Category: Fight Back

Netsafe is New Zealand’s independent, non-profit online safety organisation. It provides online safety help, support, expertise and education to people in New Zealand. But that information is useful to people of every country.

Netsafe was founded in 1998 to help New Zealand internet users stay safe online.

After noticing the growing influence of technology in their respective areas, the New Zealand Police, Ministry of Education and several not for profits teamed up with telecommunication organisations and IT industry partners to create an independent body focussed on online safety.

Together they created the Internet Safety Group which was rebranded Netsafe in 2008.

Netsafe was given the remit to build an internet safety organisation that didn’t scare people away from technology, but instead encouraged people to adopt it by promoting the tools and techniques they could use to minimise their online risks.

Today Netsafe is an internationally renowned organisation with an unrelenting focus on online safety practice.

As digital technology use grows and evolves at a rapid pace in society, it becomes more important for Netsafe to help people manage and reduce the risk of online harm, so that they feel more confident being online.

Netsafe’s remit is wider than just online security. They aim to cover Online Bullying & Harassment, Scams, Security, Parenting, Business. Educators and Young People.

There is a reporting tool for anyone wishing to report an online incident that happened to themselves or someone close to them.

There is a wealth of information about common online scams and those in New Zealand are pretty much the same as in other advanced countries. (Developing countries typically face different types of scams.)

There is a lot of security advice but also advice for parents and education workers and sections for young people.

This is a great service offered in New Zealand but also useful to everyone, wherever they live, as scams and other online problems exist the world over.

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November 17, 2017

Scam Survivors Help

www.scamsurvivors.com

The website says it exists because: Scammers will take your money with no cares about the lives it ruins. People are nothing but a money amount to them – a living, breathing ATM machine.

The site is run by volunteers and has three goals:

To make scammers’ lives harder by exposing their details and scripts to search engines.
Educating the public, thus removing scammers’ sources of income as scams will continue as long as there are victims.
Helping people to see that, even after being scammed, they CAN move forward and things DO get better.

They cover a wide range of scams including:- 419, fund transfer, tax refund, beneficiary/inheritance/next of kin, hitman, parcel, gold/diamond, charity, love/romance/catfish, dying widow/widower, military, lottery, secret shopper/work from home, business/investment/supply invitation, loan, ATM card, tax refund, recovery/compensation, conference, Craigslist, webcam blackmail, phishing, grandchild/friend in distress and car wrap.

The website staff offer non judgmental help and advice for those scammed online.

For many people who have been scammed, the psychological effects are worse than the monetary loss.

There is an active forum with 145,000 posts.

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November 10, 2017

Online Watch Link

Online Watch Link known as OWL is an online service for Neighbourhood Watches, the Police and associated bodies involved in preventing and stopping crime.

It’s designed to keep people informed of what’s going on locally relating to crime prevention for both the public and the Police.

It’s used by a lot of the Neighbourhood Watches across the UK but not all so if you input your postcode in the Find a Watch scheme box on the home page – you may well get the message “Sorry that postcode is not covered by OWL”.

OWL has been featured on Crimewatch and is growing in popularity.

The website is https://www.owl.co.uk/

Q. How does OWL help?

Local authorities send out alerts via OWL about crime and local issues in your area. It can help to prevent burglary, find missing people, makes people feel safer and catch suspects.

OWL Has National Police Approval

There is some advice on the website relating to various categories of crime, but the website is all about the OWL service.

Searching the Internet shows that many communities have incorporated OWL into their local information websites and neighbourhood watches.

Owl was created by a British company based in Hatfield.

It seems a useful tool in crime prevention and the more communities and Watches that us it the more useful it will become.

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November 3, 2017

KB Says Don’t Be Fooled – Trust Your Gut

A post by K.B. Beaumaaks

I am 52 and considered to be of the baby boomer generation. We were raised in a world without the internet, taught to respect our elders and certain professions were considered very trustworthy. Examples are doctors, teachers, police officers etc…. we were raised that these are people we could trust no matter what and for the most part this was absolutely true.

I had not one but two similar situations happen to me and I am an educated professional with an upper level income. My scams occurred not with an outsider but a partner…. yep first with my ex husband who was a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine then to a boyfriend who was a Police Officer. Two professions that were “trustworthy professions” I was blinded by the scammers that they were. My point is to trust your gut no matter who the person is. If it feels wrong…. chances are it is wrong.

See below for KB’s posts about her first and second husbands

https://fightback.ninja/test/kb-married-to-a-scammer/

https://fightback.ninja/test/kb-and-the-police-officer-scammer/

Generally, the geriatric or elderly community were the ones that were scammed by door to door salespersons or telephone scammers. Today people believe the less educated, the lower income, elderly community are the ones prone to scammers. This is absolutely not true according to The Better Business Bureau.

