Business impersonation scams are a large and growing risk for high-net-worth individuals, closely held business owners, and institutions. Scams have claimed victims in all 50 states and more than 100 countries and there is every reason to believe the threat is growing. Learn seven steps that can help you protect yourself and your business from impersonation and other types of fraud.
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Asset protection follows the continuum of life’s events, reflecting the changes that individuals, families, careers, businesses and wealth undergo. Within the wealth spectrum, a simple way of thinking about asset protection strategies is from lower risk and simpler tactics to higher risk and more complex and sophisticated tactics. This approach will cover everything from how assets are owned and titled to how they’re insured and protected against risk to how they can be held for efficient asset management.
Some 90 percent of adults over 65 prefer to “age in place,” and even the need for health or mobility assistance doesn’t change their desire to stay in their own homes. It raises issues not just for Baby Boomers, but for those who are responsible for their transitioning through the stages of aging. The “aging in place” trend has also brought with it significantly more options and risks on the continuum of care. Welcome to senior citizenship, 21st Century style.
Cybersecurity risk creates a vexing set of challenges for family offices, high net worth families and executives, who, like any other business, would be well-served to make cybersecurity an important part of their estate planning and asset protection strategies. If the family or executive is prominent, a host of other issues related to privacy and identity protection apply. While there is no simple solution to the growing risks posed by cybercrime, there are few steps family offices, high net worth families, and executives can take to minimize the cyber attacks.
Overall, the insurance market in Asia remained competitive in 2015, with rates remaining stable or decreasing in most lines of insurance. However, certain lines did experience rate increases and these were generally driven by loss experience, as in the case of the Tianjin explosion in August and its impact on property catastrophe-exposed coverage, or rising costs, such as has been seen in the medical malpractice and employee benefits lines.
Ample capacity and insurer competition generally put downward pressure on rates in most coverage lines in 2015, a trend expected to continue in 2016, barring unforeseen changes in condition. Other significant developments that bear watching throughout 2016 include demand for cybersecurity coverage across all industries, large-scale mergers and acquisitions, executive leadership changes, and recent announcements regarding potential and actual reinsurance underwriting.
Identity theft is a risk that continues to grow and change daily. Due to the many forms identity theft can take, including medical, credit, and financial, the threat remains prevalent and affects millions of people every year. Keeping up-to-date with the latest prevention methods is the surest way to protect the assets and identity. There are a number of steps that can be taken to reduce the risk of identity theft, including reducing access to personal information and maintaining a list of credit card issuers and phone numbers.
All businesses face cyber threats. Almost every company has some kind of network, database or online presence that puts it at risk for a cyber breach. Smaller businesses can be more vulnerable than larger ones as they often use third-party hosting and information processing that can be an entry point for cyber attacks. By following various proactive efforts, companies can protect their employees, their clients, the products, and their intellectual capital.
Each year fraudsters are stealing millions of dollars through sophisticated fraudulent use of Email Compromise Scams targeted at individuals and employees who regularly perform wire transfers. The scam involves a fraudster creating a false email or alternatively, hacking into a real email account of an executive, business partner, employee or financial advisor in order to generate a fraudulent request for a transfer of funds. The email is normally well designed and appears legitimate. Stay protected and secure by following preventive measures and developing good security habits.
Before executing a commercial property lease or sales contract, the parties may prepare a letter of intent or an agreement in principle. The letter of intent or a similar document (the “LOIs”) generally signals that the parties have agreed on the outline of a deal, but not on all of its provisions or details.