Safe Shopping

The holidays are quickly approaching and with the holidays comes shopping season. Although Black Friday is still the busiest shopping day of the year for retailers, the number of people physically shopping in stores has declined drastically over the past few years. With the rise of cyber shopping, people are more and more inclined to stay home and shop from the comfort of their couch rather than brave the large crowds over the holiday season. In 2018 alone, Black Friday yielded a record breaking $6.22 billion in online sales. While cyber shopping might be more convenient and seemingly less dangerous than in-person shopping there are still plenty of safety concerns to take into consideration while ordering your way through the holidays.

Protect your finances. Shopping online can put you at risk for getting scammed or having your finances compromised. To ensure maximum security while online shopping make sure to follow these steps:

• Research online retailers to ensure their legitimacy. If a deal seems just too good to be true, it very well may be. A good way to make sure a website is secure is to look for the padlock symbol in the address bar to the website. To find out who has registered the site, you can click the padlock to see the site certificate containing this information. If you get a warning message about the site certificate, do not purchase from this website.

• Do not use public wifi to make purchase or check bank accounts. Often times public wifi is not secure and therefore the information you use while connected to that wifi could be accessed for fraudulent purposes. If you MUST use the internet while away from home for shopping or banking, use your mobile data instead of public wifi.

• If possible, make an account for retailers before purchasing products and then use that account for all purchases going forward. This allows all purchases to be traced quickly and adds another layer of protection for your personal information like your credit card number.

• Look for websites that use two-step authentication for purchases. A common form of two-step authentication is when a website sends you a text message with a one-time use code to ensure it is actually you who is making the purchase. Two-step authentication is a simple way for retailer to ensure it is actually you who is attempting an online purchase.

Protect your packages. Porch pirates, or criminals who steal packages left outside doors by couriers, are out in full force during the holiday season. Here are a few quick tips to help protect your packages from thieves:

• If possible, schedule a time for your packages to be delivered when you know you will be home

• If you do not have the option of scheduling delivery times, track your packages closely and ask a trusted neighbor to pickup your packages from your doorstep as soon as they are delivered. Alternatively, consider having packages delivered to a work address.

• Consider video surveillance for your front porch. Security cameras or video doorbells can be used to monitor your front porch and can often deter thieves from taking your packages. Video doorbells can also be extremely helpful if providing proof if a package does ever get stolen.

Whether you are shopping in stores or online this holiday season, we hope you will take extra precautions this year to keep yourself safe! As always, it is important for you to pay close attention to your surroundings and maintain a safety mindset while shopping both in person and online. We wish you a happy, and safe holiday season!

Sunday Mornings with Rania: When Everyday Errands Make You a Prime Target

It was a normal day – Thursday, October 24, 2019 – to be exact but what took place was beyond anyone’s imagination. She had been running errands that included going to the bank and then shopping at a major department store in the Galleria. On a mission, she hopped on the escalator unaware of what was coming – within moments, she was grabbed, beaten, her Chanel purse violently ripped off her shoulder by a knife widely used to cut the strap. In the attack, she was pushed down the escalator, her eye hit, her body beaten while her back absorbed the repeated sliding of the moving stairs… The suspects got away with her purse, her wallet, her keys and everything else that had been in her possession. It was only 2 p.m. in the afternoon.

What allegedly happened in this case:
During the course of the day, the woman had gone to the bank where she withdrew cash somewhere in the Tanglewood area. She caught the eye of a man and woman who allegedly followed her into the Galleria determined to steal her purse. The attackers got her while she least expected it. Many saw the attack.

As the story was shared, comments poured in and many asked, now what?

• Recognize that no matter where you are in this city, jugging is a potential concern. It is the process of being watched at a bank, followed to your next destination and then robbed. Action steps: be vigilant when withdrawing cash; only take out what you need; and never leave your purse or cash envelopes / boxes in a car. Don’t run errands with excessive cash.
• Be public safety minded, always. No matter where you are, think about your safety. Walk with purpose, make eye contact, think of how you hold your belongings, and whether or not you appear or even really are distracted. Are your hands full with items? Are you in the heat of a conversation on the phone? It’s absolutely not wrong to live life, have your hands full and/or be on a call but do all of this in a way where you are not setting yourself up to be targeted.
• Where are you parking your car? Will be safe to go back to this spot and linger as you reload your car with bags? Are you returning after dark?
• Notice the people around you and whether or not someone is potentially following you.
• Sure, there may be security guards in stores but remember, they may not always be there to protect you. Sometimes, they are hired by vendors who rent space and are there working for their clients. They may not be watching for your safety nor run to you in the event of an issue.
• What’s on you? What are you wearing? What’s in your purse? What’s in your wallet? Do you have copies of all essential items like credit cards, insurance cards, etc.? Are you carrying around mail or important school papers for your kids? Is it possible to leave things at home (not in your car!) before you run errands?
• Think through the process. Have you ever asked yourself, if I were robbed today, what would I do? Would I fight? It’s a terrible question but think through the process. Determine what on your is worth fighting (and whether or not you should have it on you) and what on you you’d let go to save yourself. This terrible exercise serves another purpose – it takes away the shock factor if you’ve really thought through the scenario and helps you remain calm and think clearly at all times.

