Spam, Scam or Ambulance Victoria

Ambulance Victoria has recently started sending invoices out to people via e-mail - not by post.

It might be a clever way of reducing Ambulance Victoria's costs: no staff to print and insert the bills, no postage fees, automated services by a computer but what about the customer risks?

It is relatively easy to create a fake looking website and then send e-mails out to everyone informing them that they must pay into fake accounts. We should never open e-mail links because the sites may contain viruses or trojans that infect our computers. Financial Institutions such as banks never send information about themselves by e-mail because of the multitude of e-mail fraud.

Why on earth would Ambulance Victoria cease advise by mail post to only send bills out by e-mail without warning their customers. People are finding out too late that the e-mails that they ignored or deleted were actually reminders for Ambulance Victoria insurance. People are not covered because of the actions of the State's Emergency service.

What would you do if you received an e-mail claiming to be a bill for Ambulance Victoria? Would you recognise a fake from the truth? Would you deposit your money into that account? Have you been scammed already by unscrupulous online organisations?

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Never Judge Someone By Their Age Again

Amira Willighagen was the last audition in this year's Holland's Got Talent, held in October. By the time she hits her final note, you'll be absolutely blown away.

Video Recommended By Maureen 

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Severe Fire Conditions On Saturday

Prepare for a dangerous fire day on Saturday, with temperatures predicted to soar to more than 40 degrees in parts of the state.

Bureau of Meteorology senior forecaster Terry Ryan said Melbourne would reach 38 degrees, while temperatures in northern Victoria were expected to reach 40 due to northerly winds blowing across the state.
Mr Ryan said the bureau would be putting up fire bans and warnings later on Friday, and would advise people to watch out for the most dangerous fire times and areas as a strong southerly wind change swept through on Saturday evening. "If fires are going, they will change direction. The most dangerous time for fires is as the wind change goes through," he said.

Captain of the Diggers Rest CFA, Luke Hynes, warns that burn offs are a real danger to our area. The fire crews have battled many grass fires over the past week due to burns offs getting out of control.

Take precaution when dealing with fires and stay tuned with the emergency services web sites, radio and apps.

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Live Updates Of Emergencies - It Could Save Your Life

VicEmergency is a great new web site that provides live updates of house fires, bush fires and grass fire incidents, as well as other emergencies such as storms, earthquakes, power outages and traffic incidents.

The VicEmergency web site, developed by the Department of Justice and Fire Services Commissioner, is the primary site for fire and flood warnings, and shows emergency incidents in Victoria on a real-time Google Map display.

Stay tuned to VicEmergency with your browser or phone this Summer

Read more at VicEmergency

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Bob Jane May Soon Be Bankrupt

Local entrepreneur, Bob Jane, of Bob Jane T-Marts may need to file for bankruptcy. Bob has been through some bad times. Once he owned an business empire worth $100 million but in recent years he has struggled to hold onto his business and been through several expensive trials. Now the ATO claim that he has a back tax payment of $1 million. Bob is nearly broke and may not be able to support the government.

 

Photo: Bob Jane by Herald / Sun

Bob Jane's bid to rebuild his fortune through a new chain of competing tyre businesses was also recently frustrated after a court banned him from using the family name to promote the venture.

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Top 10 Watched YouTube Videos of 2013

Australians watched a lot of YouTube in 2013! And some caught our eye a lot more than others. Here is the list of the most popular for the year. Some might surprise you.

YouTube Countdown 2013:

10. Mozart vs Skrillex. Epic Rap Battles of History Season 2

 

9. A Funny Montage

 

8. SYDNEY MARDI GRAS 2013 | POLICE BRUTALITY

 

 

7. THE NFL : A Bad Lip Reading — A Bad Lip Reading of the NFL

 

 

6. Harlem Shake (original army edition)

 

 

5. The Difference Between Wogs & Aussies: CLUBBING

 

 

4. asdfmovie6

 

 

3. YOLO (feat. Adam Levine & Kendrick Lamar), thelonelyisland

 

 

2. How Animals Eat Their Food | MisterEpicMann, MisterEpicMann

 

 

1. Ylvis – The Fox (What Does the Fox Say?), tvnorge

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Pirate Bay in a New Island

Under pressure once again from the entertainment industry, The Pirate Bay has upped sticks and moved to a new .AC domain, based on the isolated volcanic Ascension Island in the South Atlantic Ocean. The .AC top-level domain is controlled by Ascension Islands, a UK territory, and a Pirate Bay spokesperson announced that the change was only temporary, with another new domain (.pe, in Peru) in the wings. This is the fifth time that The Pirate Bay had its domain seized in 2013.

Pirate Bay has rocked the world since its beginning. It challenges authority with its own moral code. It could be considered the Internet Ned Kelly with supports and adversities with authority. Should it operate or should it be shut down?

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CFA Warns Christmas Lights Can Turn Into Flames

Christmas is a time to celebrate family and friends but don't let excitement become grief. The CFA have the following advise for all of us.

The CFA warns families to take a closer look at their Christmas tree or fairy lights this year and attend to any signs of wear and tear – such as missing globes or frayed wiring – by ditching old lights or buying replacements.

Natural Christmas trees need special care, become they are extremely flammable when they dry out, says CFA home fire safety expert Chris Barber, who warns that electrical faults are one of the top three causes of household fires each year, with overloaded power boards a common culprit.

Top tips to keep fire out of your home this Christmas:
1. Inspect your Christmas lights and fairy lights for any sign of damage or wear and tear.
2. Don’t use light sets with missing globes.
3. LED Christmas lights do not get as hot and use less power.
4. Use no more than three sets of lights per power board, even if there are four or more outlets on it. Avoid using double adaptors.
5. Make sure electric cords are completely uncoiled and are not placed under rugs or mats.
6. Place your tree as far as possible from any heat source, curtains or furnishings.
7. Maintain water in the base of natural Christmas trees to stop them drying out and remove lights once they show signs of drying.
8. Take care with candles, incense sticks and oil burners. Always make sure they are away from flammable items such as curtains and that they cannot be knocked over.
9. Always keep matches, candles and lighters away from infants and small children.
10. Check that your smoke alarms are working. Christmas tree fires can generate a lot of heat quickly and spread to the rest of the house.

Read More at the CFA

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