Auditioning For The Bachelorette

/in , /by

I know plenty of people who openly love trash TV and others who say it’s their guilty pleasure. Every time I see trash TV on in my house I remind my significant other it’s making her dumber one IQ point for every minute of consumption. So after an hour of TV her IQ is at about 40.

Turns out the auditioning for the bachelorette meets similar standards I’d probably put in place when little predators start swarming my house.

Contestants for the popular ABC show The Bachelorette have to go through a grueling background check that includes a six-hour test with 1200 questions, a session with a psychologist, blood and alcohol testing. I LOVE THAT!!!!!!!! I’m sure the motivations of the producers are more in line with good TV and reducing liability, but it’s a good start.

Questions like “Do you love your mother”  are part of the 1200. That’s a good question. I’d also ask “If you date my daughter would you do anything to her that would make you fear a walk in freezer and a wood chipper?” That’s a good question too.

Next they sit you down in front of 8 producers who grill you. That would be my mom, dad, dads wife, me, sig other, and my 3 biggest meanest burliest biker friends. Preferably the ones with scars on their faces.

Then they do a blood and urine test for drugs and alcohol and sexually transmitted diseases. And finally a psychologist interviews you.

I have a whole new respect for trash TV.

Robert Siciliano is a Personal Security Expert and Adviser to Intelius.com. For more information see Intelius at Date Check to reduce your chances of encountering a bad guy. See him discussing dating security on E! True Hollywood Stories. (Disclosures)

Home Invasion Was ‘Worst of the Worst’

/in , , /by

A woman and her boyfriend and 2 other people robbed 5 people during a home-invasion robbery. The woman was given the maximum sentence of 19 years and four months in prison.

She was convicted of robbery, burglary, making a criminal threat and assault with caustic chemicals. The judge said “As robberies go this case is the worst of the worst,” The judge called it a cruel and callous, said the Prosecutor.

The boyfriend tied up five victims, doused them in lighter fluid and threatened to set them ablaze. One of the victims was sexually assaulted.

Predators don’t play by the same rules as you or I do. Their thought process is one that revolves around controlling others and manipulation. They take and take and what they give back is misery.

Locking your doors isn’t enough. Locking your windows isn’t enough. In order to prevent a crime like this the homeowner needs a comprehensive home security review. Bring in the local police to give your home a once over. Invite a local locksmith to determine what the best locks for your doors are.

Call a home alarm installer to discuss your home security. Consider taking it up a notch and installing home security cameras. Consider a do it yourself wireless home alarm system or hire a professional. But please, whatever you do, do something. The worst thing you can do is nothing.

Robert Siciliano personal security expert to Home Security Source discussing home invasions on the Gordon Elliot Show. Disclosures

Baseball Coach Listed as A Sex Offender

/in , , /by

In  Ostego Michigan a local summer baseball league coach was been removed from his position Friday after school officials found out he was listed on the Michigan State Sex Offender Registry.

He was coaching for a week when am aware parent notified the school, he was a sex offender from 1996. As a parent, you should be the one notifying school officials because you are aware of these issues. You can do a search on “sex offender registry” to locate those in your area and check out Neighborhood Watch.

The parent telling the school shows a flaw in the schools system of effectively vetting out someone who has a past of inappropriate behavior with children. The school district went on to say they screen volunteers in the hundreds of background checks they do his may have been overlooked. What is also a possibility is he lied on his application which skewered the results.

Officials point to the sex offender putting his name alongside his father’s name on the application as his father may have some ties to the league. This may have been done to confuse the background check process.

If you are a sex offender, and you have been prosecuted for something you did to a kid, what the heck could possibly be your motivation work want to work alongside kids, and possible discovered? There’s no way to rationalize irrational behavior.  I think these kids and their parents dodged a bullet.

That parent who brought to to the attention of the district is a hero.

Robert Siciliano is a Personal Security Expert and Adviser to Intelius.com. For more information see Intelius at Sex Offender Check to reduce your chances of encountering a bad guy. See him discussing personal security on NBC Boston. (Disclosures)

Sex Offenders and Predators and Criminals Oh My!

