“ACCORDING TO the Chief of the Guardia Civil, those foreign residents that flout the law by driving unregistered, uninsured and untaxed foreign registered cars should be stopped. The statement came after it was announced that a crackdown on foreign registered vehicles, which started late last year in the Costa del Sol, is to be extended nationwide.

“They don’t pay the fines for parking too long in restricted parking zones, or fines for speeding,” said the Chief, “they pay no road tax and their vehicles are often uninsured and not ITV tested. This is wrong and it must be stopped.”

and also look out for the TIM March edition – when our Legal Page will update you on the Driving Licence Laws.

Email based scams are becoming increasingly common, targeting British nationals overseas and in UK

Email scams that try to con expatriate residents out of large amounts of money are becoming increasingly common and sophisticated, the British Embassy warned today (Monday 13 Feb). Consular staff are receiving a growing number of calls from British nationals who have received emails asking for urgent funds to be sent to help friends or families in distress. In fact the emails are criminal scams designed to persuade victims to hand over large amounts of money.

“We are warning expatriate residents to be on the lookout for unexpected emails from friends or family members who appear to be in distress” said Dave Thomas, Consular Director for Southern Europe. “These emails are often not what they appear to be. You should check by telephone or a method other than email before sending any money.”

One scam that has become common involves someone hijacking an email account to send worrying messages to friends, family and other email contacts, asking for urgent funds to be sent.

To hijack the email account, the scam operator first sends an email to the account holder which appears to be from their email or internet service provider, asking them for their email login and passwords. The message often includes a threat that failure to comply could lead to the suspension of the account.
Once the hijacker has obtained the login details, they then send an email to the account holder´s friends and family asking for money. The email often tells a story of a friend of family member who has apparently been robbed of all their belongings, cash and mobile phones.

This scam email was sent from the hijacked account of a British national: “I am writing this with tears in my eyes. I came down here to Murcia in Spain for a short vacation and I was robbed at gunpoint last night on my way to the hotel where I lodge. All cash, credit cards and mobile phone were stolen from me but luckily for me I still have my passports with me. I’ve been to the embassy and the police here are not helping issues at all and my flight leaves shortly from now bit I’m having problems settling the hotel bill and the hotel manager won’t let me leave until I settle the bills. I am so confused at the moment… I need urgent help.”
If you reply to such an email you may receive further details of the alleged incident and a request to send money urgently to allow your family member or friend to check out of their hotel, buy flights home or pay for hospital treatment.

This is a real example of a follow-up scam email: “I just got your email, I really do not have email access, I have stayed days here visiting the Red Cross Organization everyday hoping that I could get clearance and some funds could be released to us so we can go on flight back home, I am really happy to read that you are willing to loan me some money, I will be happy if you can loan me $1000, I will pay you back right as soon as I’m back home, I promise. If you wire the money today, I will be on flight back home tomorrow so by Monday or Tuesday I will get the money back to you, Please let me know if this is possible for you so I can email you the wiring instructions. Thank you so much for your kindness.”
What to do

If you receive an email that asks for information about your email account or password, it may be a scam and you should not respond. Instead check with your email or internet service provider directly by telephone or through their website. Your email service provider can then advise if the information request is genuine. Avoid using your email account to check, since the email address that appears to belong to the service provider may not be genuine.

If you receive an email that asks for money, use the telephone or other means to contact the person who appears to have sent it, or a member of their family. Don’t respond by email or provide your own contact details or personal information, as you are likely to be replying straight to the person who has hijacked the email account.

Dave Thomas said: “Unfortunately there are people out there who try to rip off expatriates and Britons in the UK through these email scams. Our advice is to be wary of any emails asking for your account information, or for money. They are unlikely to be genuine. Check first with your service provider or your friend or family member, and avoid falling into a trap.”

British Consulates can offer to help contact friends or relatives in the event that emergency funds are needed, and can assist people who have been victims of crime. For more details of how your nearest British Consulate can help, go to the ukinspain website at victims of crime or
ukinspain.fco.gov.uk/en/help-for-british-nationals/when-things-go-wrong/if-you-are-victim-crime

For more information contact:
Simon Montague / James Birkett
Press Office
British Embassy Madrid
917 146 363 / 364

In Coria, Extremadura for the San Juan festival they didn’t think much of the Alicantino idea of bonfires and fi reworks to celebrate the longest day of the year. Their idea of fun was to pick a lad to defend himself with a couple of daggers against all the other young men of the village. One year the lucky boy happened to be from a rich family. His mum wasn’t keen on him being maimed or killed so she greased enough palms for the authorities to substitute a bull for her son. She set a trend. Nowadays happy mums look on as the villagers shoot small darts from blowpipes into a bull running through the streets. Favourite targets are eyes, nostrils and testicles. Perhaps there’s a bit of a testicles thing in Coria because once the bull is exhausted and collapses its balls are cut off.

