Phone Scammers Have No Shortage of Targets

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Scammers call as a grandchild with a bad crackly phone connection in another country on vacation hoping the victim will believe they are their grandchild who needs to get bailed out of jail. Other scammers call informing the victim they won the sweepstakes or lottery and only need them to pay by credit card or wire money to insure the winnings end up in their back account.

Sometimes the caller will say they are a lawyer from a foreign land and a long lost relative just died and left a large amount of money that desperately needs to get into the victims back account. All that needs to happen is the victim coughs up bank routing numbers and authorizes a cash transfer. And if the phone ever rings and it’s someone telling you they are selling stocks, bonds or gold or can get you a tremendous rate on your mortgage, chances are they are just another scammer trying to separate you from your money.

Amazingly, Alexander Graham Bells little invention has allowed scammers for well over 100 years to use his tool of technology to fleece unsuspecting citizens, and rob them of their personal security. Just like the internet today, people believe that the anonymous person on the other end of the communication is who they say they are.

The naïve and false belief to trust the authoritative figure who informs you that you either stand to gain or lose something based on your compliance is a tried and true method of scammers.

Really, the key to preventing phone scammer: hang up.

Robert Siciliano personal and home security specialist to Home Security Source discussing home security and identity theft on TBS Movie and a Makeover. Disclosures.

Defense Begins in Petit Home Invasions

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It’s as hard for me to write this as it is for you to read this. In one of the worst publically known home invasions of the 21st century one defendant has received the death penalty while the other is facing the same fate. Joshua Komisarjevsky, confessed to the attack on the home and family of Dr. William Petit, and the murders of his wife, Jennifer Hawke-Petit, 48, and girls Michaela Petit, 11 and Hayley Petit, 17.

The 2 home invaders met in jail and after they got out one night set out to rob some people at ATMs and ultimately landed at the Petit home. The father was sitting on his sun porch when the two men came in and Komisarjevsky hit him with a baseball bat.

Then both men went up stairs to tie up mom and two kids. A short while later one of them escorted the mother to the bank to take out $15,000.00.

When they came back each of the men sexually assaulted the mom and a daughter. To cover up the DNA evidence they debated to burn the house down killing the victims and destroy the evidence.

After what Komisarjevsky described as a brief argument they agreed and poured gasoline all over the house. The mom and her daughters died of smoke inhalation.

In his confession Komisarjevsky stated “They did every, they did, they did what they were supposed to do. There was no reason for them to die. They were compliant the entire way, both you know, very bright young ladies.”

We can “what if” all day long and play out different endings as a result of actions or inaction taken. I’ll simply offer this; while compliance is how most of us are raised and is necessary in a civilized society, sometimes noncompliance is in order in an uncivilized situation.

Robert Siciliano personal and home security specialist to Home Security Source discussing burglar proofing your home on Fox Boston. Disclosures.