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Many preppers and survivalists focus on getting ready for different disaster scenarios. While there’s nothing wrong with that, as a prepper you should alsoplan for small-scale disasters.

Theseinclude financial disasters, which can be difficult if you don’t have money saved for emergencies.(h/t to Survivopedia.com)

ManyAmericans deal with financial difficulty, with some living from payday to payday and without emergency funds. With limited resources, it can be difficult to save money and invest it in preps.

Unfortunately, some people may also take advantage of already difficult situations by running scams to steal your hard-earned money.

Scammers are now usingthe internet to their advantage. With an internet connection, scammers can now reach more people and access more information about the people they wish to scam.

According to figures from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), scamming has increased by at least 30 percent over the last year, with an estimated $8.8 billion lost to fraud.

Out of that amount, the single biggest segment is investment scams, a long-time favorite of many fraudsters. In the past, before the heyday of the internet and gadgets, scammers often targetedthe elderly to try and convince them to invest their life savings in various investment scams.

But that doesn’t mean you don’t have resources. Your stockpile is an investment, and it can help protect your family when SHTF.Your stockpile can also be considered part of your investment for retirement.

When disaster strikes, you can live off the food in your stockpile and reduce your overall monthly cost of living. (Related:Cyber security threats: 10 Tips for safe internet browsing.) Common online scams to avoid

Familiarize yourself with different kinds of scams. As a prepper, you might fall for product or sales scams.

These can take several forms, such as: Offers for products that don’t do what scammers claim they do Offers for products that don’t look like advertising photos Offers for books that contain little to no information, and that are easily accessible Products offered on “clearance sales” of different types will not be shipped Offers for other items which may be hard to find but will not be shipped

Check websites before buying anything online because there are manysmall websites with people selling products of one variety or another.

There are many trustworthy prepping websites, but there are also many that will try to scam you. Most of these were created to make them look like legitimate ones, making it hard to tell the difference between the two.

Here are some things that might indicate a fake website that will try to take your money: Websites that sell several different products that are unrelated, like clothing and hand tools. Websites that have not been around for a long time. Websites without legitimate contact information. A website without a detailed “About Us” page. A websiteasking for payment through a new account.

Most of the time, you’ll find out about these false websites through an e-mail, a group that you are part of, or even advertisements on social media.

Social media ads have become one of the easiest ways for scammers to find potential victims, especially since advertising on social media is inexpensive and widespread.

Becausethe process is often handled by computers at the social media headquarters, there is no human operator to flag any suspicious activity. And by the time the company finds out that it is a scam, fraudsters may have already stolen money from many victims. Be wary of some online prepping groups

If you don’t have time for personal meet-ups, you might spend more time online with your prepping groups.But you must be vigilant because not all groups are safe.

Scammers know that being a member of a group gives them an appearance of legitimacy to the rest of that group. Once they join a group with many members, they can now offer to sell low-cost items cheap, which they have no intention of shipping to you.

By the time anyone figures out what they’re doing, theyre gone with money from their victims.

If you prefer online prepping groups, always check the URL of a website in your browsers address bar to confirm that you were directed to the right address.

Many fake websites try to copy legitimate ones by mimicking their “look.”

This scam includes trying to use the URL of the original website in the fake site, like putting the name of the legitimate company at the beginning of the URL, followed by a symbol like a dot, then their registered name, with a “.com.” Checking carefully will help you spot this small but crucial difference.

When checking the address bar, look for the security “lock” which indicates that the URL is a secure site. Click on the lock to access a websites TLS certificate, which shows that they are a real company.

You can easily check how long a website has been online by checking its URL in the Whois.com database. This will also tell you who owns the website, along with other public information.

Knowing that a website URL was only registered one or two months ago should make you think twice. Avoid doing business with them, or research them further, such as with the Better Business Bureau.

If an online offer seems too good to be true, think twice about buying from a suspicious website.

Avoid scams by not doing business with anyone you dont know or dont know is well-established. Choose trusted businesses with physical stores so if you don’t like a product, you cantake it back to them for a replacement or a refund. What to do if you fall for a scam

If you are a victim of a scam, keep in mind thatscammers tend to keep going back to the same victim.

Scammers will often come up with a fake reason why your original payment was not enough or they may tell you that they need more money or that you need to pay them more before you can receive the item.

If they ask you for more money, end all communications before it gets out of hand. This won’t bring back the money you already lost, but it can help you avoid losing more money.

Always report scammers to the police and to the online platform they used to scam you.