In Manganeses de la Polvorosa in Zamora it’s goats. They used to throw a live goat from the church tower which the lads caught in a sort of blanket – fi re fi ghter style. Afterward the goat went for a pleasant stroll amongst the milling crowds. The story goes that some outsiders, who had the strange idea that the goats didn’t enjoy their short flight, made a bit of a fuss about the event on national telly. Nowadays the villagers limit themselves to flinging a cardboard goat from the tower. A live goat takes over to do the walkabout.

In Carpio del Tajo in Toledo they hang a goose from a rope, washing line style, in the middle of the town square. Horse riders charge past and try to wrench off the bird’s head with their bare hands. The geese are dead. Not so the cockerels in Guarrate in Zamora. This time, after fi rst reading a poem the young men of the village have to slit the throat of the birds with swords as they ride past on horseback.

There are plenty more. Bulls turn up a lot. In Tordesillas they hack one to death with lances. In Medinaceli in Soria, the encierro, the ever so common running of bulls through narrow streets, is enlivened by doing it at night with burning torches fastened to the bull’s horns presumably so the bull can see where it’s going. There are similar fiestas in Valencia. Another popular type of event, with the most infamous being in Benavente, involves tying a strong rope to the bull’s horns and then dragging it this way and that. Castilla y Leon, la Rioja, Navarra, Andalucia and Valencia all have variations on this theme.

It’s not just animals. In Valverde de la Vera on Easter Thursday human penitents wearing white veils and skirts are roped up to a plough shaft whilst in the Galician village of As Neves people who don’t feel too well are carried around in coffi ns each July. Tradition is a wonderful thing.

Article written by Chris Thompson

At Pellicer & Heredia Lawyers we have a close working relationship with SOS Insurance In Spain, who alerted us to this issue. A number of their clients advised that a well know Spanish Savings Bank have supplied them with Buildings Insurance, which was not agreed or authorised by them and the payment was deducted from their account without their prior approval or knowledge. It also transpired that the actual cover which they had provided was totally ineffective. The Buildings Sums Insured were way below the actual rebuilding cost of the property and in many cases, the Risk Details (type of property) etc., were incorrect. Policies had been issued as a flat or apartment when in fact they were villas situated in the country. The consequence of this, could possibly be, that if the client suffered a claim, the Insurer could refuse to settle the claim as the insurance had been issued on the incorrect basis.

Also, in some cases, clients had already arranged their Insurance with other Insurance Companies and the Banks were actually noted as Beneficiary! It appears that Banks are issuing policies for anyone who has a mortgage with them, regardless of whether they have their insurance arranged elsewhere or not. Our advice is to check your bank statements and if an insurance premium has been taken without your approval, inform them to refund the money immediately! (you have up to 60 days to refuse payments debited from your Bank by any Supplier or Company). If you already have your property insured elsewhere, make sure the Bank are noted as the beneficiary and provide the Bank with a copy. If you don’t have insurance arranged, then obtain alternative quotes. Ask the Bank if they can match the cover and premium and then you decide which deal you want to go for. If you do have a mortgage, it is a requirement that you are correctly insured and that the Bank are noted as beneficiary, but it is not the law that it is the Bank who must provide you with the insurance!

Another area to watch out for is Life Insurance. This works on a similar principle to the above, if you have a loan with the Bank or a mortgage, it is a requirement to have life insurance. But again, you can choose with whom you wish to insure with! Banks can be very expensive for this type of cover, so obtain alternative quotes, before you take out any Insurance Products with the Bank.

To find out further information on Home, Life or any other insurance product or Funeral Plan, call SOS Insurance to receive sound, expert advice or either contact our Office and make an appointment to discuss your particular case.

Pellicer & Heredia Lawyers have vast experience of dealing with the ex patriot community. If you would like information on Wills & Inheritance, Tax & Fiscal Matters, Vehicle, Driving Licence and Traffic Registration, or any other legal matter, then please do not hesitate to call us on 965480737 / 606056282 or email info@pellicerheredia.com we are here to help the ex pat communities!

