Online Scams

The holiday season seams to be the time when thieves thrive on stealing whatever they can from others, instead of working for it. Here's the top 12 online scams to watch for!!!! Please think about what your are putting online. Don't give out personal information to anyone, whether it's online or on the phone!

The 12 Most Dangerous Online Scams
Consumers would be wise to beware of the most commons scams of the season before heading online to book travel and do holiday shopping. McAfee revealed the 12 most dangerous online scams that computer users should be cautious of this holiday season.
1. iPad offer scams
With Apple products topping most shopping lists this holiday season, scammers are busy distributing bogus offers for free iPads. McAfee Labs found that in the spam version of the scam consumers are asked to purchase other products and provide their credit card number to get the free iPad. Of course, victims never receive the iPad or the other items, just the headache of reporting a stolen credit card number.
In the social media version of the scam, users take a quiz to win a free iPad and must supply their cell phone number to receive the results. In actuality they are signed up for a cell phone scam that costs $10 a week.
2. “Help! I’ve been robbed” scam
This travel scam sends phony distress messages to family and friends requesting that money be wired or transferred so that they can get home. McAfee Labs has seen an increase in this scam and predicts its rise during the busy travel season.
3. Fake gift cards
Cybercrooks use social media to promote fake gift card offers with the goal of stealing consumers’ information and money, which is then sold to marketers or used for ID theft.
One recent Facebook scam offered a “free $1,000 Best Buy gift card” to the first 20,000 people who signed up for a Best Buy fan page, which was a look-a-like. To apply for the gift card they had to provide personal information and take a series of quizzes.
4. Holiday job offers
As people seek extra cash for gifts this holiday season, Twitter scams offer dangerous links to high-paying, work-at-home jobs that ask for your personal information, such as your email address, home address and Social Security number to apply for the fake job.
5. Smishing
Cybercrooks are now “smishing,” or sending phishing SMS texts. These texts appear to come from your bank or an online retailer saying that there is something wrong with an account and you have to call a number to verify your account information. In reality, these efforts are merely a ruse to extract valuable personal information from the targets. Cybercrooks know that people are more vulnerable to this scam during the holiday season when consumers are doing more online shopping and checking bank balances frequently.
6. Suspicious holiday rentals
During peak travel times when consumers often look online for affordable holiday rentals, cybercrooks post fake holiday rental sites that ask for down payments on properties by credit card or wire transfer.
7. Recession scams continue
Scammers target vulnerable consumers with recession related scams such as pay-in-advance credit schemes. McAfee Labs has seen a significant number of spam emails advertising prequalified, low-interest loans and credit cards if the recipient pays a processing fee, which goes directly into the scammer’s pocket.
8. Grinch-like greetings
E-cards are a convenient and earth-friendly way to send greetings to friends and family, but cybercriminals load fake versions with links to computer viruses and other malware instead of cheer. According to McAfee Labs, computers may start displaying obscene images, pop-up ads, or even start sending cards to contacts that appear to come from you.
9. Low price traps
Shoppers should be cautious of products offered at prices far below competitors. Cyber scammers use auction sites and fake websites to offer too-good-to-be-true deals with the goal of stealing your money and information.
10. Charity scams
The holidays have historically been a prime time for charity scams since it’s a traditional time for giving, and McAfee Labs predicts that this year is no exception. Common ploys include phone calls and spam e-mails asking you to donate to veterans’ charities, children's causes and relief funds for the latest catastrophe.
11. Dangerous holiday downloads
Holiday-themed screensavers, jingles and animations are an easy way for scammers to spread viruses and other computer threats especially when links come from an email or IM that appears to be from a friend.
12. Hotel and Airport Wi-Fi
During the holidays many people travel and use free wi-fi in places like hotels and airports. This is a tempting time for thieves to hack into networks hoping to find opportunities for theft.

Please take these warnings to heart and let's have a safe and fun holiday season!!

Also a reminder that there is no parking on the streets at night during the winter months. Let's keep our neighborhood safe!! Thanks!

News and Information!

Felt this worth passing along. With Christmas coming up, I can see where this could be a real problem. The newest virus circulating is the UPS/Fed Ex Delivery Failure. If you receive an e-mail from UPS/Fed Ex Service along with a packet number, don't open it! It will say that they were unable to deliver a package sent to you on such-and-such a date. It then asks you to print out the invoice copy Attached. DON'T TRY TO PRINT THIS. IT LAUNCHES THE VIRUS! Pass this warning on to all your PC operators at work and home. This virus has caused Millions of dollars in damage in the past few days. Snopes confirms that itis real. http://www.snopes.com/computer/virus/ups.asp<

This notice came from Hill Air Force Base this morning. I felt it needed to be passed along by any means possible with the holiday season fast approaching!


Also, here are some tips from the emergency preparedness government websites. I'll just put the website here so you can look at what you would like to know more about.
http://bereadyutah.gov/


I think anything we can do to better prepare ourselves for a "disaster" is better than doing nothing at all.

Keep your eyes and ears open and let's keep our neighborhood safe!! :)

Neighborhood Watch Report

Here's the latest information for our area as of 15 APR 10 - 9 AUG 10.
CRIMINAL CALLS
Auto Burglary 4
Criminal Mischief 1
Death 1
Family Fight 1
Graffiti 1
Sex Registry 1

OTHER CALLS
Agency/Assist OJ 1
Alarm/Residence 4
Civil Standby/Citizen Asst 7
Firework Complaint 1
Juvenile Prob/Runaway 7
Medical Assist 3
Mental Subject 1
Parking/Traffic Offense 1
Suspicious 4

Homes in our watch area: 129

If you would like to see other types of information on the blog, please leave a message.... Thank you for helping keep our neighborhood safe!