/in , /by

The wizard in the Wizard of Oz wasn’t so much a wizard at all. But in the end he did have some sage advice that he bestowed upon Dorothy to give her direction and guidance. I’m no wizard either. But I have enough of a clue that it might benefit you from reading these posts here and there.

Anyone who follows my posts knows I discuss numerous issues revolving around personal security. My fascination with the bad guy and what you need to do to protect yourself is what gets me out of bed every day. I don’t worry so much, but I’m concerned. I see news reports every single day of people of all ages being violated in ways that bother me to the point of having to act. And there seems to be no end to it.

I feel that if I don’t do something about it then who will? Fortunately there are companies that I’m grateful to work with that support my beliefs and provide products and services to mitigate any harm that might come to you. So they help me spread the message and I thank you for coming back to learn and when needed, supporting them.

There are a few issues that I tap into every week that there is a ton to write about and unfortunately the issues will never go away. Sex offenders make the news multiple times daily and I could write 100 articles about them. They attack children and often attack women, and sometimes men. Children and their parents, elderly and women on the dating scene are readers I want to educate.

I find that predators naturally go after those who may be considered a bit more vulnerable or are often entering situations where they are more vulnerable. Either way, my goal is to empower the reader and provide them with options and solutions so they don’t end up a victim.

Going forward you will see numerous posts on sex offenders, who they are and where they are, dating in all its forms and how to protect yourself, criminals in our society and who they have access to and how to protect yourself from them. This will be a constant beating of the drum that at times may be repetitive, but repetition as they say is definitely the mother of skill.

I always appreciate your feedback and comments. Thank you so much for your time and attention, and please keep your head up and pay attention.

Robert Siciliano is a Personal Security Expert and Adviser to Intelius.com. For more information see Intelius at Sex Offender Check and Date Check and Neighborhood Watch to reduce your chances of encountering a bad guy. See him discussing Safe Personal Dating on Tyra. (Disclosures)

10 Ways to Prevent Social Media Scams

/in , , , , /by

The trouble with social media revolves around identity theft, brand hijacking and privacy issues.  The opportunity social media creates for criminals is to “friend” their potential victims in order to create a false sense of trust and use that against their victims in phishing or other scams.

It was big news when someone had their Facebook account jacked by someone who impersonated the victim, claiming to have lost their wallet in the UK and begging for a money wire. Now it’s old news, but it’s still happening.

  • Register your full name and those of your spouse and kids on the most trafficked social media sites. If your name is already gone, include your middle initial, a period or a hyphen. You can do this manually or by using a very cost effective service called Knowem.com
  • Get free alerts. Set up Google alerts for your name and kids names and get an email every time someone’s name name pops up online. You want to see if someone is talking about you or using your name.
  • Discuss social media with your kids. Make sure they aren’t providing their “friends” with personal information that would compromise their security or your families.
  • Monitor what they do online. Don’t sit in the dark hoping they are acting appropriately online. Be prepared to not like what you see.
  • Maintain updated security. Whether hardware or software, anti-virus or critical security patches, make sure you are up to date.
  • Lock down settings. Most social networks have privacy settings that need to be administered to the highest level.
  • Always delete emails you receive in social media from those who you don’t know. I’m messaged all the time by scammers and I’m sure you are too.
  • Don’t enter all the “25 most amazing things about you” or whatever other games that extract your personal information. Nothing good can come from that.
  • Always log off social media sites when you walk away from the PC. If you are ever at someone else’s home or on a public PC, this habit will save lots of aggravation. My sister-in-law, a Boston Bruins fan, left her Facebook open on the family PC. I changed her Facebook picture to the Philly Flyers and wrote Go Phillys! as her status. Bruins lost that night. I blame her.
  • Do not activate geolocation services that tell the world your every move. Nothing good can come out of allowing anyone in the world to stalk your every move.

Robert Siciliano personal security expert to Home Security Source discussing Facebook Jacking on CNN. Disclosures.

Why You Need to Pay Attention to Credit Card Statements

/in , /by

Despite what silly James Bond-esque credit card commercials may imply, credit card companies don’t really protect you to the degree you expect. If a credit card company detects irregular spending on your credit card, they may freeze your account or call to verify your identity. While these measures do help secure your card to an extent, but they cannot prevent or detect all types of credit card fraud.