Article written by Pellicer & Heredia Lawyers

In common with the greater internet, facebook began life as a rudimentary system connecting computers in different locations, initially at Harvard and then other universities in the Boston area. Inside three months, almost all the US and Canadian seats of learning were signed up and within a year, facebook had crossed the Atlantic to include the UK and was already eyeing up Australia and New Zealand. In the autumn of 2006 facebook, which hitherto had been restricted to high schools and universities, opened itself up to everyone over the age of 13 with a valid email address. The rest, as they say, is history. At the time of writing, facebook has in excess of 800 million registered users around the world. Naturally, those perennial spoilsports in China, as is their wont, have denied their citizens access but what, if anything, are the good folk of the People’s Republic missing out on? Truth be told probably not very much really.

Actually, that last statement may have been a tad harsh because the mass appeal of facebook lies in its simplicity and all the things you can use it for. Once you’ve created an account in your own name or an alias you’ll be up and running in moments and thereafter only the sky is your social networking limit. The fi rst stop is usually to populate your personal profi le which means adding such crucial details as a photo, (a surprising number of people are quite shy and use all manner of Googled images), and then work, education, birthday, interests etc. At this point the opportunity for the

unscrupulous to embellish their achievements appears openended; a couple of old school mates of mine, not the sharpest pair of tools in the box if memory serves which it defi nitely does, have since acquired paid employment as, respectively, a 747 pilot and at the UN. Apparently!! It’s all good fun though, mostly, as I’ll now try and explain.

As a dedicated user and fi rm facebook fan, one of my simplest internet pleasures is reading, sometimes pressing the button to like, and then commenting on friend’s status updates which range from the banal to the brilliant, not though in equal measure. From these few lines of text it’s perfectly possible to suss out the authors mindset, what kind of day he or she is having, who has seriously aggravated him or her, and, rather quaintly, commiserate or celebrate depending on whether it’s good or bad tidings. Children, wives, husbands, football teams, music and, quite why I’ve no idea, TV shows all get facebook facetime so to speak and all are open to criticism or the vagaries of their audience. That football thing is particularly good fun, especially when a rival team lose or become the subject of any kind of controversy. Facetious comments abound and any hint of antagonism in the response can be killed stone dead by subtle use of the like button.

Getting on for fi ve years after fi rst signing up, the little red icon signifying a new notifi cation, personal message or, better still, a friendship request still excites me when I initially log on. All too often though one of the fi rst couple will be something unexciting or of little interest and the invitation from a new “friend” will turn out to be from a shop or restaurant I went to last week rather than a long lost school mate I’d be thrilled to hear from. For businesses large and small the potential of facebook is frightening, nowadays a great many switchedon organisations have corporate pages that serve as effective communicating and, of course, marketing tools. Naturally, as more and more firms figure it out, that number will only increase, as will the quantity of unwanted advertisements; not that a certain gentleman, now resident in sunny California, will be complaining too much as the quantity of loose change in his back pocket necessitates yet another visit to the bank.

Games players too are also adequately catered for on facebook, with thousands of beat ‘em up, shoot ‘em up, strategy or mental agility applications to choose from. With the massive increase in its popularity, facebook is also the next logical step for the cynical criminal elements that infest every corner of the internet. Unbeknown to a great many gamers, their naive online purchasing of the tokens and credits necessary to make progress and compete in their chosen favourite city or farm building project is highly likely to have further enriched the bulging coffers of Eastern European and Far East cyber mobsters, many of whom now exploit t’web to clone cards by widespread use of teams of hackers. Continuing with that seamy theme, illicit affairs between old acquaintances, numerous divorce cases and at least one tragic murder can be traced directly to facebook. But heh, don’t have nightmares do sleep well, as Nick Ross once said!!

Because its tentacles reach everywhere, facebook probably isn’t the best place either to criticize your boss and colleagues or use having pulled a sicky with a fi ctitious migraine. Stories abound of workers disciplined or, indeed, sacked as a result of ill considered and disparaging online comments and you don’t need to look too hard to fi nd them. Take for example – and as luck would have it someone did, the law – the plonker who tried to use the planet’s favourite website to incite a riot in his home town last August. I rest my case. Because it’s so widely used, a private message on facebook is just as effective as a text or email these days, my Mrs even communicates with me this way from our kitchen. In the olden days, before laptops were invented, we used to have social networking too, back then though people used to have face to face conversations with each other or write letters. Latter day postmen – you don’t know you were born.

Facebook really is my favourite f-word and with luck it will succeed where Adolf Hitler failed in his quest for world domination, it’s well over half way there already. I love it, because it’s brilliant and long may it continue.

