More than 10 million people in Australia bought something online in 2012, according to a recent report from US-based research firm eMarketer, spending on average US$3547 per person. This average expenditure per online buyer is 54 per cent higher than the US and the highest in the world bar one country – the UK.

But it’s not just retailers who are hoping to cash-in online, cyber criminals are doing the same. To avoid losing out to criminals, shoppers need to be more vigilant than ever before and keep up to date on the safest ways to take advantage of internet shopping.

We all love to shop online and find a good deal or a product we can’t buy locally, but it’s really important that consumers stay alert. Cyber criminals are smart. They are becoming ever more sophisticated, using new technologies and supposed ‘sales offers’ to their advantage and lure us to websites in order to get hold of our personal details, particularly our financial details.

Don’t be dazzled by the deals. Instead think before you click. Ask yourself three simple questions: 1) Do I know and trust this retailer? 2) Can I see they are trading through a secure website? And 3) is my own computer’s security up-to-date? If you answer yes to all three then you should be safe. If not then you need to take action before you shop.

Here are five ways to help you shop safely online to ensure you don’t compromise yourself, or your bank account:

• Offers, deals and vouchers – click with caution. If you receive links in emails from retailers for offers, even if they appear to be from a big brand company, always proceed with caution. Malicious links could exploit your computer with malware or take you to a phishing site designed to steal your information. If you want to know if the offer is real then simply check the retailer’s website first. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
• Secure sites – the ONLY place to shop. Look for SSL secured sites (the Web address will start with https:// and have a little padlock icon next to it). If the site has this then you can rest assured sensitive information, such as credit card numbers, are encrypted during the transaction. Clicking on the padlock icon also enables you to verify the identity of the certificate owner – i.e. is it a real retailer or are you being duped?
• Update your browser. Get the latest version and you’ll help prevent cybercriminals from taking advantage of vulnerabilities in older versions of your browser during the sales shopping season. You might also want to consider disabling Java, which is battling a slew of security vulnerabilities. It might affect the functionality of some sites, but it will prevent potential drive-by download attacks that could infect your PC.
• Use a different email account. Creating an email account purely for online shopping will help reduce spam and phishing attacks on your personal, every-day use email account. Plus it lowers the risk of your personal information getting stolen.
• Ensure you update your security software. There’s no excuse for not having the latest security software. There are a wide variety of free security solutions out there from which to choose. As a minimum, choose a solution that has antivirus and a two-way firewall. Without minimum protection, you leave yourself and your bank account highly vulnerable to online attacks.

Scott McKinnel is the ANZ managing director for Internet security company Check Point Software Technologies.

Young runners on Broad Street in Red Bank on Wednesday afternoon. Speaking of running… the 20th edition of the George Sheehan Classic comes to town on Saturday, June 15. (Video by John T. Ward)

An Asbury Park man was arrested Tuesday after he bolted from the upscale Garmany clothing store with nine leather belts worth $2,725, Red Bank police said Wednesday.

Abdus-Shahid Ali, 43, was pulled over and apprehended on Branch Avenue at 7 p.m., shortly after  employees saw him run out of the store with the merchandise and flee in a car, said Captain Darren McConnell, who made the arrest.

Ali was charged with shoplifting, hindering arrest for allegedly giving police a false identity, and possession of pot hidden in his waistband and a sock. Municipal court Judge William Himelman set bail at $23,500.

  With temperatures cresting in the high 80s, some members of the Monmouth Roughnecks, a motorcycle club that raises money for public safety, cooled their heels and did some “birdwatching” – their word – in downtown Red Bank Tuesday afternoon. The sultry weather is expected to continue Wednesday, with a high of 85 degrees, according to the Weather Channel.  (Click to enlarge)

The Oklahoman, NewsOk.com

A teacher hugs a child at Briarwood Elementary school after a tornado destroyed the school in south Oklahoma City, Monday, May 20, 2013.

By Suzanne Choney, Contributing Writer, NBC News

The loss of life and stunning devastation in Oklahoma City suburbs after a monster tornado ripped through the area are heart-wrenching. “The streets are just gone. The signs are just gone,” said Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin, after she toured the area by helicopter Tuesday. And many, many relief organizations are getting the message out on how to help.

