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The International Centre For Missing & Exploited Children Partners With YouTube And The Find Madeline Campaign   

Alexandria, VA – August 10, 2007 – The International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children (ICMEC), in partnership with Google’s YouTube, and The Find Madeleine Campaign  today announced the creation of a new initiative that will provide worldwide exposure to information and videos of missing children.  A new YouTube Missing Children’s Channel has been created exclusively for posting videos of missing children. The new channel can be found at www.youtube.com/DontYouForgetAboutMe and will be operational today.

Case information and videos of missing children will first be submitted to ICMEC for review and verification before posting on the new channel.  ICMEC will work with analysts at the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC), local and national law enforcement on U.S. cases, and with Interpol on international cases to confirm it is an open case and verify the details of the case and video.  After the case information has been certified, it will be forwarded to YouTube for posting.  Anyone with information about a missing child featured on the website will be directed to contact the appropriate law enforcement agency.

“Every year hundreds of thousands of children go missing around the world and some are abducted to other countries, creating unique challenges for law enforcement and family members searching for them,” said Ernie Allen, President and CEO of ICMEC. “In the U.S. alone, nearly 800,000 children are missing each year or about 2,000 each day.  Photos remain the single most effective tool for finding a missing child.  This new resource will provide unprecedented exposure for missing children, reaching potentially millions of viewers every day and increasing the opportunity that someone has seen them.”  

The timing of the announcement coincides with the 100th day since Madeleine McCann went missing.  Madeleine disappeared on May 3, 2007 while on a family vacation in Portugal.  This past June, Madeleine’s parents, Gerry and Kate McCann, sought ICMEC’s assistance to create an international resource that would quickly disseminate pictures of missing children throughout the world.  Gerry McCann recently visited the headquarters of NCMEC and ICMEC in Virginia where he and Allen discussed the need for disseminating information and images of missing children on a broader, global basis.

“Kate and I are really enthusiastic about this powerful new resource,” said Gerry McCann, Madeleine’s father.  “We believe it will help in the search for Madeleine and many other children.  We are grateful to ICMEC for its leadership on behalf of our child and so many others.”

YouTube, which is owned by Google, is a popular video sharing website and leader in online video.  Its popularity and global reach made YouTube a natural choice as a partner in this project.  The channel’s headline banner, “Don’t You Forget About Me,” is named after the hit song by the Scottish rock group “Simple Minds.”

In addition to information and videos of missing children, the channel will include child safety and educational materials in several languages as well as Public Service Announcements and messages from dignitaries, celebrities and others including First Lady Laura Bush and soccer star David Beckham.

There will be no cost to post a video of a missing child on the new channel.  Instructions and criteria for submitting a video can be found on the channel site or www.icmec.org.  No incomplete or anonymous submissions will be accepted.   

The International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children is a private, nonprofit 501(c) (3) nongovernmental organization. It is the leading agency working on a global basis to combat child abduction and exploitation. It is the sister organization of the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.

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Press Release

Washington, D.C.-Data from the FBI’s Preliminary Annual Uniform Crime Report for 2006 indicate that violent crime increased 1.3 percent in 2006 when compared with data from 2005. However, property crime decreased 2.9 percent for the same time period.

The FBI collected the national preliminary data from 11,723 law enforcement agencies that submitted at least 6 months of offense data through the Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program in both 2005 and 2006.

Statistics from the annual report include the following information regarding Violent Crime:

• By violent crime category, robbery offenses increased 6.0 percent and murder and nonnegligent manslaughter increased 0.3 percent. The number of forcible rapes decreased 1.9 percent, and aggravated assaults were down 0.7 percent.
• By city population group, violent crime offenses increased when compared with data from the previous year. Increases in violent crime were the greatest (3.2 percent) in cities with populations of 250,000 to 499,999 inhabitants and in those cities with 25,000 to 49,999 people.
• The largest increase in murder offenses occurred in cities with populations of 1,000,000 or more, 6.7 percent. In contrast, murders decreased 11.9 percent in nonmetropolitan counties.
• Forcible rape offenses decreased in all but two population groups. These offenses increased 2.2 percent in cities with 50,000 to 99,999 persons and 1.0 percent in cities with 10,000 to 24,999 inhabitants.
• Robbery offenses increased in each population group except nonmetropolitan counties, where these offenses were down 0.8 percent.
• Aggravated assault offenses decreased 2.3 percent in cities with 500,000 to 999,999 inhabitants, the greatest decrease among the city population groups. These offenses declined 5.4 percent in the nonmetropolitan counties.
• Three of the Nation’s four geographic regions had increases in violent crimes from 2005 to 2006. The Northeast was the exception as the number of violent crimes remained virtually unchanged (-0.1 percent) from the previous year.
  