Article written by Kevin Rendall

By Rob Innis

Most users of Microsoft computers will probably have experienced the dreaded viruses that people with nothing better to do send to other people who have nothing better to do than play with computers all day. So running software scans and generally spending more time dealing with threats than doing anything else is the norm.

So when a message popped up ‘Your software might be counterfeit’ I immediately thought here we go. I have a virus, worm, botnet, or malware – one of those incomprehensible software jargon words.

The message persisted and I was invited to go online and make a Counterfeit Software Report. Again my skepticism led me to believe it was a scam to get my personnel details. But I clicked the link and arrived at a Microsoft site. My laptop was recently bought in Spain with Spanish Windows 7, the latest system. However, deciding I preferred it to ‘speak’ to me in English, I had spurned Microsoft’s 200$ language upgrade option and purchased it from another supplier for around 30$. After all Bill Gates has enough money, right?

The new software had successfully worked (in English, brilliant) for around 2 months before this, now accepted as genuine, error message appeared. It turned out the software I had purchased was counterfeit. But why had Windows security allowed it to be loaded? And a more basic question – why doesn’t Windows just switch to any language like any other software product does these days for free?

So I followed Microsoft’s instructions and mailed, yes I mean on paper in an envelope with a stamp, a letter to their office in Dublin along with my purchase receipt and details of where and how (online) I had (innocently) acquired the offending counterfeit software.

A few weeks later the error messages stopped and naturally I thought great, thanks Microsoft – they have fixed my system (via a Windows update download) after receiving my letter.

A few months later the error message reappeared and back to square one. I received an email from them telling me they had not received my counterfeit report. Presumably my snail mail letter had failed to make its journey from Torrevieja to Dublin successfully.

I wrote a second letter to another Microsoft office and it must have arrived as they sent me an email confirming that they would be sending me my “complimentary software replacement kit” from America, which might take 4-6 weeks to arrive. In the meantime the message pops up a 100 times a day to tell me what I already know and, as a punishment, my virus protection software has been made to stop running. Hope you are happy Bill, because I am not. Apple here I come….

I’m just trying to get a look at the painting; students and children will be eagerly drawing or taking down notes. Rucksacks are trampled underfoot and there is the distinctive crunch of some hapless child’s crayons as you unwittingly apply your full weight. A party of Japanese tourists will politely but resolutely get to the front led by a perfectly diminutive female with a squeaky voice that doesn’t quite rise above the general hum and trying to get attention by waving a collapsible umbrella. As she strains to make herself understood there will be a frantic nodding of enormous flowery sun visors direct from a fashionable ladies outfitter in Osaka or Tokyo. At the back are the ‘uninterested’ who have been to five art galleries in three days. They have reached saturation point and don’t even have the willpower to pretend any more. Unimpressed American families ‘doing Europe’ with bored teenagers in tow sigh amongst themselves;

“what the heck is all the fuss about, where is the cafeteria, isn’t there a McDonald’s across the road”? And on it goes, all day every day.

What are they looking at? The Spanish People own one of the most revered and studied paintings in the entire body of Western art. At first glance the picture seems like a fairly straight forward group portrait or ‘conversation piece’ but there is far more depth to this picture than just simple documentary illustration. The title of the picture tells us that it is about ‘Las Meninas’, (The Maids of Honour), and certainly they are pictured, centred around the five year old Infanta Margarita, the daughter of King Philip IV of Spain and his second wife Mariana of Austria. Along with Infanta is the usual retinue of jesters and dwarfs including two hired playmates and a sleeping mastiff? Behind her is the chaperone party made up of a monk and a nun to look after her physical and spiritual welfare.

However, Velásquez has also made this into a self-portrait for it is he shown looking out at us from behind the canvass. He is shown painting a picture, maybe this picture you are looking at now and Margarita and her retinue are simply here to check the progress. If that is so, who are the people shown in the mirror on the far wall? Could they be the King and Queen having their portrait painted? The ‘ground plane’, that is the surface Margarita is standing on, could be imagined to extend into the space you the viewer is occupying. Magically, you are also in the room with them. Velásquez is looking out of the picture directly at you as you stand there. Indeed the faces in the mirror are painted so indistinctly that they cannot be identified as anyone in particular. Another mystery is ‘The Cross of the Order of Santiago’ that Velásquez displays on his tunic in bright red. Awarded to him by the King three years after the picture was painted! It is said that the King himself was allowed under the direct supervision of Velásquez to paint on the cross himself.