If you become a victim, where do you start?

• Stay calm and get to a safe area as soon as possible.
• Call police immediately.
• Do your best to remember as many details about the incident as possible including any information on the individual(s) who attacked you.
• If you’re in a store, report the incident to the store manager or security as well.
• Take pictures of your body and any injuries immediately as well as the area where you were attacked.
• Sadly, you – or someone authorized to call on your behalf – will need to start calling credit card companies to report your cards stolen cards.

It’s important that when we hear these stories, we don’t panic, get paranoid or hysterical but that we respond as a community that is growing, thriving and caring towards one another. Beyond getting involved in solutions, we need to use these cases to have conversations with our daughters, neighbors and friends as many of us get busy running errands during the holiday season. Above all else, Houston must be tough on crime, if we are not, it will absolutely affect the quality of life for all of us who call Houston home. It will take all of us working together to keep one another safe. For now, our hearts and prayers are with the victim here and best wishes for a full and speedy recovery.

Full blog can also be read via The Buzz Magazines here!

Sunday Mornings with Rania: When Kids are Targeted by Traffickers

She was a quiet 13-year-old who had recently lost her brother and was making her way through a difficult time. Sadly, she became the target of a trafficker who kidnapped her, raped her, drugged her and sold her. He was arrested not too long ago, but released three days later on misdemeanor drug charges. Released right back into our community, he allegedly went right back to trafficking Letty as well as another young girl. Desperate, depressed and damaged, Letty took her own life last week. She was only 15 years old.

Deep down, there are some who still think that teens who are trafficked are bad kids making bad choices. But they are not. Often, they are good kids caught up by things beyond their control. I posted about Letty, sat down with partners at KTRK to talk about her story and what it meant for all of us… the outpouring of responses has led to this post. So many asked me what we can and must do to stop the sex trafficking of minors. Here are some recommendations but I want to hear from you too, what do you think and what can we do better?

Understand what sex trafficking is and is not.
Minors cannot legally run away, they cannot legally consent to sex, they cannot legally choose to share sexually explicit photos of their bodies, they cannot legally accept payment for sex. This is the law and it’s the law because we know that minors don’t have the maturity or mental understanding to enter these types of relationships or agreements knowingly, willingly and with full comprehension of what they mean. It’s illegal. So, let’s start at ground zero – if a child is found to be involved in any one of those previously stated activities (like Letty was when her trafficker was arrested), we must intervene, always. Law enforcement must make arrests and the community must swoop in to protect the victim, the child. Always, period.

Well, how do kids get there?
Through many channels.

• The rarest is that a child is outright abducted and sold.
• More commonly, a child runs away and either straight into the arms of a trafficker who has been urging her to leave for years or is picked up by a trafficker as she tries to survive away from her home.
• A rising method is through strategic friendships. Traffickers place recruiters directly into schools, camps, churches, parties, and more to identify potential victims. These recruiters (young children who were previously trafficked) befriend and take their time working their target. I previously outlined this process in this previous post.
• Another rising method is through social media. Traffickers have teams of people scouting potential targets on social media.
• Once they identify a victim, they will take time watching, befriending, commenting, chatting and doing everything possible to create a scenario to remove that child from your home and into their money-making empire.

Talk to your children. Seriously.
The greatest gift we can give these predators is access to children in homes where parents and teens have no idea this can happen to them. Traffickers have access to kids through school (any school – public, private, charter, etc.), parties, bumping into someone at the mall (Hey you’re cute! What’s your name? I’ll follow you!) and social media. We have seen time and time again that they will patiently wait and work the child until they can capitalize.

