It’s easier than ever to stay in touch with people you know — including the ones you really don’t really want to hear from.
Growing numbers of men and women report being pursued by stalkers via
cell phones, Internet services, GPS systems, wireless video cameras,
and other technologies, according to law-enforcement agencies and
victims’ groups.
Technology is more widely available, and so stalkers have more tools
to use against their victims.
Of the 3.4 million Americans who reported being stalked between 2005
and 2006 — up from 1.4 million annual cases a decade earlier — according
to the U.S. Department of Justice, 27% reported being cyberstalked, or
stalked through computer programs, while one in 13 said their stalkers
used tracking devices to monitor their locations.
E-mail and instant messaging are the most common stalking methods,
according to the Justice Department— 83% of victims reported getting
unwanted e-mails from their stalkers and 35% reported getting instant
messages.
Six percent said that their stalkers stole their identities to open
or close financial accounts in their names, steal funds from their
existing accounts, or make unauthorized charges to their credit cards.
One victim recalls a man whose ex-girlfriend infiltrated his computer
via a Wi-Fi account and repeatedly posted content onto his Web site in
his name.
High-tech stalking comes in many forms:
• Caller ID. The Caller ID systems on many new
phones reveal callers’ names and locations. Using an online phone
directory, a stalker can pinpoint a victim’s new place of residence.
• Cell phones. Whenever a victim’s cell phone is in analog mode, a radio scanner can intercept it.
• GPS services. A Wisconsin woman wondered about her
ex-boyfriend’s ability to continually find her whenever she was driving
her car. Then she discovered the global positioning device he had
installed beneath her car’s front grill. Many stalkers use these
devices, which pinpoint carriers’ exact locations,
“Every cell phone has its own identifier, so you can theoretically
know the location someone is in,” says Marling. “It’s definitely a
growing problem.”
• Spyware. A Michigan man remotely installed a
software program on his estranged wife’s computer; the program would
e-mail him daily notifications listing all the sites she visited and the
contents of every e-mail she sent or received. Stalkers can also use
keystroke loggers, which record every key typed and thus disclose
passwords, PINs, Web sites, and e-mails.
• Cameras. Cameras today are more powerful, less
expensive, smaller, and easier than ever to secretly place inside a
wall. A New Jersey man monitored his ex-wife daily through a video
camera in her bedroom.
• Public databases. A surprising amount of
information about individuals is public record. For example, the court
system of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, publishes the names and
addresses of individuals who obtain protective orders.
• Headers on fax documents. One woman fled an
abusive partner, but had to send him papers. She faxed her attorney
papers from her shelter’s fax machine, and he in turn faxed them to the
abusive partner’s attorney, who passed them along to him. The woman’s
partner spotted the shelter location on the fax head and tracked her
down, forcing her to relocate a second time.
• E-mail and instant messages. Stalkers send their
victims abusive messages. They can also impersonate their victims by
sending out messages in the victims’ names. One abuser changed his
wife’s e-mail password and sent threatening messages to himself from her
e-mail account. Then he took the messages to the police and convinced
them to arrest her.
Defending against Stalkers.
Stalkers who use e-mail and other electronic means are sometimes
harder for law enforcement to stop. An executive director
of the Stalking Resource Center, notes that many investigators don’t
know how to prove that a stalker’s e-mails came from the stalker —
consequently, they don’t count e-mails as evidence.
Technology can also protect victims, however. The Internet is a means
to find counselors, employment agencies, housing opportunities,
shelters, and support services. It also provides forums for victims to
share their stories with each other. Meanwhile, communities have become much better-equipped to confront
stalking. In the last 10 years, new programs for training law
enforcement officers, new victims’ support services, and tougher laws
have all been introduced.
The Justice Department report offers some advice for keeping safe from stalkers.
• Know who calls you. Use per call (*67) when you get an unknown call, and make sure your phone has caller ID.
• Keep your contact information private. Clear your name from any database that might be published or sold from one company to another.
• Do not send any confidential information via a personal computer.
Use a library computer, which a stalker will not be able to track. Destroying as much personal information as
possible and routinely check your computer for viruses and intruder
programs.
Be smarter than your stalker.
