If news of your lottery win is public, you want to feel safe.
There are some lottery winners that, though are not paranoid, do for one reason or another, fear for their own and their family’s safety. They may have a relative that wants the money, someone that they don’t trust trying to get some, a general need for safety precautions due to publicity, or just a general unease now that they have a large amount of money.
Lottery Winners are Public Property
The problem is that when you win the big one and hit the news, in most cases, your picture, name, and hometown are published to show the gaming public that real people do win the high jackpots. However, with that type of information, comes the potential of risk to your own personal safety and that of your family. Mostly, threats come from people who are jealous and who don’t have much money themselves. They might kidnap you and try to get a ransom from your family. Or maybe even try to hurt you or a family member to force payment. Super rare stuff for sure but, depending on who you are, your history with people, or other past things in your life, could happen.
Personal Protection
A few jackpot winners of millions of dollars are now using personal protection services to ensure their and their family’s personal safety. Personal protection, or Close Protection, utilizes “bodyguards” or more appropriately, Close Protection Personnel, that are with you wherever you go. They also protect those persons who are accompanying you, and physically secure locations you visit or work at. They scan vehicles for explosives, and search for electronic listening devices.
These persons, whether armed or not, are constantly looking out for your safety, assessing risks, doing searches and surveillance, and deciding if locations should be avoided. Their job is to eliminate risks in the first place, keep you out of harm’s way if a situation occurs or escalates, and get you to safety and medical attention if you are injured.
Close Protection services can come from either an agency or an independent contractor. Most people in the Close Protection industry are former military personnel, police officers, and intelligence agents. Many have years and even several decades of experience in providing close protection services in some of the harshest and dangerous regions on the planet for high profile or valuable targets.
Many are armed, and some also bring with them various electronic devices that can enhance your security such as bomb and bug detection, Radio Frequency sweepers, gas detectors, and such. And many have extensive medical training in case something goes awry and you or someone in your group is injured. They can keep you alive until emergency medical help arrives.
Close Protection provides very discreet services so you can go about your business, with their activities attracting little to no attention. However, they can be upfront and “in your face” with people when the situation dictates. They are there to protect you wherever you are.
Family Protection is another concern. You can’t be with your family all the time and you need to know that they are safe when at home, at school, or out about town. Many Close Protectors have experience in family protection and have the skills necessary to do the job. Some are specialists at protecting spouses, knowing how married people interact and perform routine activities within the marriage. Others are experts in protecting children, especially when going to and from and in school. Others are skilled at residence protection, being able to secure a residence while the occupants are out, and keep the residence locked down and impenetrable when people are home.
How to choose Close Protection services:
- do extensive research into both general aspects of such services and the particular companies and individuals who provide these services
- select an agency or individual who has the background you need for your particular situation and one that understands your risks
- you must be able to trust and develop a relationship with this agency or individual
- you can search via the Internet but it’s better to talk to colleagues, or through friendships with high profile political and celebrity friends and acquaintances who utilize Close Protection personnel
- gain a good understanding of the pros and cons of security details and processes
- research the costs of such services
- understand what is expected of you in the relationship
The reason you need to choose the right agency or individual for your protection is not only about trust and reliability, but the people you hire will become an extension of your family unit and will learn everything there is to know about you and every person in the household. They will be with you at home, at work, and at play. They will learn, overhear, and know everything!
Your secrets will be revealed as well. Close Protectors can’t do their job if they don’t know your every move, every routine, that makes you vulnerable or puts you at risk. They are great at keeping secrets and being extremely discreet. You, your family, and they may end up on a first name basis, share stories, and even become friends. It can happen. But a good agency or individual knows that this intimacy does not overshadow any professionalism in them doing their job. They are first and foremost your employees who literally have your life in their hands.