Meet Vinson Guard's John Schneider

John Schneider was center of attention on March 7th and 8th as he instructed the two day seminar of MARSEC compliant training at the GE Plastics Facility in Pearlington, Mississippi. Every security officer at the facility participated in the class. For John Schneider whether it is teaching firearms, classroom training for new security officers, or MARSEC instruction, he has found a comfortable niche with Vinson Guard Service, Inc.

John has been with Vinson Guard Service for 15 years, and is one of the company’s in-house instructors. John’s office is located in the corporate headquarters in New Orleans, but he spends a good percentage of his time traveling to the various branches and Vinson client locations either instructing in MARSEC, firearms, or security officer training. John holds a certificate in firearms instruction from the National Rifle Association along with being licensed by the Louisiana State Board of Private Security Examiners to teach the preliminary security course which is mandatory for any new hires.

Vinson Guard Service maintains five other instructors to ensure that its training requirements are met. A. J. Vado and Karl Pierson hold NRA Instructor’s Certification along with his Louisiana Classroom Instructor’s license; Barry McBride and Christine Vinson hold Louisiana Classroom Instructor’s license and Maria Landry is certified by the Maritime Security Institute to teach MARSEC training.

Submitted by: Maria Landry, Vinson Guard Service, Lacombe Office

Anti-Fraud Services a $900 Million Industry

Anti-fraud credit-monitoring services offered by banks, direct marketers, and credit bureaus such as Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion have turned the fear of identity theft into a $900 million industry that is expanding by at least 20 percent every year. "Identity theft has essentially become a business-- not just for bad guys but for good guys, too," said privacy consultant Robert Gellman. "A lot of the people that are involved in profiting legally from identity theft are direct participants in the whole credit system that doesn't have the protections in place to prevent identity theft in the first place." More than 12 million Americans subscribe to these services, which alert the consumer whenever a lender requests their credit file and cost anywhere from $3 to $16 a month. Though credit monitoring can provide a consumer with peace of mind, it often fails to protect against identity theft cases wherein a fraudster uses another person's social security number in conjunction with their own name. Additionally, zero liability policies and federal laws granting consumers access to one free credit report a year from the three biggest credit card bureaus allow consumers to obtain the same information at no cost.

Source: New York Times (12/12/06) P. A1 ; Dash, Eric

Study: Users Ignore Bank Security Features

Users of online banking sites tend to bypass critical clues that the integrity of those sites may have been compromised, according to the working draft of a study released on Sunday, February 4,by researchers at Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The study, which will be formally released in May at the IEEE Symposium on Security and Privacy in Oakland, CA, underscores how new technologies and warnings can't completely protect Internet users. For the first test, HTTPS indicators were removed from the address bar along with the lock that appears in the bottom right corner of Internet Explorer 6. Although the absence of HTTPS indicators should be a warning, all 67 participants continued with their transactions, the study found. The researchers then conducted a test where the site authentication image was removed along with the HTTPS indicators. Only two of 60 people chose not to log in when the image was removed. In the last test, researchers replaced a password entry page with a warning page from Internet Explorer 7 Beta 3. The page advises of problem with the security certificate of the chosen Web site. Despite the warning, 30 of 57 users entered their passwords.

Source: www.infoworld.com

FACT: In 2003, 1.8 million Americans failed to file income tax returns even though they stood to collect refunds.

90% OF E-MAIL WILL BE SPAM BY YEAR’S END

A flood of spam coming out of China and South Korea is fueling a 30% jump in spam levels in just the past week, according to a new report. If a renewed surge in spam continues on this track, 90% of all e-mail will be spam by the end of the year, according to a new report. The Australia-based Marshal's Threat Research and Content Engineering Team reports that spam volume is at its highest peak ever, increasing 280% since just last October.

"The increase in spam coming out of the region is likely the result of a newly activated botnet running off computers in Asia," said Bradley Anstis, a director at Marshal, in a written statement. "Approximately 85% of all emails received are spam. If the current increases in spam volumes continue in 2007, users can expect at least 90% of all emails received to be spam by the end of the year."

Earlier in February, Symantec's monthly spam report showed that the amount of spam sent out hit a high in December and stayed there in January. The total volume of spam had ratcheted up 55% in the last six months. What was noteworthy in the Symantec report was that pornographic spam has shown a marked decline in recent months, while pump-and-dump messages are on a wild ride. Symantec's monthly spam report shows that "adult," or pornographic, spam only accounted for 4% of all the spam that was sent out in January. In the first half of last year, adult spam accounted for 22% of spam messages. Financial spam, which includes pump-and-dump schemes, went from 15% of all messages in the first half of last year to 25% last month. Pump-and-dump scams tout a specific company's stock with misleading or outright fraudulent statements sent out in spam. After consumers race out to buy the stock and pump up the price, the spammers cash in by selling, or dumping, their shares at the inflated price.

Marshal analysts predict that spam will remain one of the most significant security threats facing businesses in 2007. "Many in the industry predicted that the spam problem would be resolved by now," Anstis said, "yet in 2007 it is difficult to foresee when spam filters will no longer be required."

