email scam more than ever warns ASIC

 


 The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has issued a warning against scam emails purporting to be from ASIC.

The corporate watchdog said some of its Registry customers continue to receive fake emails that appear similar to ASIC's and generally instruct recipients to click on a link or download a fake invoice. These fake emails are used by scammers to elicit payments, spread software viruses, and install spyware or malware programs for stealing personal information from ASIC customers.





“It is always important to be wary of unsolicited emails that demand payment or contain suspicious attachments or links, especially if you have never dealt with the organisation they are from,” ASIC commissioner John Price said.

Search and compare insurance product listings against Phishing from specialty market providers here

The regulator said an email will not be from ASIC and is probably a scam if it asks the receiver:

• to make a payment over the phone;
• to make a payment to receive a refund;
• to provide credit card or bank details directly by email or phone; or
• to download software for an electronic device.

ASIC also cited the following measures for helping customers protect themselves online:

• keep all anti-virus, malware, and spyware protection updated;
• avoid clicking on any suspicious links;
• ensure that there's a firewall in place and that it's up-to-date; and
• scan email attachments with security software before opening them – especially if they are executable (.exe) files or zip (.zip) files, as these are more likely to contain malware or ransomware viruses.

To make sure about the authenticity of an email, customers can visit the ASIC website for more information.

Anyone affected by a scam can report to the ACCC via the Scamwatch 'Report a scam' page.

D&O who really needs it?

Lets start with the reframe
Think of "D&O" as allegation cover! 
It's not that you've done something wrong but that's going to cost a lot of time and money to ratify the accusation and that's gonna hurt ! 
The damages might only be $10,000 but the process is 
1. 200 hours of your time
2. $50,000 in legal fees 
3. The original dispute value $10,000

That's only part of the problem

As the Director your Personal assets are exposed!!!!

 
If you're a Director / Officer of *any Incorporated body (legal entity; Public or Private) which is subject to the corporations law then your Personal Assets are liable... find an "Asset Protector"

*Any includes, but not limited to registered Pty Ltd or Ltd, social clubs, body corporate properties, etc., 

The decision to or not too is a balance of "RM" Risk management Costs and controls, V's the convenience to outsource the risk by way of and Insurance policy. The controls (rm) vary according to the size of your company; industry exposures.

Motivation and controversy

 Directors and officers insurance is provided so that competent professionals can serve as supervisors of organizations without fear of personal financial loss. Directors are typically not managing the day-to-day operations of the organization and therefore cannot ensure that the organization will be successful; further, business is inherently risky. Thus the business judgment rule has developed to shield directors in most instances.

YOUR PERSONAL LIABILITY

The personal liability of a Director and/or Officer of a Company is unlimited, whereas a Company’s liability is limited by shares or by guarantee. When a claim or allegation of wrongdoing arises, a Director’s personal assets are at risk, and it is a common misconception that a Director can expect his or her company to provide indemnity.

Directors are increasingly being held personally responsible for the management decisions made during every working day.  Claims brought against individuals can threaten both the personal wealth of individual directors & officers and the financial viability of the company in question.

Only in limited circumstances are Companies obliged to indemnify their directors for wrongful acts. Many companies’ articles of association specifically stipulate that the directors and officers will be indemnified in certain situations. This does not necessarily provide directors and officers with complete protection, as their company may not be able to indemnify them, perhaps because:

• it has insufficient funds. Many claims made against directors are from investors and creditors and arise when the company is insolvent
• it may not be permitted by its articles of association to do so in certain situations
• it may be prevented from doing so in certain situations by the provisions of the Companies Acts

Even where a company can and does indemnify a director for a personal liability, who will make good the loss to the company? A D&O policy will.

The purpose of Directors & Officers Liability insurance is to provide protection to directors and officers of a company for defence costs and legal liability incurred for claims and prosecutions against them in their role in the company.  This includes the representation costs in investigations of them by regulators and other authorities.

Traditionally only larger companies have purchased D&O insurance. However the Directors of SME companies require the same protection, particularly as their responsibilities become more onerous from both increasing regulation and third party awareness of their duties.

Who can bring claims?

Allegations of wrongful acts can come from a wide range of sources. Investigations into the activities of the company could come from the Health and Safety Executive, the Inland Revenue, a regulatory body or a trade association. Employees or former colleagues could bring allegations. Customers, competitors, liquidators or auditors are other examples of parties who could have a grievance. Directors can be held accountable for the actions of others, so whilst a Director may not have committed a particular act, the actions of a subordinate can have ramifications for the Director.

The Directors’ & Officers’ Liability Policy is designed to provide financial support. It provides for defence costs for investigations, costs involved in appearing in court and legal costs to fight various forms of allegations, involving any of the Directors.

Online Brochure

D&O can be a "stand alone" dedicated product line or incorporated into a packaged such as a "Management Liability" policy which includes related topics that would normally purchased as "stand alone" policies. The obvious benefit (apart from broader cover is a substantial price saving (bundled)

DISCLAIMER The material contained in this publication is general comment, it is not intended as advice. No reader should act or fail to act on the basis of material contained herein. 