American Red Cross
The Red Cross has set up shelters in various communities. You can donate to the Red Cross Disaster Relief fund here, and the organization also suggests giving blood at your local hospital or blood bank. Fundraising efforts were buoyed Tuesday by a $1 million pledge from Kevin Durant, of the Oklahoma City Thunder basketball team, via his family foundation.

If you’re searching for a missing relative, check Red Cross Safe Well’s site. And please register if you’re within the disaster region. The site is designed to make communication easier after a tragedy like this. 

If you want to send a $10 donation to the Disaster Relief fund via text message, you can do so by texting the word REDCROSS to 90999. As in the case with other donations via mobile, the donation will show up on your wireless bill, or be deducted from your balance if you have a prepaid phone. You need to be 18 or older, or have parental permission, to donate this way. (If you change your mind, text the word STOP to 90999.)

The Red Cross also accepts frequent flier miles as donations. Delta, United Airlines and US Airways partner with the Red Cross throughout the year, which uses miles to help get volunteers and staff to key locations during disasters. (Note: The donation is not tax-deductible as the IRS considers it a gift.) For Delta, email: delta.bids@delta-air.com with your SkyMiles number, the number of miles you want to donate, and specify the Red Cross as the charity. You can donate miles online at United Airlines Donate Your Miles and US Airways Dividend Miles.

Phone: 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767); for Spanish speakers, 1-800-257-7575; for TDD, 1-800-220-4095.

OK Strong Disaster Relief Fund
The state of Oklahoma, coordinating with the United Way of Central Oklahoma, on Tuesday established the OK Strong Disaster Relief Fund to help “with the long-term medical, emotional and educational needs of victims of the May 20 tornado in Moore and the May 19 tornado near Shawnee.”

Donations can be made online at UnitedWayOKC.org.

Phone: 1-405-236-8441.

Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma
The Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma, working with the Oklahoma Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster, is seeking monetary donations. To donate, visit the regional food bank’s website, or give $10 by texting the word FOOD to 32333.

Phone: 1-405-972-1111

Oklahoma Baptist Disaster Relief
This organization says donations will “go straight to help those in need providing tree removal services, laundry services and meals to victims of disasters.” 

It is requesting monetary donations (It says clothing is NOT needed). For more information, and to donate, visit Oklahoma Baptist Disaster Relief’s website.

You can send checks to: BGCO, Attn: Disaster Relief, 3800 N. May Ave., Oklahoma City, OK., 73112.

Salvation Army
The Salvation Army is organizing disaster response units to serve hard-hit areas in central Oklahoma, including Moore, where it is sending mobile kitchens that can serve meals to 2,500 people a day, and to South Oklahoma City.

In Little Axe, Okla., the organization said, the army’s Central Oklahoma Area Command Disaster Service Unit was busy feeding breakfast, lunch and dinner to people, “even as one of our Salvation Army family member’s home was destroyed.”

Supporters can donate online via the organization’s website, SalvationArmyUSA.org. You can also text the word STORM to 80888 to make a $10 donation via cellphone.

If you want to send a check, the Salvation Army asks that you put the words “Oklahoma Tornado Relief” on the check, and mail it to: The Salvation Army, P.O. Box 12600, Oklahoma City, OK., 73157.

Phone:  1-800-SAL-ARMY (1-800-725-2769).

Feed the Children
Feed the Children has set up five locations in Oklahoma City to accept donations to help victims of the Moore tornado. The organization is accepting items including diapers, canned goods, non-perishable food, snack items, water and sports drinks. The organization is also supporting mobile canteens in partnership with the Salvation Army and the Red Cross.

You can donate online, or make a $10 donation by texting the word DISASTER to 80888.

Phone:  1-800-627-4556

United Way of Central Oklahoma
A disaster relief fund is being activated as of May 21 so that individuals can specifically donate to tornado relief-and-recovery efforts, the organization says on its site.