Decoding this picture is a fascinating activity and is an insight into an intricate mind.

The painting is not exactly as Velásquez left it in 1656. It was damaged in a fire in the Alcazar Palace in 1734. It has had some material removed from the sides and there have been several attempts at cleaning and restoration. Crowds of visitors are degrading the picture with humidity and carbon dioxide, but nevertheless, it still hangs in the Nations Capital as one of the premier treasures of the country.

Just as a final anecdote, sit in the Plaza Oriente in Madrid on a chilly autumn afternoon in one of the very stylish café bars near the Opera. You can have the most expensive café con leche of your entire life with an elegantly uniformed waiter wrapping an especially warmed blanket around your knees. Look up and you will see a yellow lozenge-shaped plaque on the wall of one of the very fine buildings behind you. It states that this was the house of Diego Velásquez born in Seville 6th of June 1599 and died in Madrid 6th August 1660. Wonderful, what an artist.

TTFN
artshed.malcolm@gmail.com

Article written by Malcolm Thompson

Every time we eat, we burn off calories through excess heat production, digestion and absorption of the food. This is called dietary thermo genesis and accounts for approximately 10% of our daily use of calories. Research shows that eating small, regular meals helps increase the amount of dietary thermo genesis that takes place and therefore burns more calories than eating one large meal per day. It also helps to keep hunger at bay reducing the likelihood of over eating.

2. Pack in some protein

Protein rich foods such as meat, poultry, fish, beans, nuts, seeds and tofu require up to 18% more energy to be eaten, digested and absorbed than carbohydrates or fats so make sure your diet consists of the recommended intake (15% of calories coming from protein) by adding a little in to each meal or snack you have. His will also help to slow the rate of digestion helping you to feel fuller for longer.

3. Spice up your life!

Several clinical research studies have found that an ingredient known as capsaicin found in spices, particularly chilli, can raise the metabolic rate slightly after a meal. This is because the heart rate increases when spices are eaten. Spices are also a great way of flavouring low fat dishes and they’re good for you as many contain high concentrations of antioxidants so use them liberally without guilt!

4. Give yourself a caffeine kick!

Just two and a half cups of caffeine containing coffee or cola can raise the metabolism by 10% — 30% for 1 to 3 hours after drinking them. This is because caffeine increases both the heart rate and the circulating amounts of the hormone, adrenaline. Good news for calorie burning but not so great for overall health if drunk to excess so limit your intake to a maximum of 3 or 4 cups a day.

5. Go green

A Swiss study found that people who drink green tea burned significantly more calories than those who didn’t. It is thought that the photochemical flavanoids found in the tea may affect the ‘energy’ hormone noradrenalanie which in turn, may speed up the rate at which fat is burned in the body. Green tea is also extremely good for overall health.

6. Start fidgeting

According to researchers at the highly renowned Mayo Clinic people who naturally fidget, move around and change posture burn up to 400 more calories a day than those who are less active. The researchers labelled this factor NEAT (for non-exercise activity thermo genesis).

7. Get excited

Emotions such as excitement or stress can increase the amount of adrenaline that is released into the system. This hormone speeds up the metabolic rate therefore increasing the amount of calories burned overall.

8. Turn down the thermostat

Try turning down the thermostat in your home or office by just a few degrees. This will force the body to burn more calories so that it can stay at its preferred temperature of 37 degrees.

9. Update your CV

and no, we’re not talking about your resume!

It won’t come as any surprise to learn that cardio-vascular (C.V) exercise such as walking, swimming, running, dancing and cycling automatically increases your metabolic rate. However, you may be surprised to learn that by adding a few short, sharp bursts of higher intensity exercise into your usual workout can ensure your metabolic rate remains elevated for up to 38 hours after leaving the gym! So, pepper your usual jog with a few short sprints, alternate every fourth length of breast stroke with one of super fast front crawl, increase the resistance on the exercise bike for 30 seconds out of every five minutes or power walk between every second lamp post and then go home and collapse on the sofa content in the knowledge that you’re burning extra calories even whilst you rest!

10. And finally, start strength training!

It might not work overnight but strength training (working your muscles against a resistance sufficient to ensure you cannot do more than ten repetitions of the exercise) is still one of the most effective ways going to increase your metabolic rate. In fact, you’ll burn an extra 50 calories a day for every pound of muscle tissue you put on.
Consequently, regular strength training can increase your basic metabolic rate by as much as 15% in just a few short weeks of regular training!