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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?
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TIPS & ADVICE

BEWARE OF THE SEASONAL SHOPPING SCAMS
Scammers love the holiday season, unfortunately, its not for the celebration of Christ but to steal from you. The two most common scams are non-delivery and non-payment crimes so be prudent.
Non-delivery scam - a buyer pays for goods or services they find online, but never receives them.
Non-payment scam - a seller provides promised goods or services, but never gets paid in return.
The runner-ups are auction frauds, where a product is misrepresented on an auction site, and gift card frauds, when a seller asks you to pay with a pre-paid card.
So here some short but sweet, straight to the point tips to help expose scammers during the holiday season and beyond:
Scammers love the holiday season, unfortunately, its not for the celebration of Christ but to steal from you. The two most common scams are non-delivery and non-payment crimes so be prudent.
Non-delivery scam - a buyer pays for goods or services they find online, but never receives them.
Non-payment scam - a seller provides promised goods or services, but never gets paid in return.
The runner-ups are auction frauds, where a product is misrepresented on an auction site, and gift card frauds, when a seller asks you to pay with a pre-paid card.
So here some short but sweet, straight to the point tips to help expose scammers during the holiday season and beyond:
- Secure all financial accounts with strong passwords or passphrases. We’ve always recommended using different passwords for each financial account, as well as multifactor authentication, whenever available.
- Buy directly from secure and reputable websites. Avoid unfamiliar sites, especially if they’re offering unrealistic discounts on brand-name merchandise.
- Before making a purchase, verify the legitimacy of buyers or sellers. If you’re using an online marketplace or auction website, check those feedback ratings. Be wary of any buyers and sellers with lots of unfavorable ratings or no ratings at all.
- Credit cards provide several layers of security against fraud and are typically the safest way to conduct online shopping. Some companies even provide single use numbers for online shopping.
- Avoid sellers and websites that demand payment fully through gift cards — that’s a major red flag for fraud.

HOW CRACK-ABLE ARE YOU?
Brute-force hacking can crack an eight-character password in less than one hour, according to Hive Systems.
In a recently published research article, the security news firm says any password with less than seven characters can be brute-forced "INSTANTLY". Its findings show how more accessible and affordable cloud computing services make it simpler to crack passwords than two years ago, when the company showed that a relatively strong, eight-character password was crackable in eight hours.
While password managers are the best bet for protecting passwords, research also showed that a 12-character password created by a password manager could take some 3,000 YEARS to brute-force crack. Check out this password table of its findings on password-character combinations and their vulnerabilities to brute-force hacks.
Brute-force hacking can crack an eight-character password in less than one hour, according to Hive Systems.
In a recently published research article, the security news firm says any password with less than seven characters can be brute-forced "INSTANTLY". Its findings show how more accessible and affordable cloud computing services make it simpler to crack passwords than two years ago, when the company showed that a relatively strong, eight-character password was crackable in eight hours.
While password managers are the best bet for protecting passwords, research also showed that a 12-character password created by a password manager could take some 3,000 YEARS to brute-force crack. Check out this password table of its findings on password-character combinations and their vulnerabilities to brute-force hacks.