  Statistics from the annual report include the following information regarding property crime:

• For 2006, property crime decreased 2.9 percent when compared with 2005 data. Motor vehicle theft offenses dropped 4.7 percent and larceny-theft offenses were down 3.5 percent. Burglary offenses increased slightly (0.2 percent).
• Property crime decreased in all of the Nation’s city population groups, ranging from a 3.4-percent decline in cities with populations of 100,000 to 499,999 persons to a 2.1-percent decrease in cities with 500,000 to 999,999 inhabitants.
• Nonmetropolitan and metropolitan counties also had declines in property crime, down 4.2 percent and 2.2 percent, respectively, when 2005 data were compared with 2006 reports.
• Motor vehicle theft and larceny-theft decreased in all of the Nation’s population groups.
• For burglary, nonmetropolitan counties had the greatest decrease (4.6 percent) among the population groups, and cities with 500,000 to 999,999 inhabitants had the greatest increase (3.3 percent).
• Three of the four regions saw decreases in reports of property crime from 2005 to 2006. However, property crimes were virtually unchanged (+0.1 percent) in the Midwest.
• By offense type, each region experienced declines in the number of larceny-thefts and motor vehicle thefts.
• Arson offenses, which are tracked separately from other property crime offenses, increased 1.8 percent from the previous year’s number. All population groups had increases in arson offenses except for cities with populations of 250,000 to 499,999 inhabitants (-3.4 percent) and those cities with 100,000 to 249,999 persons (-0.8 percent).

More comprehensive statistics will be available in September 2007 when the FBI publishes Crime in the United States, 2006, on its UCR Web site.

———-

Alexandria, VA – July 10, 2007 – The nationwide CyberTipline, staffed 24/7 at the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC), this week received its 500,000th report of suspected child pornography and other child exploitation crimes.

The half-million mark comes nine years after the CyberTipline was mandated by the U.S. Congress to serve as the nation’s “9-1-1” for reporting incidents of child sexual exploitation. NCMEC’s Exploited Child Division (ECD) personnel analyze and develop the leads, which are then referred to law enforcement for investigation and prosecution. Since its creation, the number of reports to the CyberTipline, has shown significant increases in many of the reporting categories.

“Here’s what we know, an estimated 1 in 5 girls and 1 in 10 boys will be sexually victimized in someway before they reach the age of 18,” said NCMEC President & CEO Ernie Allen. “The constant growth in reports to the CyberTipline is staggering. Even more disturbing is that these figures don’t reflect the true number of children being victimized because sex crimes involving minors are grossly underreported.”

Reports to the CyberTipline come from the general public and U.S.based Electronic Service Providers. The vast majority of the reports are received electronically via NCMEC’s website, www.cybertipline.com.

Trends and Statistics

CyberTipline reports are collected in the following seven categories: Child Pornography; Child Prostitution; Child Sex Tourism; Child Sexual Molestation; Online Enticement of Children for Sexual Acts; Unsolicited Obscene Material Sent to a Child, and Misleading Domain Name.
According to NCMEC, the possession, manufacture and/or distribution of child pornography has remained the highest reporting category with 443,096 total tips to date, or 89 percent of the total leads received.

“Nearly 60 percent of the identified children shown in the child abuse images or videos are prepubescent, while an estimated six percent are infants,” Allen said. “What we’re seeing today, however, is a horrifying trend where the child victims are getting younger and the molestation is becoming increasingly more violent.”

The second highest CyberTipline reporting category is Online Enticement of Children for Sexual Acts. That category received 26,500 total tips to date and experienced a 250 percent increase in the last full year of reports between 2005 and 2006. Tips related to Unsolicited Obscene Material Sent to a Child climbed 194 percent during that same time period. According to recent research, an estimated 1 in 7 youth will receive an unwanted sexual solicitation over the Internet.