People today believe what they read on the internet, they impulse shop, they receive emails and phone calls about tax issues or debt collectors and we fall for it believing oh if its on the internet, it must be true.

I have written a book called The Preah Secrets and it deals with my veterinary husband and how I discovered his heist and how I followed my gut to eventually discover his intentions of deceit. I prepared and eventually sought justice for myself. I hope the book inspires others to follow their instincts and remember, scams can happen to anyone by anyone.

Go to http://kbbeaumaaks.com/index.php for further insight and to buy the book.

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November 1, 2017

Neighbourhood Watch

In these day of everything going digital, does the Neighbourhood Watch still have a role to play?

YES!

Neighbourhood Watch can provide security and assurance that nothing online can offer.

The Neighbourhood Watch scheme began in the United Kingdom in 1982 and is a partnership intended to bring people together to make their communities safer. It involves the police, Community Safety departments of local authorities, other voluntary organisations and individuals and families who want to make their neighbourhoods better places to live. It aims to help people protect themselves and their properties and to reduce the fear of crime by means of improved home security, greater vigilance, accurate reporting of suspicious incidents to the police and by fostering a community spirit. It is claimed that over 3.8 million households are covered by a neighbourhood watch.

Objectives of Neighbourhood Watch

To improve community safety generally including e.g. fire safety
To prevent crime by improving security, increasing vigilance, creating and maintaining a caring community and reducing opportunities for crime by increasing crime prevention awareness.
To assist the police in detecting crime by promoting effective communication and the prompt reporting of suspicious and criminal activity.
To reduce undue fear of crime by providing accurate information about risks and by promoting a sense of security and community spirit, particularly amongst the more vulnerable members of the community.
To improve police/community liaison by providing effective communications through Neighbourhood Watch messaging systems which warn Coordinators of local crime trends which they can disseminate to their scheme members, and by members informing the police of incidents when they occur.

Neighbourhood Watch schemes are run by their members through a coordinator and are supported by the police and in many divisions, a local Neighbourhood Watch Association.

A volunteer resident coordinator supervises the scheme and liaises with the police, they receive information and messages to keep them in touch with activities and some have marker kits, alarms and other security items, which are available to members. The schemes are a community initiative, which is supported by the police, not run by them, so success depends on what the members make of it.

Do Neighbourhood Watches Help to Reduce Door-to-Door Scammers?

The anecdotal evidence is that they do reduce this type of crime. This is largely because people are more aware of possible crimes and do keep an eye out for unexpected visitors to their doors. Also, door-to-door crooks tend to avoid areas where there are any signs of organisation against crime and Neighbourhood Watch areas are usually identifiable by stickers on homes and buildings.

If there is a Neighbourhood Watch in your area, then consider joining.

If there isn’t one, then consider starting one.

Do you have an opinion on this matter? Please comment in the box below.

October 27, 2017

KB and the Police Officer Scammer

A post by K.B. Beaumaarks

I am an educated professional with an upper level income. My scams occurred not with an outsider but a partner…. yep first with my ex-husband who was a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine then to a boyfriend who was a Police Officer. Two professions that were “trustworthy professions” I was blinded by the scammers that they were. My point is to trust your gut no matter who the person is. If it feels wrong…. chances are it is wrong.

When I met my second husband, he was a charming police officer who stated he had made lots of money working for an additional company outside his police job.

He lived in a beautiful expensive home. He was a veteran of the police force for over 23 years and appeared to be well respected. I had made quite a bit of money after my divorce in real estate investments and lived in a nice home. I began to develop a relationship with him and felt very comfortable with him. He was a respected police officer. A law enforcing professional of 23 years.

He had asked to borrow money because he had gotten into a cash flow problem but had a real estate deal worth a million dollars. He presented me with a contract, I showed it to a real estate agent friend of mine and she said it was a legitimate contract. I felt comfortable knowing he paid $200,000.00 for the property and was reselling it to a Physician in the area who was very well known and very financially set.

He had a contract on the land for over a million dollars. He said to write him a check for the paper trail and write in the memo that it was a personal loan to him so I had evidence that it was a loan not a gift. Long story short, the contract fell apart but eventually sold for less but still doubled his money.

The police officer boyfriend basically said he was never going to pay me back and good luck trying to collect because he knew every judge in the county etc.

I sued him and he filed for bankruptcy after blowing every dollar he had made on the land deal. I trusted both my doctor husband and boyfriend police officer. Just because someone appears to be financially set or has a certain title, please research and follow your gut instincts or it could be financially fatal.

Con artists and scammers come in all professions and backgrounds. Do not be naïve and trust your gut!

See https://fightback.ninja/test/kb-married-to-a-scammer/for KBs post about her first husband.