October 30, 2007 by Bruce Gregg.

Purse snatching is a crime of opportunity. You can eliminate that opportunity. Every female carrying a purse is a potential target. Senior citizens are especially susceptible to these criminals since they may not be readily able to defend themselves and pursue their assailants.

WHAT YOU CAN DO - Purse snatching is a crime that can be easily prevented when you take away the opportunity from the thief. Most purse-snatchers are juveniles under the age of 18, who are waiting for the next opportunity. When you hide the “prize” you protect yourself!

Suppose you are going shopping and waiting for the bus. You are by yourself and your purse is exposed and in open view. You already made two mistakes - you’re alone and your purse is vulnerable. Frankly, your personal safety might depend on NOT clinging to that purse, even though it seems a normal way to protect the contents. Grabbing and shoving that may take place can result in being injured. There are ways to protect yourself, however.

SHOP WITH A FRIEND, TRAVEL TOGETHER - The first precaution you can take is to go shopping with a friend - man or women. You’re safer when in the company of someone else. If you must be out at night alone, stay in well-lighted areas. Walk close to streetlights, staying well away from dark corners, alleys and building entrances.

HOW TO OUTSMART THE PURSE SNATCHER - When carrying a purse, women should have only 3 or 4 one-dollar bills placed inside. Credit cards, currency, driver’s license, keys and jewelry should be carried in a coat or sweater pocket, or concealed on your person to reduce the opportunity of large losses. If you carry a purse, don’t wrap the strap around your shoulder, neck or wrist. If your purse is grabbed, a strong strap will not yield easily and you may be injured. Some purse snatch victims have been thrown down and have received concussions and broken bones. Never carry anything more valuable than you can afford to lose. Always leave all unnecessary credit cards at home. When you shop and carry a purse, place it in your shopping bag. Never leave your purse on a store counter or in a shopping cart - even for a moment.

DON’T CARRY WEAPONS THAT CAN BE USED AGAINST YOU - You should carry a police whistle and a small flashlight on your key chain where they’re readily available. Make a habit to carry your key chain in a pocket - NOT in your purse. And you should never put your name and address on your house keys or car keys. This is a simple way of telling the thief who you are and where you live.

CALL THE POLICE IMMEDIATELY - Most victims are attacked from behind. They don’t get a good look at the attacker. And when a juvenile gets away with it once, he’ll try it again. If attacked, call the police immediately. Try to remember all details - help your police help you!

Recommended Product - Mace Pepper Spray - Combination of OC pepper, CN Tear Gas, and UV Identifying Dye.

Posted in Personal Safety | Print | No Comments »

October 24, 2007 by Bruce Gregg.

The use of your personal data such as your name, address, telephone number, credit card, and mother’s maiden name by other people is called identity theft, which is also known to be an identity fraud. It is the illegal use of your personality to commit crime or any illegal acts.

Usually, this crime is done to commit financial fraud or deception. Either it is using your name to buy something or obtaining it thought the use of your credit account and other personal security accounts.

By the use of your name, the identity theft gets a good service and all they left for you is the bill that your name will be paying.

Sometimes, the well-established citizens are the ones victimized by identity theft; it can also target some people who do not have that much account.

These identity thieves also use college students, the data and information about these students are much better and much easier to obtain. They use their names for application for credit cards and use it for criminal and illegal purposes.

Most college students do not care about their financial account and do not apply for these credit cards but will eventually receive credit card application on their mailbox.

Large business groups are the main target of these identity thieves. They usually find out before they apply for credits, they have history of non-payment of bills, which is actually done by these identity thieves.

Small businesses will be surprised once they apply for loan and denied of approval because of the pending loan that needs to be paid. This is every critical problem where in these small businesses have to pay the loan they did not purchase.

Almost everybody is possible to be victimized by these identity thieves. It is because of the modern technology that exists in the world today.

Transactions are made without face-to-face contact, transactions that require the name, address, contact number, security information and sometimes password. Using malicious software that are downloaded through websites, thieves are able to gets all these information.

This is how easy these thieves get the information they need. Once they got all the information they need, they will have all the possibilities to commit different financial and other related crimes.

These thieves use different identities to purchase something, gather different services, obtain bank account, apply for credit card, apply for loans and other government benefits and obtain money using the victims’ identity.

The major problem with this kind of crime is that the victim will be forced to clear all the transaction he or she has not made. In most cases, these thieves usually pretend to be the victims’ identity, obtaining all the necessary information including the victim’s security settings.

The funny thing, these transactions are from the knowledge of the owner but will be surprised to receive many bills and loans to be paid. The more that these thieves involve in these crimes the longer it is to repair the damage.

The damage done to the victim will bring difficulty in obtaining new jobs, applying as an employer, applying for credit cards and renting apartments.

However, this major problem can be resolved. Many companies offer identity theft insurance. Many people will have the privilege to obtain this insurance as an option in their home insurance policy.

It is now possible to detect the people that uses the personal data if have home insurance policy. By this means, the owner will have the knowledge on who are the thieves that tries to use their personal data.
Reports about the present situation of the accounts are given to the owner in regular basis. However, the owner may need to pay the service rendered.

The amount that is paid over to these identity theft insurance is huge. There are many debates about it but people prefer to pay it to have peace of mind.

It is better to pay the huge prize than to be worried about the security of your identity. These insurance will surely protect the account from the identity thieves. You do not need to worry if the accounts are secured by it.

Finding the best identity theft insurance is the first thing you need to do.

Posted in Personal Safety | Print | No Comments »

October 24, 2007 by Bruce Gregg.

Many law enforcement agencies will provide a free walk-thru of your property. The purpose of this is to identify any potential trouble spots and to determine what steps should be taken to improve the overall security of your property.

You can probably organize a ‘Block Survey’ and have the police sweep the entire block. Many law enforcement agencies are stretched pretty thin, so it could be a long wait. Sometimes off-duty police officers will do this work for a nominal fee.

A word of caution, however. There are many that will offer you a ‘free’ survey just so they can get the contact to try to sell you their security devices. A locksmith might try to sell you better locks, an alarm company one of their security systems, and so on. So use common sense.

Posted in Personal Safety | Print | No Comments »