QUOTE: I am still determined to be cheerful and happy, in whatever situation I may be; for I have also learned from experience that the greater part of our happiness or misery depends upon our dispositions, and not upon our circumstances.
- Martha Washington (1732 - 1802)

Vinson Guard Service 955 Howard Avenue New Orleans, LA 70113-1179 (504) 529-2260 (800) 441-7899 www.vinsonguard.com
VOLUME 1 - ISSUE 2 / March 2007
Meet Vinson Guard's John Schneider Anti-Fraud Services a $900 Million Industry Study: Users Ignore Bank Security Features 90% OF E-MAIL WILL BE SPAM BY YEAR’S END	Meet Vinson Guard's John Schneider John Schneider was center of attention on March 7th and 8th as he instructed the two day seminar of MARSEC compliant training at the GE Plastics Facility in Pearlington, Mississippi. Every security officer at the facility participated in the class. For John Schneider whether it is teaching firearms, classroom training for new security officers, or MARSEC instruction, he has found a comfortable niche with Vinson Guard Service, Inc. John has been with Vinson Guard Service for 15 years, and is one of the company’s in-house instructors. John’s office is located in the corporate headquarters in New Orleans, but he spends a good percentage of his time traveling to the various branches and Vinson client locations either instructing in MARSEC, firearms, or security officer training. John holds a certificate in firearms instruction from the National Rifle Association along with being licensed by the Louisiana State Board of Private Security Examiners to teach the preliminary security course which is mandatory for any new hires. Vinson Guard Service maintains five other instructors to ensure that its training requirements are met. A. J. Vado and Karl Pierson hold NRA Instructor’s Certification along with his Louisiana Classroom Instructor’s license; Barry McBride and Christine Vinson hold Louisiana Classroom Instructor’s license and Maria Landry is certified by the Maritime Security Institute to teach MARSEC training. Submitted by: Maria Landry, Vinson Guard Service, Lacombe Office back to top Anti-Fraud Services a $900 Million Industry Anti-fraud credit-monitoring services offered by banks, direct marketers, and credit bureaus such as Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion have turned the fear of identity theft into a $900 million industry that is expanding by at least 20 percent every year. "Identity theft has essentially become a business-- not just for bad guys but for good guys, too," said privacy consultant Robert Gellman. "A lot of the people that are involved in profiting legally from identity theft are direct participants in the whole credit system that doesn't have the protections in place to prevent identity theft in the first place." More than 12 million Americans subscribe to these services, which alert the consumer whenever a lender requests their credit file and cost anywhere from $3 to $16 a month. Though credit monitoring can provide a consumer with peace of mind, it often fails to protect against identity theft cases wherein a fraudster uses another person's social security number in conjunction with their own name. Additionally, zero liability policies and federal laws granting consumers access to one free credit report a year from the three biggest credit card bureaus allow consumers to obtain the same information at no cost. Source: New York Times (12/12/06) P. A1 ; Dash, Eric back to top Study: Users Ignore Bank Security Features Users of online banking sites tend to bypass critical clues that the integrity of those sites may have been compromised, according to the working draft of a study released on Sunday, February 4,by researchers at Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The study, which will be formally released in May at the IEEE Symposium on Security and Privacy in Oakland, CA, underscores how new technologies and warnings can't completely protect Internet users. For the first test, HTTPS indicators were removed from the address bar along with the lock that appears in the bottom right corner of Internet Explorer 6. Although the absence of HTTPS indicators should be a warning, all 67 participants continued with their transactions, the study found. The researchers then conducted a test where the site authentication image was removed along with the HTTPS indicators. Only two of 60 people chose not to log in when the image was removed. In the last test, researchers replaced a password entry page with a warning page from Internet Explorer 7 Beta 3. The page advises of problem with the security certificate of the chosen Web site. Despite the warning, 30 of 57 users entered their passwords. Source: www.infoworld.com back to top FACT: In 2003, 1.8 million Americans failed to file income tax returns even though they stood to collect refunds. 90% OF E-MAIL WILL BE SPAM BY YEAR’S END A flood of spam coming out of China and South Korea is fueling a 30% jump in spam levels in just the past week, according to a new report. If a renewed surge in spam continues on this track, 90% of all e-mail will be spam by the end of the year, according to a new report. The Australia-based Marshal's Threat Research and Content Engineering Team reports that spam volume is at its highest peak ever, increasing 280% since just last October. "The increase in spam coming out of the region is likely the result of a newly activated botnet running off computers in Asia," said Bradley Anstis, a director at Marshal, in a written statement. "Approximately 85% of all emails received are spam. If the current increases in spam volumes continue in 2007, users can expect at least 90% of all emails received to be spam by the end of the year." Earlier in February, Symantec's monthly spam report showed that the amount of spam sent out hit a high in December and stayed there in January. The total volume of spam had ratcheted up 55% in the last six months. What was noteworthy in the Symantec report was that pornographic spam has shown a marked decline in recent months, while pump-and-dump messages are on a wild ride. Symantec's monthly spam report shows that "adult," or pornographic, spam only accounted for 4% of all the spam that was sent out in January. In the first half of last year, adult spam accounted for 22% of spam messages. Financial spam, which includes pump-and-dump schemes, went from 15% of all messages in the first half of last year to 25% last month. Pump-and-dump scams tout a specific company's stock with misleading or outright fraudulent statements sent out in spam. After consumers race out to buy the stock and pump up the price, the spammers cash in by selling, or dumping, their shares at the inflated price. Marshal analysts predict that spam will remain one of the most significant security threats facing businesses in 2007. "Many in the industry predicted that the spam problem would be resolved by now," Anstis said, "yet in 2007 it is difficult to foresee when spam filters will no longer be required." back to top QUOTE: I am still determined to be cheerful and happy, in whatever situation I may be; for I have also learned from experience that the greater part of our happiness or misery depends upon our dispositions, and not upon our circumstances. - Martha Washington (1732 - 1802)
copyright 2007 Vinson Guard Service Contact Vinson Guard Service for questions or comments regarding the newsletter operations@vinsonguard.com