The remaining five reporting categories received the following total number of leads to date: Child Sexual Molestation - 12,428; Child Prostitution - 5,345; Unsolicited Obscene Material Sent to a Child - 5,316; Child Sex Tourism - 2,356, and Misleading Domain Name - 5,091.

CyberTipline Success Stories

Many reports to the CyberTipline have resulted in the arrest and successful prosecution of thousands of offenders worldwide.

In one 2006 case, a major Internet Service Provider made a report to the CyberTipline which led to the identification and arrest of a 55-year-old California man charged with sexually molesting his six-year-old daughter live via webcam. Using the information provided and a still image of the sexual abuse, an ECD analyst searched online photo albums for matching physical characteristics, including a convicted sex offender registry. The analyst was able to identify and verify the suspect’s screen name, real name, age and possible location. Within hours of receiving the CyberTipline report, the San Bernardino Sherriff’s Department executed a search warrant at the suspect’s home, where he surrendered to police and confessed to molesting his daughter. Police said the suspect also had additional images of child sexual abuse in his possession. The defendant, who was the primary caregiver of his two minor daughters, pled guilty to child molestation and was sentenced to 12 years in prison.

In a similar case, this past January a CyberTipline report led to the arrest of a Delaware man accused of emailing sexually abusive images of children to his online contacts. Investigators uncovered 3,000 online chats with several individuals graphically discussing the sexual molestation of children. In all, police arrested 10 Delaware men, including a corrections officer and fireman. One of the defendants was charged with molesting his eight-year-old daughter during a webcam transmission. Others were accused of discussing detailed plans to rape and molest their own children or relatives that ranged in age from three months to four-years-old.

Allen said, “These suspects and thousands more like them were stopped because of a CyberTipline report and excellent police work. We encourage anyone who believes a child is being sexually assaulted or exploited to contact the CyberTipline at www.cybertipline.com immediately. Failing to help a child should never be an option.”

# # #

About the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children

NCMEC is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that works in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. Since its establishment in 1984, NCMEC has assisted law enforcement with more than 130,300 missing child cases, resulting in the recovery of more than 112,900 children. For more information about NCMEC, call its toll-free, 24-hour hotline at 1-800-THE-LOST or visit its web site at www.missingkids.com.

Portsmouth City Council, April 26, 2007 — Statistics just released for the first three months of 2007 show that 2125 incidents were recorded by the network of 172 CCTV cameras in Portsmouth, showing how effective the cameras are in helping law enforcement in the city.

The CCTV cameras - all run from the control room in the Portsmouth Civic Offices, by a team of 11 staff, that work 24 hours a day, 365 days a year - have been widely used to help combat anti-social behaviour.

“The network of cameras acts as both a deterrent to would-be criminals and a tool for collecting evidence for prosecution of those who do break the law,” said Head of Community Safety Rachael Dalby. The cameras have certainly proved their worth over the eleven years they have been installed with over 15,000 arrests being made in the city where cameras have collected evidence for prosecution.”

Ray Stead, who is Portsmouth City Council’s CCTV Manager, said:” We have to adhere to a strict code of practice relating to data protection and human rights ensuring that there is no abuse of the system. This governs the release of CCTV images to external authorities and the media and is followed at all times.”

He added: “The camera system has been used to assist enforcement agencies solving murder enquiries, preventing anti social behaviour and drug trafficking as well as monitoring traffic and health and safety issues around the City.”

The CCTV control room works with Hampshire Constabulary, Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service, Inland Revenue, transport police and many agencies within PCC.

In 11 years, the CCTV cameras have been involved in more than 105,000 incidents located by the network, including incidents reported by other people and covered on camera, and incidents requested to be covered by Hampshire Constabulary.

The figures for the first three months of 2007 are:

575 incidents located and recorded by cameras
756 incidents reported by others
801 incidents requested to be recorded by the police
Out of these:

87 arrests were made because of CCTV crews noticing incidents
90 arrests were made by police following a request for CCTV cameras to record an incident
176 arrests were made following requests for recording incidents by other individuals and organisations
Ends

Note to editors:

The figures for the same period in 2006 were:

642 incidents located and recorded by cameras
650 incidents reported by others
1103 incidents requested to be recorded by the police
Out of these:

92 arrests were made because of CCTV crews noticing incidents
135 arrests were made by police following a request for CCTV cameras to record an incident
143 arrests were made following requests for recording incidents by other individuals and organisations
Other key facts about the network are:

Up to 45 images can be displayed at one time in the control room
Each camera is connected to the control room by fibre optic cables
The police do not have control over where CCTV cameras go or are pointed, they have to request this
Each camera costs on average £20,000 each
The Safer Portsmouth Partnership’s members work together to reduce crime, disorder and substance misuse in Portsmouth.