Need a reliable Insurance broker to set you straight?






Central Insurance Brokers 
is a WA Biz Achiever Est: 1980 and
Steadfast shareholder member  



Director Anastasia Stevenson - Linkedin

Central Insurance Brokers, West Australia

Protect your Assets with L.I.F.E. Managers at Central 

L.I.F.E.  Leadership, Integrity, Flexibility, Efficiency and without Flexibility, it's a L.I.E.

Complaining too much can kill - here's the jail break

 “Spending today complaining about yesterday won’t make tomorrow any better.” ~Unknown

When I was about sixteen or so, one of my parent’s friends got into some trouble with the law. When we’d visit him he’d often shake his head from side to side and mumble, my life is in the toilet.

He said it many times, for many years, even when things seemed to have gotten better for him.

My life is in the toilet was his mantra.

At the time I thought it was funny, so I adopted it for myself, until one day I started to believe it. I’ve since dumped that charming phrase and gotten a new mantra.

Things haven’t magically become ideal for me since I did that. I mean, there’s this pinched nerve in my neck and those construction sounds across the street, and I could really use some more work, and…
Type of Drains

Everyone complains, at some point, at least a little, says Robin Kowalski, PhD, a professor of psychology at Clemson University.

There are different types of complainers, according to Kowalski, such as The Venter. The Venter is a “dissatisfied person who doesn’t want to hear solutions, however brilliant.”

Venting. We’re just letting off steam, right? Maybe not. I’ve personally found that the complain drain can be soul draining, not just for the complainer, but for all within earshot.

Other types you may have met along the way (or may be yourself) are the Sympathy Seekers, the I got it worse than you do, and the habitual everything sucks folks.

The Chronic Complainers, those living in a state of complaint, do something researchers call “ruminating.” This basically means thinking and complaining about a problem again and again. Instead of feeling a release after complaining, this sort of complaining can actually make things worse. It can cause even more worry and anxiety.

No one is suggesting you be a peachy-keen-Josephine and pretend all is swell when it isn’t. What I’ve learned in my mindfulness practice is to aim to do the opposite.

In mindfulness meditation, we try to experience fully the truth of the situation, in this exact moment, and allow it to just be. Easier said than done (but what isn’t?) Still, with practice, the need to express our dissatisfaction for things not being how we’d like them to be lessens.
Can’t We Just Call Roto-Rooter?

Running with this drain analogy…

Call Roto-Rooter, that’s the name and away go troubles down the drain!


When I was a kid I loved singing along to those Roto-Rooter commercials. Wouldn’t it be cool if we could “away go troubles down the drain?” Well, maybe we can.

Most of us may have been unintentionally reinforcing the nasty habit of complaining, by virtue of… complaining.

There’s something called “experience-dependent neuroplasticity,” which is the continuing creation and grouping of neuron connections in our brains that take place as a result of our life experiences.

Neuroscience teaches us that neurons that fire together, wire together. Donald Hebb, a Canadian neuropsychologist, coined that phrase back in 1949. What this means is that whenever we think a thought or have a feeling or physical sensation, thousands of neurons are triggered and they all get together to form a neural network.

With repetitive thinking, the brain learns to trigger the same neurons each time.

So, if you keep your mind looping on self-criticism, worries, and how nothing is working out for you, your mind will more easily find that part of your brain and will quickly assist you in thinking those same thoughts again.

This shapes your mind into greater reactivity, making you more vulnerable to anxiety.

Imagine a truck driving down a muddy road. The wheels create a groove in the mud, and each time that truck drives down that exact spot, the groove gets deeper and deeper.

The truck might even, eventually, get stuck in that mud rut. But it doesn’t have to. Instead of repeating the same negative complaints, we can drive our thoughts on a different road so we don’t get stuck in that negative mud rut.

Throughout our lives we are wiring our brains, based on our repetitive thinking. We get good at what we practice.

If we worry, creating more unease and anxiety, we become stellar worriers since our brain is responding, making it easier for us to worry each time we do it, thus creating our default mode living.

Default mode living is our habitual way of going about our lives. It’s our reacting minds as opposed to corresponding minds.

Our reacting minds are often knee-jerk reactions to something. We often say or do things that we’ve said and done in the past, as if we were in that default mode living, on automatic pilot. But our responding minds come into play when we give ourselves a pause before responding to a situation.

We ask ourselves what’s really going on and what the next best step is. It’s a clearer response in the moment that’s not linked to past responses. So, how do we respond instead of react?
4 D.I.Y. Tips – Stop The Drain!

You’re stuck in traffic and not only are you complaining out loud to the cars that are in your way, you’re imagining getting home and complaining to tell your significant other all about it. You’re practicing this conversation in your head while in the car. Your heart races, your forehead tenses up. It’s all so very annoying! What to do?

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To learn  I  To Succeed   I  Enlightenment  I  To Teach