Please Be Informed...

CoVid-19. How one travel company is dealing with blockades imposed by worried governments.

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Hotels.Com already allows cancellation of bookings without penalty in many of the properties it advertises. But the unprecedented range of restrictions being placed on travellers, often at short notice, means that contracts are, to all intents and purposes, being frustrated by operation of law. It's not, in strict terms, force majeur although many are calling it that or, even, an Act of God. No, it's not that either.

Hotels.com has produced an excellent analysis of exactly what the US blockade of travellers from some parts of the EU means. The notice addresses many of the misconceptions and false arguments that are popular on much social media.

CoNet Section:

Hospitality, F&B and MICE

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CoVid-19. To shave or not to shave

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The British Medical Journal is the official publication - and mouthpiece - of the British Medical Association. As the CoVid-19 problem moves from epidemic to official pandemic according to the World Health Organisation, official advice is often drowned out by misinformation on social media. It's made worse by the fact that the problem has also become an opportunity for criminals - only this morning we received a spam claiming to advertise the only face-mask that offers protection against the virus. So, in this, the first of what will be a series of items on those parts of the authoritative news that doesn't reach the attention threshold of the superficial media, we look at what the BMA/BMJ says about beards in the healthcare sector.

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Protect your people from Facebook with this Firefox add-on

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If you are concerned about the amount of information about you and your company and its people that Facebook collects through its various methods, there are a number of methods to control e.g. trackers.

But now FireFox from the Mozilla Foundation has approved a method of ring-fencing not only Facebook itself but other services, such as Instagram, that it offers.

CoNet Section:

IT & Communications

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Anatomy of a webform fraud with one very strange feature

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As internet crime spikes with coronavirus related fraud, an oldie - the work for us and we'll pay you - fraud returns. The anatomy of this one is interesting.

FCRO Subsection:

Financial Crime News

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Charging compliance offences v e.g. fraud

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If one searches for Adrian Maxwell Ballintine, the first entry is from a source that the unaware would consider useful for Know Your Customer / CDD checking. It says "Founder of NewSat. Ltd, Adrian Maxwell Ballintine is currently Chief Executive Officer and Executive at this company."

There are records to set straight, not the least of which is the relevant criminal record.

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U.S Bancorp N.A. case continues with personal responsibility order

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The USA's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (is that horrible logo new? FinCEN used to be so elegant) has issued a civil money penalty notice against a former Chief Officer of U.S. Bancorp N.A. for "failure to prevent" breaches of the Bank Secrecy Act during his employment at the company. But, FinCEN's allegations go further than simply "failing to prevent."

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CoVid-19. Help needed for F&B and hospitality sectors

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As more and more photos emerge of near empty restaurants and entertainment outlets, it's clear that governments are going to have to do something to help, even if it causes some political, even religious, dissatisfaction.

CoNet Section:

Hospitality, F&B and MICE

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Conviction for manipulating data for company applying to become listed.

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Mark Damion Kawecki, of Frankston Victoria, Australia has appeared before the Melbourne Magistrates' Court and pleaded guilty in the first case of its kind in Australia. He fiddled the figures to help a company get on the board.

BIScom Subsection:

Retail Securities

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UK Gov to host sanctions webinar

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Open General Licences - clarification on recent changes by the Export Control Joint Unit.

Webinar : 16 March at 11:00 GMT.

Publication:

Sanctions In Action

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UK GovTech needs a kick in the backside

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If you are issuing a notice about technology, the least you can do is make sure your own tech works when recipients click on a link in the notice.

CoNet Section:

IT & Communications

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It's back - one of the early signs of a housing bubble and bust

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If you are a fan of Alan Greenspan, look away now. That's what he did when the first shoots of the housing bubble were evidenced - and then said he wouldn't have known anyway because the data at the US Fed was too recent. Except that it wasn't - it was simply parochial. The data was there - the Fed didn't think about it. And now, here is is again.

BIScom Subsection:

Home loans

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The most dumb-f**k marketing ever.

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Here's a moron of the first order. You want to sell us financial services and then you put a demonstrable lie front and centre in your pitch.

Thanks for the best laugh of the morning, you idiot. And yes, your IP address has been blocked from our entire server system.

CoNet Section:

Marketing / Sales

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Is your website blocked from China?

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It's a valid question - indeed, not only businesses outside China need to know if their sites can be accessed by the world's largest (apparently) biggest on-line population but people within China need to know whether the site they can't reach is blocked or there is some other reason.

Here's a handy short list of services that will help.

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Knowledge, belief and suspicion - doing deals behind the curtains.

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In 1992, some "old masters" were stolen from Lincoln's Inn in London, one of the Inns of Court where barristers are made and Judges are born. It naturally aroused outrage in legal circles which, like Olympic rings, overlap with government.

FCRO Subsection:

Learning

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"ASIC's ongoing efforts to improve standards across the financial services industry."

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It's there. In plain sight. In the body of the press release from the Australian Securities and Investment Commission. It's a statement that ASIC, having been found, damned by its own words and those of the industry, wanting in its supervision of the Financial Services Landscape, is taking the gloves off. It's not going to stand for any more poor compliance. It's going to make "ongoing efforts to improve standards across the financial services industry." So this case is going to be spectacular, isn't it?

BIScom Subsection:

Enforcement

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