Teacher Assigns Students To Plan Terror Attack

Throughout my 17 years in the security industry and 14 in the military, I have taken more than a few courses in Counter-Terrorism and Terrorism Awareness. The purpose of these courses was to learn about how terrorist attacks are planed as well as how to stop them in a proactive manner.
In some of these courses, as well as the Terrorism Awareness for the Security Professional that we teach, the classes been broken up into groups and been instructed to develop a viable plan for a terrorist attack. One of the big differences between having Security and Law Enforcement professionals do this verses having students do it, is that they are professionals in the industry and a security background check it preformed BEFORE the course begins.
The idea behind it is to teach the student to “think outside the box”. I believe that there are other ways to get students today to think outside the box, than to have them plan terrorist attacks. I am glad to see that the Principal withdrew the assignment as soon as he heard of it.

Published : Wednesday, 25 Aug 2010, 6:16 AM EDT
NewsCore - Students at an Australian school were asked to plan a terrorist attack "to kill the MOST innocent civilians in order to get your message across" as part of a class assignment, Australian Associated Press (AAP) reported Wednesday.The society and environment teacher at Kalgoorlie-Boulder Community High School in Western Australia asked Year 10 students -- aged about 16 -- to pretend they were a terrorist planning a chemical or biological attack in Australia.

http://www.myfoxny.com/dpp/news/international/teacher-assigns-students-to-plan-terror-attack-20100825-newscore

Only YOU can help prevent crime?

Most of us remember the old “Only YOU can help prevent Forest Fires” but how about “Only YOU can help prevent crime.” Although most of the responsibility for preventing crime rests with law enforcement there are still many things you can do to help prevent crime from taking place in your neighborhood. One of the easiest is to stay aware. Watch the local news and read the local papers to stay abreast of what crimes are taking place in your area. By knowing where a threat is coming from, makes it easier to help prevent it. Here are some other methods to help prevent crime in your neighborhood and towns.


• Look into starting a neighborhood watch program, or in the case of a large apartment building a tenant watch group. In areas where there are such groups, the attempts at crime tend to be lower. By placing signs up, and notifying people that it is a “Neighborhood Watch Area” criminal will tend to avoid the area.

• All the members residing in the area must be provided adequate knowledge regarding the plan of action to be undertaken in case they find a suspicious person lurking near their house. If someone sees a person who cannot be identified as a resident or a visitor, a thorough report should be made to the local authorities so that he/she can be checked out before anything wrong has a chance to happen.

• If you see someone trying to get a car to open by various means like by the usage of a hair pin or a steel scale, make sure you inform the authorities before the perpetrator can run away.

• Teach the neighborhood children what to look for and how to identify suspicious activity and what to do if they see something.

If the above mentioned points are kept in consideration, the problem of the rising crime levels can reduce to a large extent. Each one us should come forward to do our duty so that the world can become a better place to live in and your neighborhood can become a permanently crime-free zone. Contact us at OSC to learn more about setting up a “Neighborhood Watch” in your area.  info@oramsecurity.com or 914-602-2443

Stay Safe

Oram Security Consultants
http://www.oramsecurity.com/

Credit Card skimming at ATMs we know about, but at the gas pump too?

A new report says the hottest place for card skimming scams is the local gas station.

http://www.csoonline.com/article/601915/credit-and-debit-card-skimming-look-out-for-fraudulent-readers-at-gas-stations?source=CSONLE_nlt_update_2010-08-05

You worry about your children, here is a way to help others find theirs.

Statistic show that the first three hours after an abduction are the most critical in recovery efforts. By signing up for Wireless Amber Alerts you could play an integral role in the recovery of an abducted child.


https://www.wirelessamberalerts.org/index.jsp

Identity Theft.... but what about Medical Identity Theft?

While you're probably well aware of identity theft and its impact on your credit, you may not be aware of a type of identify theft that can be even more harmful to you personally -- medical identity theft.
Medical identity theft occurs when someone uses your personal information without your knowledge or consent to obtain, or receive payment for, medical treatment, services, or goods. Victims of medical identity theft may find that their medical records are inaccurate, which can have a serious impact on their ability to obtain proper medical care and insurance benefits.
 To detect medical identity theft, consider the following steps:

• Closely monitor any “Explanation of Benefits” sent by public or private health insurers. If anything appears wrong, raise questions with the insurer or the provider. Do not assume that there are no problems simply because you may not owe any money.
• Once a year (or more often, if you believe there is cause for concern), request a listing of benefits paid in your name by any health insurers that might have made such payments on your behalf.
•  Monitor your credit reports with the nationwide credit reporting companies – Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion – to identify reports of medical debts.

You also have rights under federal law that can assist you in correcting inaccurate medical records. These rights are described in greater detail at www.hhs.gov/ocr/hipaa. They include:

• The right to request copies of your current medical files from each health care provider.
• The right to have your medical records amended to remove inaccurate or incomplete information.
• The right to an accounting of disclosures – a record of who has been given access to your medical records – from your health care providers and health insurers. This is very important in tracking down where inaccurate information may have been sent.
• The right to file a complaint with the Office of Civil Rights at the federal Department of Health and Human Services if a health care provider does not comply with these rights. In addition, many hospitals have ombudsmen or patient advocates who may be able to help you obtain medical records or provide access to information.

Security Training Companies Scamming Job Seekers!

The security field can be interesting, fulfilling, and financially stable.  It has many areas for growth.  I have been in the industry for over 17 years, ranging from security officer all the way through Branch Manager and independent consultant.   With that being said, entering the field with no experience, the likely hood of finding a great paying entry position is low.  With the current economic times and many people looking for work, the number of scams out there has risen.  The article below is a good example of why you should read the fine print of a contract before handing over your money.

NEW YORK, NY (WABC) -- Job seekers beware about a job you have to pay for.

These days jobs are at a premium, so an ad that contains the headline "Immediate Openings" is a welcome sight. But instead of getting a job, 2, out of work New Yorkers, say they got taken for hundreds of dollars, and got no job. It's an expensive lesson, that just might save you big bucks.
"It was like taking money, ripping it up, and throwing it in the toilet." That was Brian Molatto's reaction after answering an ad that ran in his local paper. It touted immediate openings for security guards. It even listed an hourly salary range.
Brian says a rep from C.P. International gave him the good news. But before being hired, Brian says he had to pay nearly $400 for training to be a security guard. But after passing the course? Brian says he got no job.
http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?section=news/7_on_your_side&id=7053322

Woman accused of using cruise line job for burglaries

This is a perfect example of how a monitered alarm system could make the diffrence between a burglarie that happens and one that almost happens.

Miami, Florida (CNN) -- A former Royal Caribbean Cruise Line employee has been arrested and charged with burglarizing the homes of 24 vacationers who were spending time at sea.


http://www.cnn.com/2010/TRAVEL/06/11/vacationers.burglarized/index.htmleref=rss_topstories...&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rss%2Fcnn_topstories+%28RSS%3A+Top+Stories%29