This won’t always help you get your money back, but the information you provide can help give law enforcement officers the clue they need to bust a regular scam operation.

Scammers are abusing technology and the internet to steal more money from their victims.

But this doesn’t mean you can’t take measures to protect yourself and avoid falling for common scams. Be wary of new members in your online prepping group and learn how to spot fake scammer websites from legitimate sites.

Watch the video below for more information about the student loan “scam” and how to avoid them.

This video is from theHigh Hopes channel on Brighteon.com. More related stories:

Online safety: How to avoid common internet scams.

Digital prepping: How to protect yourself against cyberattacks.

More than 376M SCAM messages sent daily to steal money, clone voices of Americans.

Sources include:

Survivopedia.com

FTC.gov

Brighteon.com
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Jay Slater inquest resumes after final effort to trace witnesses – all you need to know

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Jay Slater inquest resumes after final effort to trace witnesses - all you need to know

An inquest into the death of teenager Jay Slater is due to resume today after being adjourned two months ago.

The 19-year-old from Oswaldtwistle, Lancashire, disappeared on the Spanish island of Tenerife after attending the NRG music festival on 16 June 2024.

He was reported missing and, after an extensive search and rescue mission and significant media attention, his body was found a month later on 15 July.

An inquest into the teenager’s death began in May at Preston Coroner’s Court, but was adjourned the same day, to the disappointment of Mr Slater’s mother Debbie Duncan.

Dr James Adeley, a senior coroner for Lancashire and Blackburn with Darwen, made the decision after a number of witnesses who had been asked to give evidence could not be traced or were unable to attend.

After making a final effort to trace key witnesses, the inquest will now resume on 23 and 24 July. Here is all you need to know.

What happened to Jay Slater?

On 17 June 2024, just days into his first holiday without his family, Mr Slater was reported missing.

The night before, he is believed to have left his friends at the Papagayo nightclub in the resort of Playa de las Americas and made an hour-long drive to a modest Airbnb in the tiny village of Masca, with two people he had met on the holiday.

Phone data reveals Mr Slater’s last known location was the Rural de Teno park – a mountainous area popular with hikers.

The 19-year-old’s disappearance sparked a huge 29-day search effort – with emergency services, local volunteers and Mr Slater’s family combing a large mountainous area of the island searching for any trace of the teenager.

Within days, Facebook groups dedicated to the case had also been set up – with some quickly attracting hundreds of thousands of members.

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July 2024: Where was Jay Slater found?

The Spanish civil guard released a statement on 15 July to say they had “located the lifeless body of a young man in the Masca area after 29 days of constant search”.

What happened during the first inquest hearing?

Mr Slater’s mother Debbie Duncan, stepfather and other family members gathered at the inquest in Preston Coroner’s Court on 21 May.

Home Office pathologist Dr Richard Shepherd said Mr Slater’s injuries were “entirely consistent” with a fall from a great height and gave an official cause of death as a head injury.

“The injuries were so severe I have no doubt he would have been instantly unconscious from the moment of that blow to the head. Death could well have been instant, the injury was so severe,” Dr Shepherd said.

Pic: Reuters
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The search and rescue mission was launched a day after Jay Slater was reported missing. Pic: Reuters

He said there was no suggestion that the teenager had been assaulted or restrained.

Toxicology expert Dr Stephanie Martin said traces of MDMA and MDA, commonly known as ecstasy, along with cocaine and alcohol, were also found in Mr Slater’s body.

Detective Chief Inspector Rachel Higson, from Lancashire Constabulary, told the court that messages from Mr Slater’s friends advising him to go home were found on his phone

Pic: Reuters
Guardia Civil agents and police officers organise the search for the young Briton Jay Slater in the Masca ravine, on the island of Tenerife, Spain, June 26, 2024. REUTERS/Borja Suarez
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Civil Guard agents and police officers in the Masca ravine. Pic: Reuters

Officers were flanked by specialist sniffer dogs from Madrid

DCI Higson said at 8.35am on 17 June, his friend Ms Law sent him a message saying: “Before it gets boiling get back to wherever you have come from.”

At 8.50am there was the last known outgoing communication from Mr Slater’s phone, a 22-second call from him to Ms Law in which he is believed to have said he had cut his leg on a cactus, he was lost in the mountains and his phone battery was on 1%.

A view of Preston Coroner's Court, Lancashire, at the opening of the inquest into the death of Nicola Bulley, who disappeared on January 27
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The inquest is taking place at Preston Coroner’s Court. Pic: PA

Who are the missing witnesses?