“Financial contributions are the best way to help unless otherwise requested.” Donations can be made online at

United Way of Central Oklahoma’s Disaster Relief Fund is open.  Donations may be made online here. Checks, with a notation of “May Tornado Relief” can also be sent to the United Way of Central Oklahoma, P.O. Box 837, Oklahoma City, OK , 73101.

Feeding America
Through its network of more than 200 food banks, Feeding America, whose mission is to “feed America’s hungry through a nationwide network of member food banks,” says it will deliver truckloads of food, water and supplies to communities in need, in Oklahoma, and will also “set up additional emergency food and supply distribution sites as they are needed.” You can donate online here.

Phone: 1-800-910-5524.

Operation USA
The international relief group, based in Los Angeles, says it is “readying essential material aid — emergency, shelter and cleaning supplies” to help Oklahoma’s community health organizations and schools recover.

You can donate online here. You can also give a $10 donation by texting the word AID to 50555. Checks should be sent to: Operation USA, 7421 Beverly Blvd., PH, Los Angeles, CA 90036

Phone: 1-800-678-7255.

Convoy of Hope
The Missouri-based nonprofit organization has done work in other disasters, including the Haiti earthquake, with a mission of getting food and water to those after disaster strikes. Now it’s doing the same for Moore, Okla. You can donate online here. Convoy of Hope is also going the crowd-sourced route, using HopeMob, a site similar to Kickstarter but for raising money to help disaster victims and others in need, which charges no fees to the organizations that use it. Convoy of Hope’s goal on the site is to raise $15,000 in seven days to help Moore.

“Why 7 days? In these first 7 days the town of Moore, OK will be consumed with clearing out destruction and accessing their needs,” HopeMob says on its site. “Once those needs are known we want to be able to give them the funds to help them rebuild in the long term.”

Phone: 1-800-988-0664

Direct Relief
The Santa Barbara, Calif.-based, non-profit organization provides medical assistance and personal hygiene items to those hurt in disasters, as well as in other circumstances.

“So far we have heard from health center partners responding in Oklahoma and are preparing an emergency shipment to help support the efforts there.  Direct Relief has been receiving requests for emergency supplies, personal care and protection items — including hygiene supplies, infection control products, gloves, soap, shampoo, deodorant, sanitary napkins, diapers, wipes and formula,” said Kerri Murray, Direct Relief vice president, in an email.

To donate, visit DirectRelief.org.

Phone: 1-800-676-1638

AmeriCares
The Emergency Response team for AmeriCares is in Oklahoma, “coordinating deliveries of emergency aid and assessing the needs of survivors and health care organizations in the disaster area.”

Since 1982, the Connecticut-based nonprofit has delivered medicine, medical supplies and aid to those in need around the world and across the United States.

You can donate online here. You can also give a $10 donation by texting the word LIVE to 25383. Checks or money orders can be mailed to: AmeriCares, 88 Hamilton Ave., Stamford, CT 06902.

Phone:  1-800-486-HELP (1-800-486-4357)

Operation Blessing International
Humanitarian organization Operation Blessing International, which last week coordinated more than 500 volunteers in Granbury, Texas, after that area was hit by a tornado, is working with The Home Depot and dispatching a construction unit, mobile command center, trucks with tools and supplies and a team of construction foremen to Moore.

Late Monday, Operation Blessing International also “loaded and deployed two tractor-trailer truckloads of food and emergency relief supplies from its warehouse in Dallas, Texas, in partnership with the humanitarian organization, Mercury One,” said a Operation Blessing spokeswoman.

The Virginia Beach-based group’s online link for donations is here.

Phone:  1-800-730-2537

Samaritan’s Purse
The international Christian relief organization focuses on cleaning and repairing damaged homes and sent two disaster relief units from North Wilkesboro, N.C. to Oklahoma Tuesday. “The tractor-trailers are stocked with heavy-duty plastic, chainsaws, generators, and other tools and equipment. The units also will serve as command centers for the response,” Samaritan’s Purse says on its website.

You can donate online here. You can also give a $10 donation by texting the word SP to 80888.

Phone:  1-800-528-1980

United Methodist Committee on Relief
The committee works with local United Methodist churches and trained disaster response workers to help with cleanup and rebuilding, pastoral counseling and support for children and youth who have been through trauma.
 
