National Night Out, "Heighten Crime Prevention Awareness" Aug.7th, 2018

WHAT IS NATIONAL NIGHT OUT?

National Night Out is an annual community-building campaign that promotes police-community partnerships and neighborhood camaraderie to make our neighborhoods safer, more caring places to live. National Night Out enhances the relationship between neighbors and law enforcement while bringing back a true sense of community. Furthermore, it provides a great opportunity to bring police and neighbors together under positive circumstances.

Millions of neighbors take part in National Night Out across thousands of communities from all fifty states, U.S. territories and military bases worldwide on the first Tuesday in August (Texas celebrates on the first Tuesday in October). Neighborhoods host block parties, festivals, parades, cookouts and various other community events with safety demonstrations, seminars, youth events, visits from emergency personnel, exhibits and much, much more.

Click on the link to see if your community is participating in the 2018 effort. * Some agencies incorporate this event with other programs.

NNO Map

Medicare: Scams involving new Medicare Cards

*Michigan Seniors started receiving new cards in July of 2018:

When you’re enrolled in Medicare, you’ll get your red, white, and blue Medicare card in the mail. If you're automatically enrolled, you'll get your red, white, and blue Medicare card in the mail 3 months before your 65th birthday or your 25th month of getting disability benefits. Your Medicare card shows that you have Medicare health insurance. It shows whether you have Part A (Hospital Insurance), Part B (Medical Insurance) or both, and it shows the date your coverage starts.
Be sure to carry your card with you when you’re away from home. Let your doctor, hospital, or other health care provider see your card when you need hospital, medical or other health services.

New Medicare cards are coming

Medicare is mailing new Medicare cards to all people with Medicare now. Find out more about when your card will mail.
View an example of the current card.

10 things to know about your new Medicare card

1. Your new card will automatically come to you. You don’t need to do anything as long as your address is up to date. If you need to update your address, visit your mySocial Security account.
2. Your new card will have a new Medicare Number that’s unique to you, instead of your Social Security Number. This will help to protect your identity. 
3. Your Medicare coverage and benefits will stay the same.
4. Mailing takes time. Your card may arrive at a different time than your friend’s or neighbor’s.
5. Your new card is paper, which is easier for many providers to use and copy.
6. Once you get your new Medicare card, destroy your old Medicare card and start using your new card right away.
7. If you’re in a Medicare Advantage Plan (like an HMO or PPO), your Medicare Advantage Plan ID card is your main card for Medicare—you should still keep and use it whenever you need care. And, if you have a Medicare drug plan, be sure to keep that card as well.  Even if you use one of these other cards, you also may be asked to show your new Medicare card, so keep it with you.
8. Doctors, other health care providers and facilities know it’s coming and will ask for your new Medicare card when you need care, so carry it with you.
9. Only give your new Medicare Number to doctors, pharmacists, other health care providers, your insurers, or people you trust to work with Medicare on your behalf.
10. If you forget your new card, you, your doctor or other health care provider may be able to look up your Medicare Number online.

Watch out for scams

Medicare will never call you uninvited and ask you to give us personal or private information to get your new Medicare Number and card. Scam artists may try to get personal information (like your current Medicare Number) by contacting you about your new card. If someone asks you for your information, for money, or threatens to cancel your health benefits if you don’t share your personal information, hang up and call us at 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227).  Learn more about the limited situations in which Medicare can call you.

How can I replace my Medicare card?

If you need to replace your card because it’s damaged or lost, sign in to your MyMedicare.gov account to print an official copy of your Medicare card. If you don’t have an account, visit MyMedicare.gov to create one.
If you need to replace your card because you think that someone else is using your number, let us know.

How do I change my name or address?

Medicare uses the name and address you have on file with Social Security. To change your name and/or address, visit your online my Social Security account.

Medicare.gov

FTC: Stopping Unsolicited Mail, Phone Calls, and Email

FTC Alert: Tired of having your mailbox crammed with unsolicited mail, including preapproved credit card applications? Fed up with getting telemarketing calls just as you're sitting down to dinner? Fuming that your email inbox is chock-full of unsolicited advertising? The good news is that you can cut down on the number of unsolicited mailings, calls, and emails you receive by learning where to go to "just say no."

Consumer Reporting Companies

If you decide that you don't want to receive prescreened offers of credit and insurance, you have two choices: You can opt out of receiving them for five years or opt out of receiving them permanently.
To opt out for five years: Call toll-free 1-888-5-OPT-OUT (1-888-567-8688) or visit www.optoutprescreen.com. The phone number and website are operated by the major consumer reporting companies.

To opt out permanently: You may begin the permanent Opt-Out process online at www.optoutprescreen.com. To complete your request, you must return the signed Permanent Opt-Out Election form, which will be provided after you initiate your online request.
When you call or visit the website, you'll be asked to provide certain personal information, including your home telephone number, name, Social Security number, and date of birth. The information you provide is confidential and will be used only to process your request to opt out.
If you don't have access to the Internet, you may send a written request to permanently opt out to each of the major consumer reporting companies. Make sure your request includes your home telephone number, name, Social Security number, and date of birth.