The witnesses that the court tried to trace the first time included Bradley Geoghegan, Brandon Hodgson and Lucy Law, who were all with Mr Slater in Tenerife.

At the time of the first inquest it is believed they were not in the UK and were unable to attend.

Read more from Sky News:
How search for missing teenager captured nation’s attention
Inside the valley where Jay Slater’s body was found

The two men who were staying at the Airbnb property Mr Slater travelled to before his disappearance – Ayub Qassim and Steven Roccas – were unable to be traced, despite summonses being issued.

Mr Slater’s mother Ms Duncan told the court in May that she wanted “these people to be sat in front of us, because our son went on holiday and didn’t come back, so there’s questions we need to ask”.

Coroner Dr Adeley said he would adjourn the inquest in an effort to find the witnesses and give Ms Duncan the “answers you want”, but it remains unknown if the key witnesses will appear at the inquest on Thursday and Friday.

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Off-the-shelf medical tests are failing to back up accuracy promises with evidence, study finds

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Off-the-shelf medical tests are failing to back up accuracy promises with evidence, study finds

Off-the-shelf medical tests that promise to diagnose conditions ranging from vitamin deficiencies to cancer are lacking evidence to back up their accuracy, a study has found.

Thirty self-testing kits were purchased from a range of mainstream supermarkets, pharmacies and health and wellbeing shops by researchers from the University of Birmingham in 2023.

The kits tested for vitamin deficiency, blood cholesterol, menopause and bowel cancer. These tests are often marketed as tools for empowerment and early detection at a time when the NHS is already over-stretched.

Accuracy claims were made for 24 of these tests however, and nearly six out of 10 (14) promised 98% accuracy. However, evidence supporting these claims was largely unavailable, according to a series of papers published by the British Medical Journal (BMJ).

In addition, 18 of the tests (60%) were found to have errors that could lead to a wrong result. This included 11 that had problems with equipment, 10 showing issues with the sampling process and 15 that had problems with the instructions of interpretation of results.

Where information about what types of accuracy methods were available, about a third of those compared their test with another similar test – not a proper, trusted medical test.

Most of the tests also did not explain who they tested them on to provide the accuracy data.

These types of testing kits are not subject to the same stringent checks that a new medication would have to go through.

The University of Birmingham’s Professor Jon Deeks, a corresponding author of the study, said: “Our findings highlight concerns about the value of these self-tests because the instructions for use for many of them recommended seeing a doctor regardless of the test result (positive or negative).”

Can these tests cause harm?

Dr Clare Davenport, co-author of the study, said the benefit of many of these tests “is lacking”.

“This is in contrast to well-established self-tests, such as pregnancy tests,” she said.

“We are worried that consumers concerned about their health and tempted by the convenience of buying a test over the counter may be harmed if they use these tests in the wrong way.”

A false positive on such a test may lead to anxiety, unnecessary investigations and even overtreatment, while a false negative could lead to delays in treatment.

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Pic: University of Birmingham
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Pic: University of Birmingham

Researchers are now calling for better regulation and guidance from manufacturers, retailers and healthcare professionals to protect consumers of off-the-shelf health self-tests.

There were some limitations to the test – namely that they were bought two years ago and were not intended to be a sample of what is available across the country.

“But given what they do say about where they got the tests, I’d be surprised if they aren’t pretty much the same anywhere nowadays,” said Professor Kevin McConway, emeritus professor of applied statistics at The Open University.

He said the results were “scary and concerning”.

“I don’t doubt the findings of the researchers, that many of the available tests don’t make it clear who could make good use of them, how accurate the results might be, or what someone should do in the light of their results.”

‘History offers cautionary tales’

“Self-tests should not be dismissed outright though,” wrote Jessica Watson from the Centre for Academic Primary Care, and Margaret McCartney, from the University of St Andrews, in an editorial for the BMJ.

“History offers cautionary tales: when home pregnancy tests were first introduced, some doctors argued that women could not be trusted to use them.

“Clearly that is not the case.

“The use of HIV self-tests has been extensively and carefully evaluated, with decades of research, including large randomised controlled trials.”

However, they say that these examples are of tests that are “binary” with yes or no answers, and are integrated within healthcare systems, “with clear actions to be taken based on the results”.

The study was funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Birmingham Biomedical Research Centre.

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Doctors go on strike for five days – here’s everything you need to know

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Doctors go on strike for five days - here's everything you need to know

Doctors in England and Wales go on strike for five days from Friday, with warnings it could lead to patient harm in emergency departments.