You can donated online here. You can also give a $10 donation by texting the word RESPONSE to 80888.

Phone: 1-800-554-8583

LifeChurch.tv
Life Church.tv, which describes itself as “Oklahoma’s largest evangelical church,” says its Oklahoma City metro locations will accept donations of items over the next week, between the hours of 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., and distribute them to tornado victims. Among the items needed: Toiletries, diapers, wipes, formula, baby bottles, new clothing, new shoes, and bags, backpacks or plastic tubs for carrying items.

You can also donate money online by visiting LifeChurch.tv, or by texting the word RELIEF to 86613, and selecting an amount you would like to donate.

Phone:  1-405-216-7054

Jewish Federations of North America
The Jewish Federations of North America is working with the Jewish Federation of Greater Oklahoma, which is coordinating efforts with a local food bank, Habitat for Humanity and the Red Cross. The Jewish Federations of North America has established an Oklahoma City Tornado Relief fund. Donors can contribute online here.

Checks can also be sent to the JFNA national mailbox at: The Jewish Federations of North America, Wall Street Station, P.O. Box 148, New York, NY, 10268. Please indicate “JFNA Oklahoma City Tornado Relief Fund” on all checks or in the designation box online.

Oklahoma Tornado Relief 2013
The Oklahoma Tornado Relief 2013 fundraising effort is being done through a crowd-sourced effort using Fundly, a website for fundraising, akin to HopeMob, mentioned above. On the site, you’ll find various fundraising causes to help tornado victims, and can choose which you’d like to support.

DonorsChoose.org
DonorsChoose.org is creating a special online fund to collect donations for the teachers and schools of Moore, Okla., to help respond and rebuild. Donors Choose will work with the teachers of Moore to assess what they need for their classrooms and allow them to identify the real-time solutions and supplies their community and their students need: everything from clothing for their students to first-aid kits. 

To donate, visit www.donorschoose.org

And a note of caution …

Emotions are running high, understandably, in light of the awful news from Oklahoma. Many of us want to help in some way. But this vulnerable time is also rife with and ripe for scammers who want to prey on your emotions and wallet. They may seek you out via email, knock on your door, or even try to get you to give money via Facebook. 

The Federal Trade Commission has guidelines about charity donations, including these tips:

• Donate to charities you know and trust. Be alert for charities that seem to have sprung up overnight in connection with current events, like the tornadoes.
• Ask if a caller is a paid fundraiser, who they work for, and what percentage of your donation goes to the charity and to the fundraiser. If you don’t get a clear answer — or if you don’t like the answer you get — consider donating to a different organization.
• Don’t give out personal or financial information — including your credit card or bank account number — unless you know the charity is reputable.
• Never send cash: you can’t be sure the organization will receive your donation, and you won’t have a record for tax purposes.
• Check out the charity with the Better Business Bureau’s (BBB) Wise Giving Alliance, Charity Navigator, Charity Watch, or GuideStar.
• Find out if the charity or fundraiser must be registered in your state by contacting the National Association of State Charity Officials.

Ben Popken and Devin Coldewey also contributed to this report.

Related:

• Oklahoma tornado: How to find people, pets 
• Monster tornado deals death, destruction in Oklahoma
• Children found drowned in tornado-flattened school
• Video: Timelapse – nightmare in the suburbs
• Slideshow: Tornadoes ravage Plains
• ‘Oh my God!’: KFC cook records dramatic footage of monster tornado
• What you’re seeing: Videos, images from ground
• Six of the worst twisters in U.S. history
• Curse or coincidence? Scientists study Tornado Alley’s past, future  

Architect Michael Simpson, below, addresses the Red Bank planning board about expanding the use of the former Fameabilia store on Monmouth Street to accommodate a restaurant. (Photo by Sarah Klepner. Click to enlarge)

By SARAH KLEPNER

A red Bank storefront that over the past 20 years has been a CPA’s office, a theater, a store selling Hollywood memorabilia and a long-empty shell now has permission to become a restaurant.

The Red Bank planning board approved Wadsworth Properties’ application Monday night for change of use at 42 Monmouth Street, which last saw use as the home of Fameabilia.