• Talk to your kids. Be honest about how they can be a target and what to do if they suspect a friend is being preyed upon (contact an adult, law enforcement, Crime Stoppers of Houston, local police, school counselor or more) and why they need to stay away from pornography (it’s a gateway for future buyers of victims) as well as from certain Houston night spots (obviously, for older teens – clubs, strip clubs).
• Monitor their social media and do a quarterly inventory of their accounts. Go through who is following them. Be reasonable but be thorough (they will have some followers they don’t know but go through them all and challenge them to remove where possible). Talk about hidden apps and the importance of them not hiding information from you online.
• Understand where victims are sold. Make this real and share real information. Victims are sold at local clubs, strip clubs, massage parlors (Children At Risk has a tremendous interactive map), hotels, motels, apartments and more.
• Review the laws. Remind them that children who post or share inappropriate photos of themselves (or send them to another who asks) will be held responsible for creation of and distribution of child pornography. Remember, a minor cannot willingly choose to take a photo of themselves and share it… it’s illegal, period and always.
• How does it start? Remind them that traffickers are looking for their targets at the mall, a party, a church conference, camps or any other place where teens may be. Here’s the deal – make friends, not everyone is bad but know the signs of how traffickers specifically work so that you can quickly identify right from wrong.

Be loud about what we need as a community.

• Governor Greg Abbott is working on laws to address human trafficking and make the punishment traffickers face more serious. To learn more, get involved, or share concerns, contact them directly.
• Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg is serious about protecting victims and punishing traffickers and buyers and we are so thankful for her. Her office presses charges once traffickers are arrested. Our message to her is that we do not want traffickers to be released on deferred adjudication (you’re guilty but we’ll let you go as long as you behave) or on low bonds (there’s probable cause to charge you but for now go free; pay this small bond or fee as insurance that you’ll return to court for future proceedings.). I’d love to see no bond so that these traffickers stay in jail. Reach her office here.
• Harris County Criminal Court Judges play a huge role. The DA makes her recommendations but what’s next is up to the Criminal Court Judge. They need to know we care about this issue, will not tolerate traffickers and buyers not being properly punished. Look into the courts’ records – which judges on the bench are standing for children? Which are not? Contact them here.
• Support the work of nonprofits working in this area – Crime Stoppers of Houston is doing so much as are our partners Elijah Rising, Operation Texas Shield, The Landing and so many others. One of our largest partners is Houston20 who is doing wonderful work!

Letty Serrano was a quiet, good student who loved her puppies. Her death and life being trafficked, breaks my heart. So many of you reached out to me for information on what to do now – this is a start. Please share this, discuss it and talk about it. Stand together for Letty.

Full blog can also be read via The Buzz Magazines here!

10/23/19: KPRC 2 Houston Life – What parents need to know about vaping

10/22/19: Press Release: Second Annual SoulCycle Charity Ride Raises $5,000 for Crime Stoppers of Houston

HOUSTON (October 22, 2019) – For a second year in a row, safety advocate and ‘Leading Woman for Public Safety’ Dr. Sippi Khurana organized a fun and upbeat SoulCycle charity ride to benefit the important work of Crime Stoppers of Houston, a non-profit organization dedicated to solving and preventing serious crime in the Greater Houston Area.

The empowering ride was held on Thursday, October 17, 2019 at SoulCycle Memorial Studio and raised $5,000 to support critical crime prevention programs that keep our homes, businesses and schools safe. Prior to kicking off the 45-minute class, Sippi thanked the room full of hip and athletic riders for showing up to ‘sweat it out’ for a great cause.

Supporters of the event included Ahmad Malik, Ajay Khurana, Cari Brandt, Caroline Brown, Christopher Venegas, Cynthia Xue, Daniel Munguia, Donae Chramosta, Ericka Bagwell, Jackie Murphy, Joseph Nguyen, Katie Pipkin, Kelli Calderwood, Laura Davenport, Mary Maikhail, Mona Khan, Nancy Bihlmaier, Naureen Malik, Nina Magon, Rania Mankarious, Rosemary Schatzman, Ruchi Mukherjee, Sabeena Hasan, Sippi Khurana, Stephanie Perkins, Sukaina Rajani, Tammie Johnson, Yelena Grinina, and more.

Fun-raisers like this event allow Crime Stoppers to further its mission to make tomorrow a better, healthier, safer place for all who call Houston home.

For more information on Crime Stoppers of Houston, fundraising opportunities, or if you are interested in becoming a Leading Woman for Public Safety, please contact Cabell Wood at 832-849-1587 or cwood@crime-stoppers.org.

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