If you would like to know more about the Safer Portsmouth Partnership you can contact the Community Safety Team on 023 9283 4755

Shopping centre managers are calling for more support from the police and local councils to address the growing problem of anti-social behaviour, according to a survey of managers at leading shopping centres in the UK. The research, conducted for G4S Security Services (UK), reveals that one–in-five shopping centre managers would like more help improving safety and security in the area surrounding their shopping centre.

Of those shopping centre managers calling for more local support, almost three quarters want an increased police presence 72%. A further 14% would like police response times to improve, while the remainder want better implementation of CCTVsystems in the area.

The findings come as a national consumer survey found that the greatest concern for 57% or 21.6 million British adults while shopping was anti-social behaviour, ahead of 52% who feared violent attacks and just 23% who worry about terrorism.

Consumer concerns when shopping - Proportion of GB adults
Anti-social behaviour (e.g. verbal abuse) - 57%
Violent attack (e.g. mugging) - 52%
Pickpockets - 47%
Losing a child in a shop or shopping centre - 30%
Risk of a terrorist incident - 23%
Other - 1%

Half of consumers believe that shopping centres would be safer if alcohol was banned from the premises (see table), while almost a third (31%) of adults support a ban on people wearing hooded tops in shops and shopping centres and 16% would like to see single sex groups of youths banned.

However, shopping centre managers have already taken significant steps to address some of these consumer concerns: 74% have banned alcohol from the premises, 71% have banned smoking and 83% have banned skateboards and roller skates.

Looking ahead, shopping centre managers are most in favour of banning hooded tops from their premises with a bar on ‘heelys’ and wearing offensive tee-shirts next on the list.

Douglas Greenwell, Sales & Marketing Director, G4S Security Services (UK) said, “This research shows that anti-social behaviour is a major challenge for retailers looking to attract customers. It’s clear that they need to continue to work closely with the police and local councils to limit these ‘petty crimes’ which continue to be a major nuisance to millions of people. If they don’t, then consumers will vote with their feet and shop elsewhere.

“The presence of uniformed security officers is proven to reduce incidences of anti-social behaviour and enables shopping centre managers to balance concerns for consumer safety with the enjoyment of people shopping at their retail outlet.”

Source: SecurityPark

The U.S. Department of Justice pulled the covers off a previously-sealed case of corporate espionage by a former DuPont scientist who stole $400-million in intellectual property from his employer.

Our company is specialized in security software and we have developed a technology that can protect not only the access to the system, but information down to the field and execution level with biometrics.

We would like to invite you to view an educational movie about our unique biometric technology that is being used by government organizations, banks and utility companies, etc. to protect their most valuable assets at the data level:

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Art Coviello, president of the RSA Security division of EMC, said during his recent keynote apeech with Bill Gates at the RSA show: “We need to secure the king instead of the castle. Information is king and it likes to move around.”

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WASHINGTON, D.C., 01/15/07 — The scam e-mail, which first appeared in December, threatens to kill recipients if they do not pay the sender. It’s a scam. FBI officials recommend you don’t reply.

A new scam cropping up in e-mail boxes across the country is preying not on recipients’ greed or good intentions, but on their fears. The scam e-mail, which first appeared in December, threatens to kill recipients if they do not pay thousands of dollars to the sender, who purports to be a hired assassin.

About 115 complaints have been filed with the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) since the scam emerged, according to special agent John Hambrick, who heads IC3. He said the extortion scam does not appear to target anyone specifically and that IC3 has not received any reports of money loss or threats carried out.

Replying to the e-mails just sends a signal to senders that they’ve reached a live account. It also escalates the intimidation, Hambrick said.

In one case, a recipient responded that he wanted to be left alone and threatened to call authorities. The scammer, who was demanding an advance payment of $20,000, e-mailed back and reiterated the threat, this time with some personal details about the recipient—his work address, marital status, and daughter’s full name. Then an ultimatum:

Bill Shore, a special agent who supervises the computer crime squad in the FBI’s Pittsburgh field office, said recipients should not be overly spooked when scammers incorporate their intended victims’ personal details in their schemes.