Sunday, May 31, 2015
Martial arts for Self Defence
A few days ago, I was having a discussion about martial arts with friend in the break room. The conversion turned to martial arts as a self defense technique and he foolishly stated that his method of Jiu Jitsu was the best technique for self defense. Aside from that statement pushing all my wrong buttons. I just had state my protest.
I'm not going to get into all the intricacies of the differences in the different martial arts and their purposes here but, I want all my readers to know that I am firm believer in Jiu Jitsu and that I am a regular practitioner of Jiu Jitsu and have nothing against it. I just don't believe that Jiu Jitsu is a practical form of self defense for the average person regardless of what the sign in the dojo says. As a trained Ju jitsu practitioner, I can understand how they could perceive it as a form of self defense but, I cannot see it that way for the everyday soccer mom with three kids in a parking lot between two cars can defend herself against a 200 lb man with ground grappling and an arm bar while she's fearing for life and running on adrenaline.
I believe that true self defense is knowledge to avoid or escaping an attack, not engaging or attacking the attacker and having the ability to fight if need be. To some, that may seem like cowardice by avoiding any physical confrontation. To some, it may be a matter of machismo overriding civility or logic, but the ultimate goal of personal security is self preservation, your safety and security. It is not victory over the evil or enforcement of your rights.
The point of this post is two fold. Martial arts is not the only method self defense, and 2, every type of martial art has it's purpose. That purpose is is not always self defense.
I'm not going to get into all the intricacies of the differences in the different martial arts and their purposes here but, I want all my readers to know that I am firm believer in Jiu Jitsu and that I am a regular practitioner of Jiu Jitsu and have nothing against it. I just don't believe that Jiu Jitsu is a practical form of self defense for the average person regardless of what the sign in the dojo says. As a trained Ju jitsu practitioner, I can understand how they could perceive it as a form of self defense but, I cannot see it that way for the everyday soccer mom with three kids in a parking lot between two cars can defend herself against a 200 lb man with ground grappling and an arm bar while she's fearing for life and running on adrenaline.
I believe that true self defense is knowledge to avoid or escaping an attack, not engaging or attacking the attacker and having the ability to fight if need be. To some, that may seem like cowardice by avoiding any physical confrontation. To some, it may be a matter of machismo overriding civility or logic, but the ultimate goal of personal security is self preservation, your safety and security. It is not victory over the evil or enforcement of your rights.
The point of this post is two fold. Martial arts is not the only method self defense, and 2, every type of martial art has it's purpose. That purpose is is not always self defense.
New Credit Card Fraud
Do you remember the Target credit card breach in 2013? I do since my wife's credit card information was accessed and exploited. I didn't report it because apparently, the hackers were spending less than my wife was and my FICO score actually went up. All kidding aside, that breach was a turning point in the credit and banking industries. The Target breach finally brought the issue of how easy it is to steal credit card information to the forefront and got consumers made their voices heard.
Credit card companies, banks and retailers finally took action only because their bottom lines and reputations were affected, but more importantly, their profits and personal wallets. Until then, their focus on point of sale transactions was based only speed and convenience driven by customer demand and ease of use with no thought safety or security because, that, would of made the Point of Sale transaction "take to long" and "inconvenience the customer".
Now that the damage has been done and millions of consumers have had their their information stolen and have had to pay for bogus charges, the credit card companies have come up with a new method to supposedly prevent future attacks. While that may sound like a good move in the right direction, keep in mind that regardless of what actions credit card companies, banks, and retailer do to remedy the problem, the basis of their response will always be grounded on profitability and convenience, not security. How do I know this? Simple, These industries are focused on profits, not security. They know that consumers will always choose convenience and speed over security. That can be proven by the fact that hackers and information thieves always target the convenience based POS transactions.
After the Tearget breach, credit card companies came up with several alternatives to standard credit card POS transaction methods. Alternatives such as RFID (Radio Frequency Identification), Bluetooth enabled cards, Flagship Merchant Services System, and other methods have been suggested. That's all fine and dandy but the original catalyst has not changed at all. All of the new suggestions are still based on convenience based on the demand of the customer and profitability, not securit since all of those suggested methods have known security flaws.
I feel that the industries affected are well of these current security flaws but will continue fleecing the consumer by trying to show that they care about your security by showing some effort to make changes that will supposedly make you safer. If this this case, hackers and ID thieves will simply shift their techniques to already known security flaws with these established technologies and continue to violate consumers.