Det_Higley said...
The summer time months, when it is warm is the time for thefts and burglaries to really get going. I get requests every year around Christmas to warn people of the dangers of thefts and burglaries, but there are actually less during that time of year than the summer time. At Christmas time, everything is new, everything has a special purpose, and it is more emotional when it is taken. This time of year most things are used, might not be noticed right away, and there is usually less emotion attached to the items. What makes this time of year some much more active for thefts and burglaries is that it is warm. Bad guys are lazy and don’t like the cold. More people are out doing stuff, more stuff is being taken outside, and there are more people out at night. We get busy doing yard work, working on and washing our cars, and fixing things. You go in to rest for a minute or get started on something else and forget to close the garage door, put the tools and toys away, forget to lock the car. Next thing you know it’s gone.

*Things to remember to prevent thefts /burglaries:- Lock It or Lose It - Lock your doors: house, garage, cars, RV/campers, and bicycles. Double check yourselves to make sure everything is locked.;- Leave a porch light on (the new low energy lights can be left on all night with more light and less energy)Light deep shadow areas;- Don’t leave anything in your car in view (glass does not stop rock keys);- Help your neighbors watch their property;- Trim tree branches up to 6’, and bushes down below 18” so that passing officers/neighbors can see your house.-Trim bushes away from windows and door.
*What you can do to help recover something you’ve lost:- Photograph your jewelry or any valuable item that does not have a serial number, and write a good description, and any appraisal info;- Mark your property or valuables with an identifying mark, preferably your driver's license with state abbreviation followed by number: eg: CA-B1234567 Any officer can run this anywhere in any state, or even around the world, and get your name.-Inventory your marked property on a form with descriptions including brand, model number, and serial number. Keep it in a safe place.

Police departments get hundreds of bicycles every year they cannot match to cases and return because the serial number was not recorded. They end up being given to charity. Utah also has a pawn shop database that requires all pawn shops to report everything they get. Last summer I was able to quickly return only 2 items to owners because they had their serial numbers and I located the items on the pawn database. If an item is reported stolen, but no serial numbers are given, the case is given two weeks then put into the active/closed file because no serial numbers or other information was given for the police to go off of.

Have your VISA/MasterCard, or other credit card numbers, coded and placed in a safe place, so if they are stolen, YOU can access the number. Some people store this information on their computers so they can access it anywhere in the world. This works as long as you have it coded so that you are the only one who can access this information.
Thanks to those who are leaving their lights on at night.

Good advice from Detective Higley!!! Please take this information and USE IT! Pass it on to your neighbors!! This blog is NOT just for me, Randy and Det. Higley. It is for everyone in our neighborhood!! Let's beef up the security here and make our area safer!

Another break in!

Another person has had their SUV broken into! The person's wallet and other items were stolen. They had forgotten to lock their doors. Apparently that is what these particular thieves are looking for! So please, please, remember to keep your doors locked at night!!! And keep an eye and an ear out for suspicious events!

Neighborhood Theft Alert!!!!!

There has been a theft in our neighborhood either last night or early this morning! A neighbor left his truck doors unlocked and someone opened the door and took the tools that were in there, approximately $500.00 worth. If anyone happened to notice anything, please contact Clearfield Police Department.
This is a reminder to make sure your car doors and houses are locked at night and be sure your garage doors are down! This will help prevent break-ins and help keep our neighborhood safe from this type of theft. Let your neighbors know if their garage doors are open! Watch for unusual events taking place in your neighbors yard/house.
We need to be vigilant in watching and listening to what is going on in our neighborhoods so we can possibly prevent these types of things from happening. When one person is affected, the whole neighborhood is affected. Let's keep our neighborhood safe!!

Earthquake Preparedness

Information from Detective Higley, Clearfield Police Department.

Here is some info for your NW group.
Earthquake Preparedness
Governor Herbert Declares April 4 - 10 Earthquake Preparedness Week
Why is earthquake preparedness important in Utah?
Utah has experienced damaging earthquakes in the past and geologic evidence indicates that earthquakes larger than any experienced locally in historical time are likely in the future.
We must prepare for earthquakes because:* Utah is a seismically active region* A majority of Utah's population is concentrated in the areas of greatest hazard* Many of Utah's older buildings and lifelines have low earthquake resistance
Utah's Earthquake Preparedness Guide
This guide explains what to do before, during and after and earthquake with all the latest information about Utah's earthquake threat.
Bob Carey from the Division of Homeland Security will be speaking with KSL Radio's Doug Wright this Thursday afternoon in a taped interview about earthquake preparedness. This segment (approximately 45 minutes) will air this weekend between sessions of the LDS Church General Conference on KSL Radio 102.7 FM and 1160 AM. As soon as we have a time, we will let you know so you can listen in. We will also send you a link to the segment once it becomes available online after it airs this weekend.
Earthquake Preparedness for more information http://bereadyutah.gov/EarthquakePreparedness.html

Remember, we do live on a faultline here along the Wasatch Front. So being prepared is a smart thing to do!