The extortion scam is a less subtle variation of some other e-mail scams designed to trick recipients into turning over money or personal information. Nigerian Letter schemes, in which recipients are offered the “opportunity” to share in a percentage of millions of dollars if they would first front some of their own money, are among the most prolific, along with phishing scams where recipients are asked in unsolicited e-mails to “update” their personal information.

The new extortion e-mails vary in style and content and generally contain misspellings and some broken English. But the underlying message appears to be the same: pay the sender or risk the alternative. A scam e-mail in December said as much:

IC3 recently noted a new twist in the scam. Now e-mails are surfacing that claim to be from the FBI in London and inform recipients that an arrest was made in the case. The e-mail says the recipient’s information was found on the suspect and that they should reply to help further the investigation. This, too, is a scam.

The scams, agent Shore said, “are an opportunity to raise awareness about Internet fraud.” The best defense is to protect your personal information as best you can and to delete—unopened—unsolicited SPAM e-mail.

For more information on scams, visit our Common Fraud Schemes page. IC3 also has information on Internet crime schemes and prevention tips.

To report Internet crime, contact IC3 or your local FBI field office.

Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)

Alert Honors the Life of Amber Hagerman

WASHINGTON, Jan. 11 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — The U.S. Department of Justice commemorated the 11-year anniversary of the AMBER Alert program today by outlining the tremendous success of the initiative that has saved the lives of hundreds of children nationwide.

The PROTECT Act, which President Bush signed into law in April 2003, statutorily established the national AMBER Alert Coordinator role. Since that time, AMBER Alert has made remarkable progress:

* All 50 states now have statewide AMBER Alert plans, creating a network
of plans nationwide to aid in the recovery of abducted children.

* Tribal nations are working to develop their own plans tailored to their
specific needs so that children in Indian country may benefit from AMBER
Alert.

* Ninety percent of the 308 AMBER Alert recoveries have occurred since
AMBER Alert became a nationally coordinated effort in 2002.

* In May 2005, the Office of Justice Programs (OJP) announced along with
other government officials and the wireless industry that wireless users
can receive geographically-specified messages on their wireless devices
through an AMBER Alert wireless messaging system.

* Anecdotal evidence demonstrates that perpetrators are well aware of the
power of AMBER Alert, and in many cases have released an abducted child
upon hearing the alert.

“In 11 years, we have seen a single, local program grow into a powerful national network,” said Regina B. Schofield, Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Justice Programs, who also serves as the National AMBER Alert Coordinator. “Amber’s tragedy sparked the creation of the AMBER Alert program, now one of the most effective tools employed to protect children.”

On January 13, 1996, Amber Hagerman was abducted while riding her bicycle, and then brutally murdered. The AMBER (America’s Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response) Alert network was created after her tragic death. AMBER Alerts are emergency messages broadcast when a law enforcement agency determines that a child has been abducted and is in imminent danger. The broadcasts include information about the child and abductor that could lead to the child’s recovery, such as physical description and information about the abductor’s vehicle. The AMBER Alert program began in 1996 when Dallas-Fort Worth broadcasters teamed up with local police to develop an early warning system to help find abducted children.

In October 2002, President Bush hosted the first-ever White House Conference on Missing, Exploited and Runaway Children. Following the 2002 White House Conference, the Attorney General appointed the Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Justice Programs to serve as the national AMBER

Alert Coordinator and a national strategy was developed to create a seamless national network of alert systems.

The Office of Justice Programs provides federal leadership in developing the nation’s capacity to prevent and control crime, administer justice, and assist victims. OJP is headed by an Assistant Attorney General and comprises five component bureaus and an office: the Bureau of Justice Assistance; the Bureau of Justice Statistics; the National Institute of Justice; the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention; and the Office for Victims of Crime, as well as the Community Capacity Development Office, which incorporates the Weed and Seed strategy and OJP’s American Indian and Alaska Native Affairs Desk. More information can be found at

Website: http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov

Source: U.S. Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs

After a year or more, the Security Mission web site is back on line and working to update it’s story offerings.  Although the Security Mission website sat dormant all this time, over the course of a year or so we were busy working on other projects in an effort to create a web enterprise designed to cover a variety of areas within the security and life-safety missions.