The Federal Trade Commission recently filed a lawsuit describing a criminal enterprise responsible for “micro charges,” fraudulent charges ranging from 20 cents to $10, to as many as one million credit cards since approximately 2006. Because the amounts were low, most of the fraud went unnoticed by cardholders. Money mules were used to divert the funds to Eastern European countries. (“Money mules” are typically individuals who are recruited to assist in a criminal enterprise via help wanted advertisements on job placement websites. In this case, the mules believed they were applying to be financial services managers.) These mules opened numerous LLCs and bank accounts. They also set up websites with toll free numbers, creating an apparently legitimate web presence. Thanks to this facade, the websites were granted merchant status, allowing them to process credit card orders.

The victims of this scam would see the fictional merchant’s name and toll free number on their credit card statements. If they attempted to dispute a charge, the toll free numbers would go to voicemail or be disconnected. Most frustrated consumers may not bother to take the additional step of disputing a 20 cent charge with the credit card company.

The money mules involved in this scam have been located, but the true scammers have yet to be identified.

If you fail to recognize and dispute unauthorized transactions on your credit card statements, you take responsibility for the fraudulent charges. While 20 cents may not seem worth the bother, these seemingly minor charges are certainly funding criminal activity, and perhaps even terrorism. So take the time to scrutinize those charges every since month.

Robert Siciliano, personal security adviser to Just Ask Gemalto, discusses credit card fraud on NBC Boston. (Disclosures)

Could Your Neighbor be a Grim Sleeper?

/in , , , /by

Serial killer “Grim Sleeper” was captured in LA. Lonnie David Franklin Jr. was at one time was an employee for the LAPD. The Los Angeles Police Department had been hunting a man who had stalked South Los Angeles since 1985, killing at least 10 women. “Franklin allegedly killed seven women between 1985 and 1988, when his crimes seemed to abruptly stop, authorities say. The slayings resumed with three more between 2002 and 2007, police said. The Grim Sleeper serial killer had a lengthy criminal history stretching over four decades but was never sent to prison despite calls by law enforcement officials for tough sentences, according to Los Angeles County court records” It’s always very disappointing when criminals are let out only to commit another crime. It’s even more disappointing when the system enables these same criminals by giving them lean sentences or letting before their sentence is up. According to the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics “In 2008, over 7.3 million people were on probation, in jail or prison, or on parole at year-end — 3.2% of all U.S. adult residents or 1 in every 31 adults.”  2,304,115 were incarcerated in U.S. prisons and jails in 2008 There is an old saying born of motorcycle gangs called “one percenters”.  The theory is 1% of all people come out of their momma just bad. According to these stats, it may actually be 3.2 percent.

Robert Siciliano is a Personal Security Expert and Adviser to Intelius.com. For more information see Intelius at Criminal Check to reduce your chances of encountering a bad guy. See him discussing self defense on Youtube.  (Disclosures)

Giving Your Credit Card to a Hotel? Watch Your Statements.

/in , , , /by

Personally, I don’t particularly enjoy staying in hotels. Sure, after a long day of travel, the hotel is a relief, but in most cases, I’d much rather sleep in my own bed. Criminal hackers, on the other hand, love hotels.

According to a recent study, 38% of all credit card breaches occur in hotels. Despite several high profile breaches that recently affected payment processors and banks, the financial services industry only accounts for 19% of breaches. Retailers came in third at 14%, and restaurants fourth at 13%.

Over the past five years or so, I’ve noticed a trend in which criminals go after the most likely targets, and those victims beef up their defenses in response. So the bad guys move on to the next most likely target – one that hasn’t learned from others’ mistakes.

Hotels are easy targets because they are all credit card-based. It is possible to reserve a room without providing a credit card number, but they don’t make it easy. And hotels themselves certainly aren’t fortresses designed to keep bad guys out. They’re designed to be open and inviting, with, at best, a bellman whose focus is assisting guests rather than guarding the front door. Maybe that mentality exists in hotels’ IT security departments, too.

The root of the issue is the hotel industry’s insufficient security measures to prevent data breaches. Many rely on older point of sale terminals and outdated operating systems, which are more vulnerable to hackers. When the recession hit, many hotels cut back and decided to hold off on upgrades. While their defenses were down, hackers slithered into their networks to steal guests’ personal financial data. Once thieves have accessed this data, they can clone cards with the stolen numbers and use them to make unauthorized charges.

