Holiday Awareness

01 Dec Holiday Awareness

The holidays are full of distractions, security concerns and an overall lack of our ability to seemingly juggle it all. Crooks, scammers and thieves know this and use it to their advantage.

Top 2018 Holiday Security Concerns

1. Packages on your door stoop
2. Presents visible through your windows
3. Break-ins
4. Email and Phone scams

If you did your shopping on Black Friday and Cyber Monday, chances are you have packages heading your way. If you are like most people, you a probably at work when the delivery driver has your packages. Here are some ideas to make sure you get your goods.

Make sure if your porch is visible to the street that you have something for packages to hide behind like a planter or box. There are new technologies that are becoming available like a receiving lockbox on your porch that accepts and secures your package. The surefire way to thwart the neighborhood porch shopping is to receive your packages at work or another secured receipt site. If you require a signature, you can better control your receipt.

Of course, you can install a smart doorbell and catch the thieves on video, but they still have your stuff. Here is the US Postal Service Page on Suspicious packages

Also, don’t show off your presents to the whole neighborhood. If you can see gifts and packages through your windows, keep your blinds or curtains pulled. Or move them out of the line of site. There is absolutely no reason to risk a break in because the prize is too tempting. (Don’t leave packages visible in your car either.

Break-ins are another concern this time of year. Make sure to keep your home well lit outside during the dark months. Illuminate lurk-able corners and stay in touch with your neighbors about suspicious activity. Many neighborhoods are using technology to network with each other and share criminal activity.

CYBER SCAM ALERT

Speaking of distractions…Your eMail is the perfect place to get you while your guard is down. A surefire way to infect your computer is to click on the wrong link. What better way to get you to click than to pretend you are FedEX and tell somebody that their address is incorrect or their package is delayed. There have been a number of Phishing campaigns using the brand names you use everyday as a means of getting specific information from you or to infect your computer or device for other purposes. Our number one rule is DON’T CLICK on anything. Unless you know who and what you are expecting to receive like “a PDF from Sue in dispatch”, assume that someone may be trying to fake you out. There have been a number of these emails that include a document that will hopefully be caught by your virus software and quarantined.

It is better to slow down and use email cautiously that to compromise yourself or your employer’s computer systems.