Security Update 

It is not often that I say this, but thankfully, we were left out! As I watch another Hurricane Season soon come to an end, I am grateful we were spared from the 10 storms that made landfall so far this year, which included Tropical Storms Claudette, Danny, Fred, and Mindy, as well as Hurricanes Elsa, Grace, Henri, Ida, Larry, and Nicholas. Although I am not a huge fan of looking in the rearview mirror often, it can remind, humble, and inspire us. Such was the case when I reflected upon 2016’s Hurricane Matthew. Many of you may recall Matthew and its devastation on our island, but looking at a few photos, like the one at right,  reminded me quickly how bad it truly was. More importantly, I remembered how incredibly well we functioned as a team and pulled together as a community to overcome the devastation.

I am hopeful that we can say the same thing about COVID-19 five years from now. If history repeats itself from last year, we may expect to see another surge in cases, hospitalizations, and deaths in December and January. Please, keep your wits about you during the holidays and continue to practice mitigation measures.

As the holidays approach, scammers and thieves increase their activity. We have written several articles on scams and how to vet vendors properly. Please, do your due diligence before having any work done or hiring a contractor. While shopping, please be aware of your surroundings, and take measures to detract from becoming a target. The same goes for online shopping and various email or phone scams. As you can imagine, the list of known scams is too lengthy to include here, and unknown scams or previously known scams with a new twist appear practically every day. A few red flags should alert your suspicion, and may include the following:

• Requests for money for any emergency or demands for an immediate payment
• Requests for payment in cash, wire transfer, gift cards, etc.
• Unknown persons seeking bank account or personal information (date of birth, social security number, or maiden name)
• Unknown or unverified persons attempting to log into your computer remotely
• Emails from unknown persons with links to open or files to download

           * Check known emails carefully. A well-known trick is to change a legit email address slightly. For example, timc@landings.org may become tim.c@landings.org, timc@landings.com, or tirnc@landings.org. Did you catch the differences? The last one is especially tricky, as the “r” and “n” next to each other look very similar to an “m.”

Criminals are particularly good at what they do. Always confirm through a trusted source before giving any information or payment. If in doubt, pause and ask a trusted friend or relative to verify your suspicions.

On a final note, please take this opportunity to give thanks for the many blessings we share, not only in this great country but also in this great community. Please take a moment and thank our staff members for the yeoman’s job they have done during these extraordinarily stressful and trying times.

Happy Holidays!