As a consumer, your only recourse is to pay close attention to every single penny charged to your credit card, and dispute any fraudulent or incorrect transactions, no matter how small. Check your statements frequently and be sure to dispute all unauthorized charges within two billing cycles, or 60 days.

Canada and Mexico have adopted smart cards, which use “chip and PIN” technology, making the credit card data useless to potential identity thieves. Eventually we may see the adoption of smart cards in the U.S., which would put an end to this madness.

Robert Siciliano, personal security adviser to Just Ask Gemalto, discusses hackers hacking hotels on CNBC. (Disclosures)

“Grim Sleeper” Gets Nabbed

/in , , , , , , /by

In La La Land aka Los Angeles where everyone is a waiter or waitress and wants to be Tom Cruise  or Julia Roberts, they captured a serial killer dubbed “Grim Sleeper” named as such due to the fact there was a lull in his murderous killing spree.

The Los Angeles Police Department had been hunting the man who had stalked South Los Angeles since 1985, killing at least 10 women. Lonnie David Franklin Jr. was at one time was an employee for the LAPD. Detectives pulled DNA from the crime scenes and had the information for years.

Recently the LAPD arrested his son for an unrelated charge. From that arrest they pulled his DNA, (I don’t know why) and it was a partial match to the DNA found at the crime scenes in the 80’s. This is called “familial DNA”, like father/son, mother/daughter or twins. However the son was too young to commit the crimes back then so detectives searched out his social network and on a hunch determined his father would more than likely be the closest match to the sons DNA. Based on where dad lived in proximity to the murders, dad fit the killers profile.

Detectives followed him to a pizza joint and let him finish up then went in and grabbed a few hunks of crust and a drinking glass and did a DNA test on it and they found their match.

Real life “crime scene investigation” stuff. Law enforcement got their man. Nice to see the good guys win one.

The chance of you ever coming face to face with a serial killer is extremely slim. However, there is an extremely slim chance you’d ever get struck by lightning too. But I’ll bet you wouldn’t go climbing a metal flag pole in a lightning storm.

The key is to understand your options and know your strengths if you’re ever faced with an attacker. My favorite form of self defense is running away. Like Muhammad Ali would say “I’m too pretty”. Do you really want to get punched in the face? RUN!

Also take a self defense training program. The best self defense training technique is called “adrenal stress training”, learn as much about it as you can and find a course in your area.

Robert Siciliano personal security expert to Home Security Source discussing self defense on some cool station in Virginia. Disclosures.

Law enforcement officers keep tough watch on sex offenders

/in , , , , /by

In Colorado law enforcement officers are scouring the state to make sure sex offenders aren’t hiding from the law.

“Operation Sheperd launched into action this month. Mesa County Sheriff’s Office Deputies and Grand Junction Police Department Officers are crisscrossing Grand Junction to make sure registered sex offenders are living where they reported they are. These officials randomly visit homes of offenders, some of them convicted of molesting children. It’s all to keep strict tabs on these offenders, so that they don’t escape the watchful eye of police. “We do take the verification of addresses seriously, and we do continually check,” says the Grand Junction Police Department.”

Verifying addresses and keeping tabs on a sex offenders whereabouts always keeps sex offenders in check. It is important that local law enforcement always has tabs on them due to the nature of their crimes. We hear too often that sex offenders are released then repeat their behavior. It is unfortunately a part of their nature.

Even though law enforcement is doing their job, you need to continually scan the internet and seek out sex offenders in your neighborhoods.

“Operation Sheperd has captured 180 sex offenders who were not complying with their registry so far. Officers across Colorado have completed nearly 4,000 checks on offenders.”

Wow. Sex offenders often don’t register because they don’t want to be found or because they are living in an area where they aren’t allowed to be, such as near a school or park. Based on these numbers you should never simply trust that your new next door neighbor is “good”. Bad comes in many different faces.

Robert Siciliano is a Personal Security Expert and Adviser to Intelius.com. For more information see Intelius at Sex Offender Check to reduce your chances of encountering a bad guy. See him discussing personal security on NBC Boston. (Disclosures)