This web enterprise includes a number of web sites, besides Security Mission.  Also included is http://www.firenetonline.com/ and our http://www.e-commkiosk.com/ Security News & Comment web site.  Unfortunately, problems with the Security Mission News Page forced us to redirect web traffic to the e-CommKiosk site, but we are working to correct the programming problems thereon.

FireNetOnline (FNO), the newest of the four web sites, is designed for fire professionals by fire professionals. FNO membership numbers 110 at this time and is comprised of fire officials, code enforcement officers, firefighters, fire alarm installers, life-safety officers, and others within the fire protection arena. Our members come from both public and private sectors. Our motto is: “By fire professionals for fire professionals” and our membership activities reflect this idealism. For more information on how to register for membership, please visit our main website at http://www.firenetonline.com/.

e-CommKiosk is a news service designed especially for the physical security and life-safety markets. On this website you will find timely information and articles on homeland security, law enforcement, and electronic security. Manufacturer representatives also post their client’s news releases, news, and case studies on e-CommKiosk as well. The news we carry here on the front page of Security Mission comes from the e-CommKiosk.com site.  For more information on this informative and helpful tool, go to: http://www.e-commkiosk.com/.

To visit Security Mission, go to http://www.securitymission.com/. .

 

12/22/06

The FBI in Los Angeles last week announced it opened an investigation to determine who hacked into a restricted database at the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) that held the names and personal information of some 800,000 students, faculty, and alumni. Anyone who thought they had been further victimized as a result of the breach was encouraged to contact the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3).

To understand why IC3 was brought into the picture in this case, it helps to see how the program works.

The IC3 was founded six years ago as a partnership between the FBI and the National White Collar Crime Center (NW3C). The NW3C is a nonprofit organization which assists state and local law enforcement in fighting cyber and economic crime. The IC3’s aim is to be a central repository and analytical resource addressing the full spectrum of Internet-related crime complaints such as hacks, auction scams, identity theft, etc.

Complaints submitted through IC3’s website, www.ic3.gov, are reviewed by FBI and NW3C analysts and analyzed to identify leads and patterns from the hundreds of complaints that are received daily. The IC3 then refers the complaints, along with their analyses, to FBI field offices or other federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies. It’s there that investigators determine whether or not to open a case. Last year, IC3 referred 97,076 fraud complaints—which equated to $183 million in losses—for potential investigations.

Supervisory Special Agent (SSA) Kim Richmond, who is assigned to the FBI Cyber Division’s IC3 unit in Fairmont, West Virginia, described the IC3 as a clearinghouse for complaints.

The sheer volume of complaints—231,493 last year alone—enables IC3 analysts to look for links and patterns, which can lead to stronger cases and help zero in on the major sources of criminal activity. In one case referred by the IC3 and investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, a California man who was offering expensive tickets to sporting events through an online auction—then not delivering the tickets—was arrested on 12 counts of mail fraud and faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted.

The IC3 2005 Internet Crime Report revealed that auction fraud and non-delivery of goods accounted for more than three-quarters of complaints in 2005. Nigerian Letter scams—where individuals posing as foreign government officials ask for your help placing large sums of money in overseas bank accounts—cost complainants the most money last year, an average of $5,000 apiece. Most of those who submitted complaints to IC3, however, lost less than $1,000 each in scams in 2005.

In the case of suspected identity theft and potential loss of personal data, such as the FBI investigation in the UCLA hack, the IC3 recommends the following steps:

Contact the fraud departments at the three major credit bureaus and get a “fraud alert” placed on your file.
Notify your creditors, determine if any accounts have been fraudulently accessed, close those accounts, and use new passwords when opening new accounts.
File a report with your local law enforcement agency; retain a copy because it may be requested as proof by creditors or businesses.
File a complaint with IC3 so that agents and analysts can apply their analytical tools and expertise to hone in on the perpetrators.

Resources:
- Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3)
- IC3 2005 Internet Crime Report
- FBI Stories About Cyber Crimes
- Press Release Seeking Victims of UCLA Computer Intrusion

Source: FBI

It’s important for the head of the household to have a plan when things go wrong. This is true whether the emergency involves a tornado or a local event, including a crime in the home. Thinking about the possibilities and possible courses of action ahead of time is integral to personal safety and survivability.

