Tag Archives: Criminals

by | July 28, 2015 · 9:56 am

Hospitality Industry Conference Update: “2015 CTSSA Fraud Conference”

The 2015 California Tourism Safety and Security Conference is being held Thursday, September 17, 2015 at the beautiful Island Hotel in Newport Beach, California.  This half day conference is centered around fraud4d30d4d05aa65b796643a506d93fc01a and forgery detection and prevention at your business. With subject matter experts instructing in hands-on, nuts and bolts training format, you will see first hand how criminals forge fraudulent credit cards, wash checks, and take advantage of your unsuspecting business.

Together with several California law enforcement, security, and tourism industry organizations, the Association plans and hosts the nation’s largest training conference dedicated to issues of safety & security for visitors and visitor venues.   The annual conference features timely new training topics each year, presented by experienced practitioners and subject matter experts.   Content and logistics are planned and coordinated by a committee of CTSSA volunteers, chaired by Dave Wiggins.

The event includes a full day of training, plus the Tech Expo which showcases emerging tools & technologies, as well as a keynote address, and hosted luncheon and cocktail reception.   The conference has been praised for its timely and relevant “nuts-n-bolts” training content, as well as its valuable networking opportunities.  The conference has been held at various locations throughout California.  Participants come from all across the United States.  Participation is by pre-registration, and is open only to qualified working professionals.

For more: http://bit.ly/1Mt3G6e

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by | September 10, 2014 · 9:13 am

Hospitality Industry Legal Update: “Arizona Lawmakers Want Background Checks for Hotel Workers”

“…The attorneys say less than nine months later, in June 2012, the same night clerk raped another woman who was a guest at the hotel, again using the master key to gain access.Arizona They say there is an additional police report from Illinois that claims the man, again working as a night clerk, used the master key to enter her room and attempt to sexually assault her. Neither attorney knew of the man’s current location…”

Hobbs said the existing sex-offender laws — those that dictate where an offender can live and work — are in place to keep the public safe and aware.

“It is unthinkable that this registered offender has exploited loopholes in the law to gain access to sleeping hotel guests and to reoffend,” she said.

Friday’s press conference was the first time the prospect of legislative efforts on the issue had been brought to the attention of the Arizona Lodging & Tourism Association, and officials were unaware of what a proposal would entail, said Kristen Jarnagin, senior vice president of the trade group.

For more: http://bit.ly/1nLAvMG

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by | December 15, 2010 · 10:01 am

Hospitality Industry Identity Theft: Las Vegas Hotel Industry Is Target Of Cybercriminals Who “Skim Wireless Transmissions” And Intercept Credit Card Data And PIN Numbers On Low-Cost/High Tech Devices

Law enforcement officers learned last week how easy it is to have one’s identity stolen when a cybercrimes expert powered a $30 machine and intercepted some of the wireless transmissions coming from their smart phones as they sat in a UNLV conference room.

“It’s absolutely an arms race,” said Feffer, who also investigates cybercrime for the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office. “You see vulnerabilities in software exploited by criminals. Then you see the software companies patch those vulnerabilities and then the criminals develop new ones. That’s why you have to make sure everything is up-to-date and currently patched. What was good last year is by no means safe this year.”

As cybercriminals seek new ways to outsmart police and the public, crime-fighting agencies are increasingly turning to cyber-experts to show them the latest high-tech equipment used in identity theft scams.

One of those experts is Justin Feffer, who conducts seminars for identity theft detectives nationwide on behalf of the FBI and LifeLock, an Arizona company that specializes in identity theft protection.

“It’s absolutely an arms race,” said Feffer, who also investigates cybercrime for the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office. “You see vulnerabilities in software exploited by criminals. Then you see the software companies patch those vulnerabilities and then the criminals develop new ones. That’s why you have to make sure everything is up-to-date and currently patched. What was good last year is by no means safe this year.”

That’s the reason nearly 100 officers from Metro Police, North Las Vegas, Henderson, the state Gaming Control Board and other agencies attended the conference.

It included a demonstration of skimming devices that criminals use to steal credit and debit card information, including PIN numbers, from card-swiping machines that have become increasingly present at Las Vegas restaurants and retail outlets.

Speaking outside the conference room, LifeLock spokesman Mike Prusinski emphasized the importance of training. “Most of the individuals in that room have absolutely no idea what a skimming device looks like or what the wiring looks like. We’re opening their eyes to these things.”

The interview took place outside the room because the FBI and LifeLock don’t want the public — including the media — to know what law enforcement is learning about the tricks of identity thieves.

Nevada has been a hotbed of identity theft for years. The state last year ranked fifth in the nation with 106 complaints per 100,000 residents — 2,802 complaints total — that were fielded by the Federal Trade Commission. That’s down from 130.2 complaints per 100,000 residents in 2005, when Nevada ranked second. The agency did not explain why the numbers for Nevada are down.

The FTC data paint only a partial picture of the problem because many victims file complaints only with police instead of also with the commission. But the number of identity theft crime reports filed with Metro from January through Nov. 13 — 2,063 — is down from the 2,440 filed during the same period in 2009.

For more:  http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2010/dec/15/pickpockets-strike-through-ether/

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by | July 3, 2010 · 5:36 am

Hotel Industry Liability Risks: Is Criminal Danger And Liability Posed By Employing And Housing “Convicted Sex Offenders” At Hotels?

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yrORrzsfaKk]

When you check into a hotel, you’d never expect they would have a registered sex offender working behing the front desk and making your room key. But that’s just what our investigation found. Here’s Lisa Guererro’s report that raises troubling questions about whether sex offenders should be given jobs that allow them to interact with families and children.

Robert Mitchell worked the overnight shift at the Holiday Inn in Fort Worth, Texas. So you might be surprised to learn this mild mannered desk clerk is a registered sex offender. In 1995, he pleaded guilty to molesting a 10-year-old girl.

And this from a Huntington Beach, CA hotel investigation:

Huntington Beach police said they had a specific reason for targeting the hotel. While residents can research sex offenders near their homes, visitors may be less apt to research offenders at a hotel where they are staying, said police spokesman Lt. Russell Reinhart.

 

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