It is the culmination of an escalating row between NHS bosses and the British Medication Association (BMA) over pay.

Here is everything you need to know about the strikes.

How long is the strike?

From 7am on Friday 25 July to 7am on Wednesday 30 July.

Who is striking?

Up to 50,000 resident doctors will walk out.

Resident doctors is the new name for junior doctors – it was changed to better reflect their responsibilities. Resident doctors are fully qualified doctors who are either currently in postgraduate training or gaining experience as locally employed doctors to become consultants, GPs or specialists.

Their title was changed after years of calls for the term “junior” to be retired, as it was seen as both misleading and demeaning.

General practice, community pharmacies, and dentistry are not impacted by the action.

How will it affect appointments?

During previous strikes, NHS England told trusts to cancel large volumes of non-urgent care so that consultants could step in to cover emergency care.

Previous rounds of industrial action – 11 walkouts over multiple days – saw an estimated 1.5 million appointments cancelled or rescheduled.

But under the leadership of new NHS England chief executive Sir Jim Mackey, hospitals have now been instructed to cancel non-urgent work only in “exceptional circumstances” – and only with prior approval.

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This suggests that much fewer planned appointments will be cancelled, although no exact figures have been given by either side.

The BMA has warned this new approach risks spreading doctors too thinly.

How will I know if my appointment has been cancelled?

Patients have been advised to “choose healthcare wisely” during the strike.

If your appointment has been cancelled, or rearranged, you will be contacted by the hospital directly. Priority will be given to patients with the most pressing health needs.

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Why are junior doctors striking again?

If you do not hear that your appointment has been changed, you should attend as usual.

Will I still be able to access emergency care?

If you need emergency care during the strike you should still go to hospital as normal.

Patients have been told to call 999 if it is a medical or mental health emergency.

If the situation is non-life threatening, patients should seek support through NHS 111, NHS 111 online, their GP or a pharmacy.

Why are they striking?

Doctors in England and Wales were awarded a 5.4% pay increase by the government, but the BMA still threatened strike action, claiming the increases did not account for historical pay freezes.

Instead the BMA is calling for a rise of 29.2% to bring salaries back in line with 2008 levels.

It follows 11 rounds of industrial action last year. Pic: PA
Image:
It follows 11 rounds of industrial action last year. Pic: PA

More than 26,000 resident doctors voted in favour of the strikes.

I thought they already had a pay rise?

Yes, in July last year resident doctors were awarded a raise of 22% over two years, bringing to end months of strike action. It was the highest public sector award in recent years.

But the trade union argues that pay has declined significantly since 2008 when adjusting for inflation. The latest deal saw doctors given a 4% increase, plus £750 “on a consolidated basis” – which works out as an average rise of 5.4%.

The BMA said no doctor “took the possibility of striking lightly” but the majority of its members believed they had “no other choice”.

“Doctors have spoken and spoken clearly,” the union said.

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“They won’t accept that they are worth a fifth less than they were in 2008. Our pay may have declined but our will to fight remains strong.”

The BMA said Mr Streeting had the power to “make the right decision” on pay.

Does the public support the strikes?

A new YouGov poll found support for the strikes is declining.

The survey found about half (52%) of people in the UK either “somewhat oppose” (20%) or “strongly oppose” (32%) the idea of resident doctors going on strike over pay.

Older people are more likely to be against, with 52% of those aged over 65 “strongly opposed”, compared to 10% of those aged 18 to 24.

The British Medical Association are calling for a rise 29.2%. Pic: PA
Image:
The British Medical Association is calling for a rise 29.2%. Pic: PA

YouGov says the proportion of people who support the strikes has dropped five percentage points since May last year.

What does the government say?

Talks between the government and BMA have continued, with the latter saying strikes could still be avoided.

Health secretary Wes Streeting has ruled out any additional pay rises this year, but has said other aspects of the contract – including student debt, exam fees and working conditions – may be up for negotiation.

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Streeting: ‘Offering more would be unfair’

Mr Streeting previously warned the BMA the public “will not forgive” strike action.

He wrote in The Times that any walkouts would be a “disaster” for the union and for patients, adding the government “can’t afford” more pay rises.

NHS chiefs said any return to industrial action would be “bad for patients, for staff and for the NHS”.

Chief executive of NHS Providers Daniel Elkeles said: “We need cool heads to de-escalate this and remove the threat of further damaging industrial action.”

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