Ready.gov has prepared a Family Emergency Planning checklist for this purpose. To review this list and download it for your own use, go to www.ready.gov/america/_downloads/familyemergencyplan.pdf

Al Colombo

A TOKEN CRIME
Cross-Border Counterfeiting Ring Busted

11/27/06

Even side-by-side, you can hardly tell them apart.

On the left is a silver subway or bus token about the size of a dime that, for $2.50, will take you across the city of Toronto. On the right is one of the millions of incredibly realistic knockoffs that began flooding the city’s transit system two years ago.

How good were the fake tokens? Good enough to slip into the system virtually unnoticed. And weighted just right so they were accepted by fare machines.

It wasn’t long before the Toronto Transit Commission, an arm of the Canadian government, got wise to the counterfeit tokens. The ensuing investigation—led by Staff Sergeant Mark Russell of the transit commission in concert with the Toronto Police Service—soon pieced together how the tokens were getting into the system: through black markets operating in pubs and convenience stores, on college campuses, and elsewhere, where the knockoffs were being sold at a buck a piece (shorting the Canadians an estimated $10 million total).

Try as they might, though, investigators couldn’t figure out who was behind the scheme. How were they minting these precise aluminum replicas? Where?

Then, a break in the case. In October 2005, a U.S. token broker reported that someone wanted to order two million of the Toronto tokens. The customer said that the tokens would be thrown from floats during a holiday parade in the Caribbean and that he wanted them delivered to Niagara Falls, New York.

Hmmm, strange, the broker thought. He called the transit commission and spoke to Staff Sergeant Russell, who immediately jumped on the lead. With a U.S. connection now established, Staff Sergeant Russell called the people across the border he thought would have the resources to help: our FBI agents in Buffalo.

That’s when Special Agents Rob Gross and Tom Doktor got to work. After talking with the token broker, Gross learned that a private mint in Massachusetts had already made millions of the fake tokens and was almost ready to deliver another shipment. Mint officials said they didn’t realize the orders weren’t legit and cooperated fully with the investigation. Gross and Russell learned the identities of the likely counterfeiters—and who was supposed to pick up the tokens in Niagara Falls.

Using a team of agents and our longstanding surveillance capabilities, we watched as a shipment of tokens left the mint and was delivered to a local man in Niagara Falls. The man told arresting agents he was just a middleman and agreed to cooperate. Our agents were ready several days later when he delivered several thousand tokens to a woman who would take the tokens across the border. She was arrested on the spot.

Meanwhile, Canadian police had arrested the suspected leaders—two Canadian brothers, one of whom was an ex-basketball player—based largely on evidence we helped gather at the mint. Soon after, another private U.S. mint called our Philadelphia office and said it had likely produced fake tokens as well. It provided more critical evidence—including 70,000 fake coins—to implicate a third suspect, who was subsequently arrested by TTC and Toronto Police officers. As part of their plea, the two suspects in American custody will be sentenced in the U.S. after testifying in the Canadian trials.

This month the TTC unveiled new tokens designed to thwart counterfeiters. They will completely replace the old tokens by the end of January.

Thus ended the worst ever counterfeiting scam of its kind in Canada…a crime that was enabled here in the U.S. “The fact is, law enforcement has to respect borders but criminals don’t,” Gross said. “That’s why it’s so important to have the great working relationships that we do with the Canadians—they are there when we need them, whether the case involves tokens or terrorists.”

Source: FBI

Walpole’s district includes Platte Canyon High School in Bailey, where a gunman held students hostage and fatally shot student Emily Keyes last month. He joined other administrators in opposing Amendment 39 at a Denver Area School Superintendents Council news conference.

If passed, the measure would require schools to spend at least 65 percent of their operating budgets on instruction that directly touches students.

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NEWPORT BEACH, Calif., Oct. 10 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Universal Guardian Holdings, Inc. (OTC: UGHO) (BULLETIN BOARD: UGHO) , an emerging global leader in non-lethal protection products, integrated transportation and global supply chain security systems and strategic security services to protect against terrorist, criminal and security threats to governments and businesses worldwide, announced today the launch of its Cobra StunLightâ„¢ consumer sales program through the debut of the Cobra StunLightâ„¢ ecommerce website (http://www.cobrastunlight.com/).