Experian
Opt Out
P.O. Box 919
Allen, TX 75013

TransUnion
Name Removal Option
P.O. Box 505
Woodlyn, PA 19094

Equifax, Inc.
Options
P.O. Box 740123
Atlanta, GA 30374

Innovis Consumer Assistance
P.O. Box 495
Pittsburgh, PA 15230

Direct Marketers

Telemarketing

The federal government's National Do Not Call Registry is a free, easy way to reduce the telemarketing calls you get at home. To register your phone number or to get information about the registry, visit www.donotcall.gov, or call 1-888-382-1222 from the phone number you want to register. You will get fewer telemarketing calls within 31 days of registering your number. Telephone numbers on the registry will only be removed when they are disconnected and reassigned, or when you choose to remove a number from the registry.

Mail and Email

Consumers can register at the Direct Marketing Association's (DMA) consumer website: www.DMAchoice.org for a processing fee of $2 for a period of ten years. Registering online is the fastest way to see results. DMAchoice offers consumers a simple, step-by-step process that enables them to decide what mail they do and do not want.
In addition, DMAchoice online offers registration for DMA's eMail Preference Service (reduce your unsolicited commercial email);
Mail-in registration:
If you do not wish to complete your registration online, you can register for DMAchoice by using the mail-in form that is online: fill out the DMAChoice Mail In Form with all required information, print it and mail to the address below.
Or, if you do not have access to the Internet, you can register by sending your name and address (with signature), along with a $3 processing fee (check or money order payable to DMA) to:
DMAchoice
Data & Marketing Association
P.O. Box 643
Carmel, NY 10512

Department of Motor Vehicles

The Drivers Privacy Protection Act allows states to distribute personal information only to law enforcement officials, courts, government agencies, private investigators, insurance underwriters, and similar businesses — but not for direct marketing and other uses.

FTC Alert: Government imposter scams

July 30, 2018

by Carol Kando-Pineda               

Attorney, Division of Consumer and Business Education

You get a text, call, or email from someone who says they’re with the government. They may claim to be a U.S. Marshal, saying you must pay a fine for missing jury duty. Or the IRS, saying that you owe thousands in back taxes. Some might threaten legal action, deportation, or arrest if you don’t pay up or give them your financial information.

In other cases, it sounds less scary and more like your lucky day. The call, text, or email will say you’ve won a prize, the lottery, or a grant — but you need to pay some fees or taxes to get your winnings.

 

These are all scams. Scammers will try to make it seem legitimate. They might give you a badge number, or even know information like the last four digits of your Social Security number. A Washington, D.C. area code on your caller ID also might seem convincing. But caller ID can be faked.

 

If someone calls, texts, or emails saying they’re with the government and you must pay, stop.

• Never send money — especially by gift card, cash reload card, or money transfer. No government agency will threaten you or demand payment this way.
• Don’t give out your personal or financial information to anyone who calls, texts, or emails.
• If you sent money to a government imposter, contact the company you used to send the money (gift card company, cash reload card company, or wire transfer service) and tell them it was a fraudulent transaction. Ask to have the transaction reversed if possible.
• Report it to the FTC at FTC.gov/complaint.

IRS Imposter Scam video 

U.S. Secret Service Releases Operational Guide for Preventing Targeted School Violence

Release Date: 

July 13, 2018

On July 12, 2018, the United States Secret Service National Threat Assessment Center released another tool in support of the effort to end the prevalence of targeted violence effecting the Nation, the world, and most importantly – our schools.  ENHANCING SCHOOL SAFETY USING A THREAT ASSESSMENT MODEL – An Operational Guide for Preventing Targeted School Violence, was developed to provide fundamental direction on how to prevent incidents of targeted school violence.

The guide provides schools and communities with a framework to identify students of concern, assess their risk for engaging in violence, and identify intervention strategies to mitigate that risk.

The Secret Service created the National Threat Assessment Center in 1998 to focus on research, training and threat assessments related to various forms of targeted violence. Following the tragedy at Columbine High School in April 1999, the Secret Service partnered with the Department of Education to study 37 incidents of targeted violence that occurred at elementary and secondary schools.  The goal of that study, the Safe School Initiative (SSI), was to gather and analyze accurate and useful information about the thinking and behavior of students who commit acts of violence.  The findings of the SSI led to the establishment of threat assessment programs in schools – something the Secret Service remains fervently committed to. 

“The Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting tragedy served as the impetus to go beyond our past work and go in depth regarding the how - how do we solve this epidemic?” said Secret Service Director R. D. “Tex” Alles.  “The report truly is an operational guide and I am confident that if embraced and followed by our Nation’s communities and schools, that we will together reduce the occurrence of violence and the tragic loss of life.”

