Sooo, if Google can break the data down by county, is it also capable of breaking it down by household?
Although Google SAYS it only gathers location data in mass, it clearly knows when you're home and when you leave home. It knows when you run to the store or the park. It knows where you work and how far you travel to get there. It knows where your neighbor works and whether they're following the government's guidelines as well.
Like we said, IN-TER-EST-ING
Everybody understands that advertising platforms like Google and Facebook collect personal information. You’ve heard us remind you continuously that to some degree or another we're always being tracked, especially when it comes to what we do online, but this may give some of us pause.
The "Covid-19 Mobility Report" is what Google is calling the reports which detail the change in travel patterns due to social distancing across six categories, including Retail & Recreation, Grocery & Pharmacy, Parks, Transit Stations, Workplaces, and Residential. Seriously, Check It Out.
According to the company, the data comes from people who have turned on the Location History feature “voluntarily”. We’ve recommended you turn that feature off whenever possible, but evidently --at least based on this data set--most people leave it on.
Sooo, if Google can break the data down by county, is it also capable of breaking it down by household?
Although Google SAYS it only gathers location data in mass, it clearly knows when you're home and when you leave home. It knows when you run to the store or the park. It knows where you work and how far you travel to get there. It knows where your neighbor works and whether they're following the government's guidelines as well.
Like we said, IN-TER-EST-ING