The building was last used by Fameabilia, which vacated five years ago. (Photo by Sarah Klepner. Click to enlarge)

McGann said it was not on the property, and  Menna asked borough administrator Stanley Sickles to have the Department of Public Works take a look at it, while  councilman Ed Zipprich noted that the tree might be on the Shade Tree Commission inventory.

Shore troubador Pat Guadagno returns to the Count Basie Theatre Thursday for the 2013 edition of the Bob Dylan birthday bash known as BOBFEST. (photo by John Posada)

By TOM CHESEK

Like the grandest and most history-steeped Chuck E. Cheese on the planet, the Count Basie Theatre has been the setting for some special birthday parties across the years — including crowdpleasing annual tributes to Frank Sinatra and Elvis Presley.

Beginning in May 2012, the Basie boards have also played host to a homegrown event that honors a decidedly still-alive-and-kicking music icon: Bobfest, a salute to Bob Dylan‘s birthday created by and starring Monmouth County’s own Pat Guadagno.

It’s a logical progression for the springtime tradition that began life in 1999 as an impromptu birthday-boy toast to Dylan at the old Downtown Cafe — and evolved from a loose jam at various local taverns to a tightly constructed stage extravaganza that spent six years in residence at the Two River Theater.

Having attracted international attention from diehard Dylanites — and having outgrown the 350 seats of Two River’s mainstage Rechnitz Theater  — Guadagno moved Bobfest a couple of blocks east to the Count’s place last year. This Thursday night — on the eve of the 72nd birthday of the former Robert Zimmerman — the self-described “saloon singer” of 1,001 tap rooms and watering holes returns to Red Bank with his allstar combo Tired Horse, for the 15th edition of a project that he characterizes as “not a tribute — a celebration, and a really polished show.”

Pat Guadagno (left, with Richard Blackwell) brings an expanded lineup of his Bobfest backing band Tired Horses to the Basie boards on Thursday night. (photo by Suzy Graham)

Speaking to redbankgreen prior to his regular Monday night gig at Jamian’s — a transplanted tradition that he maintains even in the thick of rehearsals for the Bobfest program — Guadagno praises the former and current staff of the Basie for making his production feel at home inside a local landmark that’s “just the greatest room — a place that’s got a lot of memories for everyone who’s been there. I saw my first movie there!”

“It’s a little bit of a bigger production, light-wise and sound-wise, than we did over at Two River,” he observes. “It’s more of a rock show now, and there’s no limit to how many people we can fit on the stage.”

The brother-in-law of the Garden State’s lieutenant governor, Kim Guadagno, remains well connected in regional musical circles, and the yearly Dylan shows have historically allowed Guadagno (who performs as a solo act for a good portion of each year) to assemble a dreamteam of veteran Shore area talents that have included Mary McCrink, Rich Oddo, Andy McDonough, Phil “Red River” Rizzo, Yuri Turchin and Rene Woolley.

With a genial old Jersey Shore casual style, and a physical presence that evokes David Crosby more than it does the dour Dylan, Guadagno neither looks nor sounds the part of a “Legends In Concert” lounge-act impostor — a fact that’s allowed the seasoned interpreter of classic pop songwriters to put his own spin on the Bob songbook, snatching harmony and melody from the jaws of Dylan’s own sinusy sing-speak and raggedy arrangements.

With scores of Dylan compositions to choose from, the setlist is an ever-morphing thing that manages to  encompass such hardy perennials as “Like a Rolling Stone,” in addition to lesser-known numbers like “To Make You Feel My Love,” a song that vocalist McCrink has enchanted with her own special take.

“We keep things from the records that make the songs what they are, and we each bring things that come from us,” Guadagno explains. “We don’t just chop ‘em up and throw ‘em out there.”

Scheduled to join the Tired Horses band for the 8 pm performance are multi-instrumentalist  Marc Muller (of Shania Twain’s band), Steven Delopoulos (of Burlap to Cashmere), Hammond organist Jeff Levine, and veteran bluesman Rob Paparozzi (taking over harmonica detail from Guadagno’s late friend and colleague, Nashville songwriter and Red Bank area native Danny Petraitis).