To ensure no school goes overlooked, the new guide is available to the public and for download at DHS.gov/school-safety-and-security and www.SecretService.gov.  The Secret Service National Threat Assessment Center will also be printing and distributing copies to schools across the country.

This report is not the end of the Secret Service’s work to prevent school shootings and targeted violence.  Work is currently underway to release an updated comprehensive study with an anticipated completion date in the spring of 2019.

Recommendations for School Security from HL Security

 

What is Email Spoofing?

Wired Safety:

 

Spoofing is the term for falsified e-mail addresses that appear to come from a sender when in fact, the message is really being sent by a spammer. They can be difficult to spot and cause many problems, both for recipients and spoofed e-mail address owners.

How spoofing operates

E-mail spoofing can assume a variety of forms, but basically, a spoofed e-mail has appears to have been sent from one source when it actually was sent from another source entirely. Phishing attempts and e-mail worms typically use spoofed e-mail addresses to trick users into believing that an e-mail has come from a trusted source. The actual sender effectively hides behind a user's address by falsifying its routing information, making it appears to come from the legitimate user's account.

 

However, any replies to a spoofed e-mail go directly to the legitimate e-mail account (not the sender who has spoofed the e-mail) causing embarassment and inconvenience. The legitimate user can find their e-mail Inbox bombarded with viruses, bounced e-mail, flame e-mails and in some cases can have their account suspended or shut down by their Internet Service Provider (ISP) for violating its anti-spam policy.

 

Meanwhile, the sender avoids all of these consequences, leaving innocent users to deal with the aftermath.

 

How to tell a spoofed e-mail address from a legitimate e-mail address

 

It is extremely difficult to detect a spoofed e-mail address, at first glance. It is possible to identify a spoofed e-mail by carefully analyzing e-mail headers but generally, spoofed e-mail is not immediately detected as such.

 

There are several things to look out for regarding potentially spoofed e-mail addresses

 

Typically, spoofed e-mails will appear to come from a legitimate source and it is often only the content of the e-mail itself that can give the spoofer away. Banks and other financial orgaizations do not request personal information via e-mail - that is one of the most important things you can remember regarding all e-mail fraud (spoofing, spamming and phishing included).

 

Like spammers, spoofers use various ploys to trick users into opening their e-mails, anything from placing "Dear friend" or "Remember me" in the subject line - implying that the e-mail is from someone the user knows, to more generic subjects like, "Your money has been refunded" or "About your Web site."

 

Be wary of e-mail that appears to be from a legitimate source (like your bank) that asks you to update your personal information - it is almost certainly a phishing attempt and the official looking e-mail address will be spoofed.

 

How to tell if your e-mail address is being spoofed

 

You receive (sometimes angry) replies to e-mail you know you did not send.

You receive multiple bounced e-mail that you know you did not send.

Your ISP challenges you about violating its anti-spam policy.

What to do if you think you have received a spoofed e-mail or your e-mail address is being spoofed

 

Do not respond to a spoofed e-mail to complain because, it will only arrive in your own e-mail Inbox.

Send a copy of the spoofed e-mail to the spoofed e-mail sender's ISP. The e-mail address for this is usually or but if you are not sure, visit their ISP's Web site and search for the information - it will be there.

Send a copy of the spoofed e-mail you received to your ISP's abuse desk. The e-mail address for this is usually or but if you are not sure, visit your ISP's Web site and search for the information - it will be there.

Include full e-mail headers when you file a spoofing report. Find out how to read e-mail headers here.

Further assistance can be also obtained by contacting our organization via out contact form

Basic safety tips for preventing e-mail spoofing:

 

Use more than one e-mail addresses. One for personal e-mail and the other for mandatory fields in online forms and access areas.

Make your e-mail address difficult to guess. Spoofers will use every name combination they can find to send spam (known as "dictionary attacks"), so , although unattractive and possibly difficult to remember, might attract less spam than susan@yourisp.com. Generic e-mail addresses like will always attract spoofing, unfortunately.

 

Never post your real e-mail address anywhere online, such as newsgroups, online chat and online profiles.Use a "throwaway" e-mail address or disguise your e-mail address so that harvester bots cannot read it. Always check the privacy policy of any Web site that requests personal details, such as e-mail addresses. If the Web site is requesting this type of information and either does not provide an option to opt out or does not have a privacy policy, it is not wise to submit your information.

When you are responding via a Web site form, read it thoroughly.
Some Web sites who do include an opt out option usually require you to check a box to say that you agree to be sent e-mail (either from them or their associates). However, some of them ask that you uncheck a pre-checked box not to be sent e-mail and many consumers have fallen foul of that.

Never open e-mail and/or download attachments from anyone if you are not expecting them and if you must open an attachment - always virus scan it first.

Keep your operating system, anti-virus, anti-spyware and firewall software up to date.

Use any spam filters available by default from your ISP.

wiredsafety