To prove my point, many credit card companies and banks have made changes to their credit and debit cards by adding extra security features and other commonly used technologies to their procedures. That's all fine but, the card reading machine companies and retailer have not. So you may receive an unhackable super card from your credit card company or bank but, you may still have to use an easily hackable card reader at the store. Why? because the unhackable card readers cost the retailers money, money they're not ready to part with for your safety. And, card readers (skimmers), are easily installed in ATMs and gas pumps by hackers and ID thieves without the proprietors' knowledge. So, you may have a super unhackable credit or debit card but but get easily hacked and robbed by using that card at at convenience store ATM or gas pump with a skimmer.
Many of these new "hack proof cards" have already been issued and already in use by many of the credit card companies and banks but they won't be totally "hack proof" until late 2016 or later because the change to the new technology will cost retailers and banks money, money their not willing to part with until it affects their bottom line, profit. You saw how the banks blamed the credit card companies and the credit card companies blamed the banks after the Target breach. It was a simple matter of cost.
So what can you do to protect yourself in the mean time? Remember, cash is king, use cash whenever possible, avoid ATMs at businesses other than banks or reputable businesses, avoid using debit or gas cards at gas stations, learn what skimmers look like, use preloaded gift and credit cards with minimal amounts for online purchases, remember that just because you have a "secure" credit card doesn't mean the card reader is secure, get a credit monitoring service.
Credit card companies, banks and retailers finally took action only because their bottom lines and reputations were affected, but more importantly, their profits and personal wallets. Until then, their focus on point of sale transactions was based only speed and convenience driven by customer demand and ease of use with no thought safety or security because, that, would of made the Point of Sale transaction "take to long" and "inconvenience the customer".
Now that the damage has been done and millions of consumers have had their their information stolen and have had to pay for bogus charges, the credit card companies have come up with a new method to supposedly prevent future attacks. While that may sound like a good move in the right direction, keep in mind that regardless of what actions credit card companies, banks, and retailer do to remedy the problem, the basis of their response will always be grounded on profitability and convenience, not security. How do I know this? Simple, These industries are focused on profits, not security. They know that consumers will always choose convenience and speed over security. That can be proven by the fact that hackers and information thieves always target the convenience based POS transactions.
After the Tearget breach, credit card companies came up with several alternatives to standard credit card POS transaction methods. Alternatives such as RFID (Radio Frequency Identification), Bluetooth enabled cards, Flagship Merchant Services System, and other methods have been suggested. That's all fine and dandy but the original catalyst has not changed at all. All of the new suggestions are still based on convenience based on the demand of the customer and profitability, not securit since all of those suggested methods have known security flaws.
I feel that the industries affected are well of these current security flaws but will continue fleecing the consumer by trying to show that they care about your security by showing some effort to make changes that will supposedly make you safer. If this this case, hackers and ID thieves will simply shift their techniques to already known security flaws with these established technologies and continue to violate consumers.
To prove my point, many credit card companies and banks have made changes to their credit and debit cards by adding extra security features and other commonly used technologies to their procedures. That's all fine but, the card reading machine companies and retailer have not. So you may receive an unhackable super card from your credit card company or bank but, you may still have to use an easily hackable card reader at the store. Why? because the unhackable card readers cost the retailers money, money they're not ready to part with for your safety. And, card readers (skimmers), are easily installed in ATMs and gas pumps by hackers and ID thieves without the proprietors' knowledge. So, you may have a super unhackable credit or debit card but but get easily hacked and robbed by using that card at at convenience store ATM or gas pump with a skimmer.
Many of these new "hack proof cards" have already been issued and already in use by many of the credit card companies and banks but they won't be totally "hack proof" until late 2016 or later because the change to the new technology will cost retailers and banks money, money their not willing to part with until it affects their bottom line, profit. You saw how the banks blamed the credit card companies and the credit card companies blamed the banks after the Target breach. It was a simple matter of cost.
So what can you do to protect yourself in the mean time? Remember, cash is king, use cash whenever possible, avoid ATMs at businesses other than banks or reputable businesses, avoid using debit or gas cards at gas stations, learn what skimmers look like, use preloaded gift and credit cards with minimal amounts for online purchases, remember that just because you have a "secure" credit card doesn't mean the card reader is secure, get a credit monitoring service.
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