Guadagno will honor the memory of another special person in his life when, for the tenth consecutive year, he’ll donate a portion of the Bobfest proceeds to the Anthony X. Guadagno Rock and Roll Music Fund, a scholarship named for his late brother and longtime bass player that allows young New Jersey musicians to attend Boston’s Berklee College of Music. For the second consecutive year, former borough-based artist David Banegas will donate a painted portrait to raffle off, and Jersey 101.5’s Big Joe Henry returns  as emcee for the night.

Tickets for Bobfest 2013 are priced at $19.50 – $39.50 and can be reserved right here. Check Guadagno’s website as well for info on his typically busy performing schedule, as well as his CD release of Bob covers, That’s a Bob Dylan Song.

The new owner of the former Love Lane tuxedo space also owns the four-story 12 Broad Street, just around the corner. (Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

One of downtown Red Bank’s more glaring eyesore buildings is about to get a gut job.

The owners of the highly successful 12 Broad Street have acquired the former Love Lane tuxedo space around the corner at 23 West Front Street, partner Nima Nili confirmed Monday.

The $550,000 purchase price is less than one-third the $1.75 million  Holmdel investor Frank Cannarozzo paid for the building in 2007, property records show. It’s also a steep drop from the $1 million the previous owner paid in 2004.

Love Lane relocated to 66 Broad Street nine years ago, and the building has remained vacant ever since, scaring off potential buyers with it’s dirt-floor basement and termite-damaged first floor. An art gallery that was said to be planned for the building never materialized.

What do Nili and his partners see in it?

“Value,” he tells redbankgreen. “We think that Red Bank has a very promising future.”

Nili said the two-story, 6,200-square-foot structure will be gutted for renovation, in the hope of landing a single tenant for the whole thing, or a retailer in the 3,500 SF ground floor and offices upstairs. No tenants have yet been lined up, he said, and remodeling work could begin in about three months.

In recent years, Nili and his partners have spent millions resurrecting the once-moribund 12 Broad, where tenants include the ground floor restaurant Biagio and the jewelry seller Alex and Ani. In the offices above are architectural firms, an energy trading company and a headhunting firm, among others.

“We’ve had great success at 12 Broad, and we think we’ll have great success here,” Nili said.

 

 

Maritza Serrano, left, and Mary Ellen Harris (with dog, Claire) helped run the rummage sale at St. Anthony of Padua in Red Bank on Saturday. Proceeds from the sale were slated to aid the church’s social concerns ministry, which helps fund needs such as rent and utility bills, summer youth programs and books for Brookdale Community College students. (Photo by Sarah Klepner. Click to enlarge)

As motorists take to the roads this Memorial Day holiday, the state Division of Highway Traffic Safety is urging everyone to buckle up. 

The 2013 national Click It or Ticket seat belt enforcement campaign begins Monday, May 20 and runs through Monday, June 2, according to a press release from the Highway Traffic Safety. Police departments across New Jersey will crack down on motorists who are not belted.

“As we kick-off the busy summer driving season it’s important that everyone buckles up every time they go out, both day and night — no excuses,” said Division of Highway Traffic Safety Acting Director Gary Poedubicky in the release. “Officers throughout New Jersey are prepared to ticket anyone who is not wearing their seat belt.”

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 52 percent of the 21,253 passenger vehicle occupants killed in 2011 were not wearing their seat belts at the time of the crash.

One hundred and twenty four agencies received $4,000 each to run the seatbelt enforcement checkpoints and saturation patrols, according to the release. Last year, 86 percent of New Jersey police agencies, or 425 of 493, participated in the Click It or Ticket campaign.

The mobilization ran from May 21 to June 3 and resulted in 29,307 seat belt citations. Police officers also wrote 981 child restraint and 4,951 speeding citations, and made 861 DWI arrests, the release stated.

About 90 percent of police departments in New Jersey are expected to participate in the effort. The following Monmouth County police departments received $4,000 grants to help aid in the targeted enforcement:

• Atlantic Highlands 
• Eatontown
• Freehold
• Middletown
• Neptune
• Spring Lake Heights
• Union Beach