Monday, January 26, 2015

DON’T FALL FOR THE NEWEST SCAM


There is a new e-mail scam making the rounds, and it does not say that it comes from Nigeria this time. Be sure to share with those who might get confused so that they do not fall for it.

I just received mine via e-mail:

Dear Peel,

I am Barr.Bob Kokou, My late client Mr. Robert Peel, who died as a result of the 11th September 2001 WTC terrorist attack has an unclaim safe-deposit (US$10,5 million)in a Finance Security Company,whom i believe is your relative having beared the same surname.. Contact me with my private email (***) immediately for more details Thanks and God bless.
Regards,
Attorney Bob Kokou.(Esq)

If this sounds too good to be true, it is because it is.  It is clearly a scam. Here are some things I noticed immediately:

1. It was a personal, rather than a business, e-mail.
2. It was sent to multiple undisclosed recipients, and by only last name.
3. It asked to a reply to different email address than the sender.
4. It had no other contact information that could be corroborated like an office phone or address.
5. He refers to himself a “barrister” which is a foreign word for lawyer.
6. The spelling, verb tense and coding of numbers is wrong.
7. No Robert Peel died in 9/11. Those lists are easy to locate.
8. His name is the name of a false god. From, where else, but Nigeria?!? According to the folks at Wikipedia, “In the Yoruba religion of Benin, a Kokou is one of the most highly feared warrior under-gods, and it is the most violent and powerful of the Yoruba spirits and the voodoo rituals surrounding it involves its followers to fall into a deep trance with rapidly beating drums. Once possessed by the spirit, the body in which the Kokou inhabits may remain in a trance all day and in due course demonstrate a thirst for blood with glass bottles and knives, swallow sharp objects or repeatedly beat its head against the wall until it bleeds profusely, revealing a high tolerance to pain.”

I know you are thinking that this is so clearly a scam at first blush that no one will fall for it. Believe me, these things work or they would not go to the trouble.

Monday, January 12, 2015

NEED AN UMBRELLA?


Even if it’s not raining, you may need an umbrella. “Umbrella insurance,” that is. As an injury attorney who sees terrible accidents and tragedies every single week, I commend to you the idea of umbrella insurance.

Umbrella insurance is basically additional liability insurance. It is designed to help protect you and yours from major claims or lawsuits. Having $1,000,000.00 to pay out if you cause a huge loss protects your assets.

This unique kind of insurance provides additional liability coverage above the limits of your homeowners, auto, boat, ATV, and farm insurance policies. It affords more liability coverage on any rental units you may own. It kicks in when the liability limits on these other policies has been exhausted. Umbrella coverage also covers the odder claims that may be excluded by other liability policies including: false arrest, libel and slander.
Examples might include:

Injuries to other parties due to a serious car accident where you are at fault, like rear-ending a full school bus.
You show a gun to a guest and it goes off, causing them to lose their foot.
Injuries sustained by a guest in your home due to a fall in that hole your son dug.
Harm caused to the postal worker as a result of your dog attacking him.
Damage claims incurred when your pet rips a friend's priceless oriental rug to shreds.
Injuries sustained by a neighbor's child who fell off your trampoline.
A child is found dead in your swimming pool.
Someone trips over a crack in the sidewalk of your rental property and sues you for damages.

The odd cases of slander (an injurious spoken statement that is false) or libel (the same, only in written form) are indeed rare, but not unheard of.

Let's say you rear-end that school bus. The cost of the injuries you cause to others is $500,000. Let's further say that the Bodily Injury limit on your auto insurance is a generous $300,000. Your auto policy will cover $300,000 of the injuries. Your assets are in jeopardy for the rest. But your umbrella policy will cover the amount above the limit set in your auto policy, up to the limit you choose for your umbrella policy (usually $1,000,000.00).

Umbrella insurance is not that expensive. However, be aware that it requires a higher minimum bodily injury limit (usually $250,000-300,000) on your auto policy to qualify for an umbrella policy.