A thief got ahold of woman’s debit card information and raided her bank account. This true story is described in a recent St. Louis Post-Dispatch article. Thieves can wire money over the Internet and get the cash by showing a false ID, says the article. This kind of fraud is more common than people think.…
If you were out in the middle of nowhere for three days or stuck at home due to man made or natural disaster, what would you need to survive? Here are numerous items that are essential for survival. Keep in mind this is a basic list that might be proactively packed in a “go bag”…
It’s easy for millions of passwords to be stolen via hacking into Facebook, Twitter and Gmail accounts: It recently happened because malware was unknowingly downloaded into computers worldwide that extracted log-in information. The data was then directed to the hackers’ server, which was tracked to the Netherlands. A password is never 100 percent secure, but…
After Santa heads back to the North Pole, there will be many new devices in the hands of good girls and boys that will be targeted by criminals. With the enjoyment of these cool devices should come top-notch protection for them, as they can be vulnerable to a number of malicious threats. Laptop or PC…
Unfortunately, cheaper, older security motion detectors can’t distinguish between a 150 pound man and a squirrel or even some papers blowing around. This causes police and firefighters to respond to false alarms. False alarms caused by the elements or animals are common (in the millions each year) and occur with business as well as residential…
With the holiday season in full swing, this is a busy time for a lot of us with parties, gift buying and possibly even figuring out travel arrangements. With all there is to do, many of us will turn to online shopping to help beat the crowds, find deals and not have to worry about…
What kind of debit card do you have? The two types are direct debit cards and deferred debit cards. Direct debit Use of a PIN (personal identification number), which the bank issues or you choose. Card purchases require entering the PIN, and money is taken out of your checking account on the spot. PIN-based transactions…
If your tax refund doesn’t come, don’t be quick to blame the government. Tax refund fraud is very common. The IRS pays billions in fake refunds. One well-organized tax refund crime ring that spanned several years, and that involved stolen Social Security numbers and birthdates, scored well into the millions of dollars, costing the Treasury…
Burglars aren’t dumb: They’re apparently enlisting the help of accomplices to seek out homes that are easy targets, then marking them with stickers.The stickers are small and inconspicuous, placed on front doors, being missed by the actual residents. But in case the resident notices the sticker, the burglars are thinking ahead: The stickers say “24…
A homeowner’s video surveillance caught a 60-year-old man—a real estate agent—stealing women’s clothes from the house for sale while the owner and his wife were out of town. The homeowner presented police with the video, leading to the arrest of and burglary charge for Stephen Brumme. Brumme had arrived at the house in advance of…
