CYNDY HELMEY, ARM, CIC
843-815-9658 chelmey@bbandt.com
NEWSLETTER – March, 2009

Nearly 1 year has passed since one of the world’s worst spammers, Robert Soloway, pled guilty to charges of fraud in connection with email. Dubbed the “Spam King,” Soloway was responsible for sending millions of spam messages per day using a botnet - or network of zombie computers.

Be wary of any email received from an unknown sender. Do not open any unsolicited email and don’t click on the links provided.

Only Deal With Reputable Sources. If you have never heard of the service provider, its probably best to avoid them altogether. A large, established company may be more likely to have a strict privacy policy and be motivated to maintain their good reputation.

These spam campaigns had a negative effect on individual computer users as well as organizations, government, and businesses. To manage the flood of unsolicited email over the years, many companies invested in extra capacity and resources so that legitimate email could be received and systems could remain available.
Soloway was sentenced to 4 years in federal prison as a result of his actions. This was the first case in which federal prosecutors used identity theft statutes to take legal action against a spammer for taking over someone else’s Internet domain name. Soloway was also the second person prosecuted under the CAN-SPAM Act. As a result of his arrest and conviction, Federal officials predicted computer users would notice a decrease in junk email.
However, Soloway was just one of the many “Spam Kings.” The Spamhaus Project, an international organization dedicated to tracking spam operations, says that approximately 400 spammers are responsible for most of the spam on the Internet. Despite the lack of Soloway’s activity, spam levels still climbed 25% last year.

What’s Causing the Increase?
This exponential increase is a result of spammers’ efforts to create new methods to get their messages to email inboxes and the evolution of systems into decentralized, harder-to-detect ecosystems.
Common methods used to fool users are:
- to mimic legitimate emails such as package tracking notifications or invoices that included virus attachments and
- email spoofed news alerts with URLs that link to a website hosting malware.
Researchers expect this trend to continue in 2009 as virus, malware, and link-based attacks become both more frequent and more ingenious.
To protect yourself from malicious e-cards, here are some other things to consider:
By using caution with e-cards, or completely avoiding them, you will further protect against malicious programs and spam e-mail.
According to numerous postings at online forums, many consumers have discovered unauthorized $0.25 charges on their credit card bills that appear to come from fictitious companies called Adele Services and GFDL. There are two possible explanations. First, thieves could be testing the validity of stolen credit card information, and second, thieves could be trying to make money by stealing tiny amounts from millions of people.
In either case, consumers shouldn’t overlook or ignore these charges. Credit card holders are urged to check their statements for any suspicious charges. Unauthorized transactions should be reported to your financial institution - regardless of how insignificant the charge may appear. Consumers may also file complaints with the FTC and through IC3.gov.

NEWSLETTER – January, 2009
Are you prepared for Litigation?

While it is relatively easy to quantify the value of the physical property of a business and businesses are generally pretty good about purchasing property insurance coverage, they may overlook buying adequate coverage for negligence. As your agent, I am in the position to remind you that an entire business, way beyond the property, is at risk if the business is sued.

We know that you have spent countless hours making sacrifices to build a successful business. Yet, in an instant, it can all vanish, due to something totally outside of your control. While it is relatively easy to quantify the value of the physical property of your business – furniture, fixtures, machinery, and the like – your exposures to the risk of negligence may need to be reviewed. Over the last generation, our society has become increasingly litigious, and the awards to plaintiffs ever more generous. We have gone from a society that seeks to make those who experience misfortune “whole” again, to one where someone must “pay” and not necessarily in proportion to the damage done.

The court solution, it seems, is to right these perceived wrongs through monetary awards. These awards routinely exceed the seven-figure threshold. In this climate, the court system has become less favorable toward business. Today, even the best-run business could be wiped out, without adequate liability protection. The costs of mounting an adequate defense alone can run into the hundreds of thousands of dollars, before the judgment is even rendered.

By adding an Excess Liability or Umbrella policy to your insurance portfolio, you have an extra layer of protection. This protection is affordable. A limit of $1,000,000 can cost as little as $500 depending on your type of business.

Competition between the carriers is fierce and being in the midst of a soft market, it may be the perfect time to consider adding this priceless protection.

Another form of negligence can be protected by the addition of Directors and Officers Liability Coverage, which insures corporate directors and officers against claims, usually brought by stockholders, alleging loss due to mismanagement. More individuals owning stock and more stringent standards imposed by the courts indicate this as another growing risk.


more info...

NEWSLETTER – December 2008
Is the Economy to Blame for the RISE in Theft & Burglaries?

CYNDY HELMEY, ARM, CIC
843-815-9658 chelmey@bbandt.com

KEEP CROOKS AT BAY
With break-ins and thefts on the rise, police say people can take a few basic steps to thwart the criminals.
• Lock your car doors. Simple advice, but hugely important because a crook is less likely to smash through a window than rifle through an open car.
• Do not keep valuables in plain view. That goes for the GPS system on the dashboard or the iPod in the center console.
• Shut the garage door. Bicycles, tools, even lawn mowers all fetch a good price at the local pawnshop.
• Make sure the yard lamps work. A thief is less likely to prowl near a well-lit home.
• Document the serial numbers on electronics. When they do turn up in a pawnshop, you can claim them as yours.

Property crimes like burglary and theft are on the rise, a trend that could reverse a decade of declining figures. Neighborhoods that once seemed immune to crime are now among the hardest hit. Cars left unlocked overnight in suburban neighborhoods are easy targets. Rising prices for scrap copper and gold are another lure.
There are many other threads linking the economy to rising crime: the hundreds of foreclosed, vacant homes that are ripe for plundering; more chances for an easy score in sparsely populated new developments; and thousands of unskilled laborers who struggle to find jobs as unemployment hits 7 percent.
Police detectives say many of the crimes are run of the mill, foiled by locking your car door at night and taking other basic precautions.
But they also know that a bad economy puts more pressure on the people who make the least.
Small businesses targeted
Businesses have been hit especially hard. Although crime statistics are not broken down between commercial and residential local detectives and administrators say that businesses have been badly taxed by burglars.
Also boosting the numbers are strings of car burglaries.
"Car hoppers," those who commit a slew of car break-ins during a single night, seem more prevalent than ever.
While no one tracks how many thefts are tied to the economy, there is anecdotal evidence that shows people who are on the edge of financial ruin do things they normally would not.