“The introduction of the Cobra StunLightâ„¢ website is the beginning a new era in consumer personal protection,” stated Michael Skellern, Universal’s Chief Executive Officer. “We are extremely excited that we can now offer directly to the consumer the same personal protection available to law enforcement and security professionals around world,” Mr. Skellern added.

“The ecommerce site is the first step in the roll out of the Cobra StunLightâ„¢ to the consumer market. Our website works in conjunction with a number of different consumer marketing programs that will be unveiled over the next few months. These marketing initiatives include a Cobra StunLightâ„¢ infomercial which is currently in the final stages of post-production and scheduled to be aired during the fourth quarter,” stated Keith Winsell, Universal’s Vice President of Marketing.

“We have received tremendous interest in the Cobra StunLightâ„¢ from consumers,” said Charlie Dey, Universal Guardian’s Director of Marketing. “In fact, numerous consumers have indicated that they want to purchase two Cobra StunLightsâ„¢, one for their home and the other for their car,” Mr. Dey added.

The Cobra StunLightâ„¢ is 3-in-1 personal protection device which offers consumers an escalating form of protection through the use of high-intensity LED lights, a physiological deterring laser device, and a patented forward dispensing pepper spray. Previously available only to law enforcement, military and security officials, The Cobra StunLightâ„¢ is now available for the first time to the general public.

About Universal Guardian Holdings

Universal Guardian Holdings, Inc. (UGHO) and its subsidiaries provide a comprehensive range of security products, systems, and services designed to mitigate terrorist and security threats worldwide. Universal Guardian’s global risks mitigation group includes strategic and tactical security services, integrated global supply chain visibility and security systems for government and industry, as well as non-lethal and tactical products for law enforcement, military, professional security and consumer markets. Universal Guardian companies features a wide variety of applications that provide cost- effective, end-to-end solutions and critical security services for government and multi-national businesses from operations on every continent. http://www.universalguardian.com/

About Universal Guardian Products

Universal Guardian’s Product Group, develops and produces safe and effective non-lethal products and systems that provide law enforcement, military, professional security and consumers with immediate offensive and defensive escalating use-of-force options for several threat environments. The Company’s patented Cobra StunLightâ„¢ “Stops Bad Guys in their Tracks”. http://www.cobrastunlight.com/

Safe Harbor Statement:

This news release contains certain forward-looking statements pertaining to future anticipated projected plans, performance and developments, as well as other statements relating to future operations and results. Any statements in this news release that are not statements of historical fact may be considered to be forward-looking statements. Written words such as “may,” “will,” “expect,” “believe,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “intends,” “goal,” “objective,” “seek,” “attempt,” or variations of these or similar words, identify forward-looking statements. These statements by their nature are estimates of future results only and involve substantial risks and uncertainties, including those detailed from time to time in Universal Guardian Holdings, Inc.’s reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. There can be no assurance that actual results will not differ materially from expectations. These risks factors include potential customer interest in the sale and delivery of its Total Asset Guardianâ„¢, SeaPort Guardianâ„¢, Container Guardianâ„¢, Explosive Guardianâ„¢ and SupplyChain Guardianâ„¢ systems as well as the production and sale of Cobra StunLightâ„¢ and Riot Defenderâ„¢ and their accessories.

Further information is available on the Company’s website: http://www.universalguardian.com/

Investor Relations Contact:     Investor Relations    Universal Guardian Holdings, Inc.    4695 MacArthur Court., Suite 300    Newport Beach, CA USA 92626    + 1 949. 861.8295 ext. 211     Company Contact:     Michael J. Skellern, Chief Executive Officer    Universal Guardian Holdings, Inc.    4695 MacArthur Court, Suite 300    Newport Beach, CA USA 92626    + 1 949. 861.8295

SOURCE: Universal Guardian Holdings, Inc.

CONTACT: Investor Relations, +1-949-861-8295 - ext. 211, or Michael J.
Skellern of Universal Guardian Holdings,Inc., +1-949-861-8295

Web site: http://www.universalguardian.com/
http://www.cobrastunlight.com/

Subscribers will get e-mail when one moves into area

A new program on the Web site of the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office makes it easier to be alerted when a registered sex offender moves into a neighborhood.

Anyone who signs up will be notified by e-mail when a convicted offender moves within a mile of a registered address, such as a home, church or school. Up to five addresses can be registered.

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Jenny