Security and Risk Online - Cyber Monday Shopping?

Cyber Monday shopping? How to spot SCAM websites and avoid being ripped off

But online shopping comes with risks, and recent research from comparethemarket.com has found cyber criminals are expected to pocked £8.6million from tomorrow’s spending bonanza alone.

The website’s spokesman Simon McCulloch said: “Cyber Monday is a major retail event and a salmon run for criminals who will try to seize money from unsuspecting shoppers and retail outlets.”

Action Fraud, the UK’s national reporting centre for fraud and cyber-crime, released figures showing Christmas shoppers were fleeced out of more than £10million in online scams last year.

Alex Neill from consumer body which? added: “If you see any deals advertised on Cyber Monday that look too good to be true, be careful. Fraudsters will do all they can to try and catch you out.”

But there are ways to protect yourself.

Firstly, double-check the domain name. Which? said: “A lot of fraudulent websites will use a domain name similar to a brand or product name. For example, website domains such as ipadoffers.net or discountnikeclothes.com should set alarm bells ringing.”

Be wary of domains which end in .net or .org, as they are rarely used for online shopping and may be misused by dodgy organisations.

Keep an eye out for poor spelling, grammar and English. Which? said: “This could mean the site isn’t genuine and has been put together by someone abroad looking to make a quick profit.”

Check what the shipping and returns policy is - if there isn’t one, proceed with caution.

When using a website, ensure the address beings “https”, and if you are unsure, check forums where other consumers alert people to scam pages.

Before purchasing, check the company’s social media feeds for recent activity and to see what other consumers have said about them.

Keep a close eye on your bank statement for unusual activity, as cyber criminals often make small but regular thefts which are harder to spot than large one-off amounts.

SC Advisors Real Estate Campus Crusade for Christ (CRU)

PROJECT EXECUTIVE FOR WORLD HEADQUARTERS

In 1989, Campus Crusade for Christ, (CRU) an interdenominational ministry then located in San Bernardino, California, received an offer of 275 acres in Southeast Orange County from local landowner Charles Bradshaw who hoped the gift would draw the ministry to Central Florida. CRU accepted the gift and in 1991 moved its world headquarters to temporary space in Orlando, hoping to build approximately 250,000 sf of office and training space and a visitor’s center in a campus like setting.

Initial efforts to develop plans, secure entitlements and zoning, and raise the funds necessary to construct the new headquarters stalled. In 1994, CRU Founder and President Dr. Bill Bright turned to Jay Berlinsky to jump start the headquarters project and lead it to completion. Jay accepted the challenge.

He and his development team quickly engaged architects and engineers to create a site plan and building designs while developing a plan to obtain the necessary zoning and entitlements. In addition to preparing the large number of complex applications required by municipal agencies, team members met individually with agency staff and elected officials to clarify their plans and respond to questions. They held multiple meetings with residents and other landowners in the area. The development team was also actively engaged in the fundraising effort, offering assurances to potential donors that the project was feasible and that every contributed dollar would be spent wisely.

Ground was finally broken in 1996 and in October of 1998, CRU’s world headquarters on the shores of Lake Hart was dedicated. Almost twenty years later, as the landscape has matured and the buildings have aged, the campus is home to more than 1,000 staff and volunteers.

SC Advisors To Serve As Owner’s Advisor For Citrus Bowl Renovation

SC Advisors Real Estate Orlando Projects in Singapore Review - SC Advisors has been engaged by the City of Orlando to serve as the Owner’s Advisor for the renovation of the Florida Citrus Bowl Stadium. The most challenging element of the project is timeframe—demolishing and then rebuilding 80% of the structure—must be accomplished with ten months to avoid losing revenue and continuity from holiday bowl games and other marquee events.

“SC Advisors will work closely with our partners, the City of Orlando and Florida Citrus Sports, to transform this historic stadium into one of the finest bowl venues in the country,” said Jay Berlinsky, founder and owner of SC Advisors. “The timeframe calls for extraordinary levels of planning, integration and coordination. We look forward to the challenge.”

Celebs draw fentanyl addict headlines by Insurance Fraud Advocacy

Reminds that insurance fraud helps finance opioid epidemic

First came Prince, who died from an overdose of the painkiller fentanyl in his Minnesota home.

Next came singer Chaka Khan. She beat the reaper by entering into rehab this month, along with her sister

The Grammy winner admitted fentanyl is her escape drug of choice. Chaka wisely gave up her summer concert appearances to focus on getting clean.

“The battle of addiction is a serious and long process, which is why I chose to address my use of prescription medications — which came about as a result of the knee surgery I had a few years ago,” she said.

Fentanyl is one of latest prescription painkillers to grab headlines. It’s used for severe pain, and is approved for long term treatment. The stuff also is up to 100 times stronger than morphine, and 50 times stronger than heroin.

Fentanyl quickly shoots into the bloodstream. Dopamine then elevates, stoking the brain’s reward areas. The sweet euphoria grows into dependence, then addiction.

States like New Jersey and Mississippi are reporting spikes in fentanyl overdose deaths.

Insurance fraud is the largely untold story. It’s helping finance America’s epidemic of opioid addiction — billions of stolen insurance dollars worth.

Some fentanyl addicts reportedly are scamming health insurers to score prescriptions that feed the need. Same with other painkillers such as hydrocodone, or anti-anxiety meds and muscle relaxants.

Insurance scams may or may not have funded Prince’s or Chaka’s highs. Yet scams still are part of the bigger opioid picture, so we should be very concerned.

Insurers are stepping up investigations, plus education of doctors and patients to head off addiction. Law enforcement is going after shady pain clinics and pharmacies that dole out insurer-paid scripts.

Still, we risk getting exhausted by it all. We’re subject to steady parades of news stories about people dying from insurance-paid overdoses. Plus welcome busts of cold-blooded pain docs. They’re keeping addicts fed with pills — are we getting fed up?

Sadly, it may take a celeb’s drug death or rehab to keep headlines fresh and the public concerned. Let’s stay concerned, whether it’s a Grammy winner or small-town factory worker just trying to get clean.