Hello Everyone. Have a couple of items to share with you. I received a couple of calls about mailbox vandalism. I have lived in Palos Gardens for 23 years and I have lost count of the number of times my mailbox has been attacked. Unfortunately, there is not much we can do about it. I consider repairing my mailbox as regular maintenance for being a homeowner.
With the holiday season approaching, the next timely item comes from Penny Mateck, Community Affairs Coordinator for Cook County Sheriff's Police Department. The holidays can be stressful and hectic. We have a lot to do and it is very easy to become distracted. Unfortunately, there are people looking to take advantage of us. Here are a few reminders of how to keep yourself and family safe.
Tips To Keep Your Holiday Safe
Mall Parking:
* Never leave your car unoccupied with the motor running or with children inside.
* Put all valuables in the truck, locked and out of sight. Put away all GPS, cell phones, change, iPods, etc.
* If you have a van or SUV, place your purchases in the back and cover them with a blanket.
* If you have a lot of packages but want to put them in your vehicle and go back to do more shopping, move your car to another parking area. This discourages a thief who may have been watching you unload your purchases.
* Watch for strangers approaching you for any reason at this time of year. Con artists try various methods of distracting you with the intention of taking your money or belongings.
* Park under a light and check beneath the vehicle and in the front and back seats for anyone that may be hiding there before getting in. Then get right in and lock your doors.
Mall Shopping:
* Clean out your wallet and/or purse and remove unnecessary credit cards, debit cards, social security cards and other documents that could compromise your identity if lost or stolen while shopping.
* Consider just taking your wallet and carrying it in your front pants pocket or zip it into an inside coat pocket.
* If you must carry a purse, wear it with the strap across your body and the purse hanging in front of you and not just over your shoulder. That way it is in front of you at all times and makes you harder to become a victim of pick pockets.
* Don’t shop distracted. Stay off the phone while shopping or walking back to your car. Always have your keys ready in your hand before you walk out of the mall.
* Avoid overloading yourself with packages. Condense your bags before leaving the mall. It makes it appear as if you have less, frees up your hands to carry keys and gives you more freedom to move to avoid mishaps.
* Never leave your purse in a shopping cart or on a counter when paying for your purchases. You can become easily distracted and a target for thieves.
Online Shopping:
* Use familiar websites. Watch out for misspellings or websites using a different domain name (.net instead of .com) as they could be look-a-like sites trying to steal your personal information.
* Shop with the lock. Never shop from a website that doesn’t feature the icon of a locked padlock, usually in the address bar. This lock means the site has encryption installed, designed to keep your personal information (like your credit card number) safe.
* Don’t tell all. No website needs your birth date or social security number to do business.
* Pay with a credit card. Under federal law you can dispute the charges if you don’t receive the item.
* Update your computer anti-virus regularly.
* Shopping via your mobile phone is often conducted over public Wi-Fi networks, like the malls, airports and coffee shops. Those connections are often not secure and sensitive information, like credit card numbers, could be intercepted if transmitted unencrypted.
* Don’t click on any link in an email that asks you to long into another site. Phishing scams are designed to get your personal information, and usually show up in your in box from a trusteed provider asking you to “log in” to “secure” your information.
Notice I highlighted what I believe is the number one item to keeping yourself safe. Again, think 'situational awareness'. That's all for this week. Thanks Penny and Vern for your contributions. As always, I encourage you to send me any information I should share with our group. Take care.
Joe Savino, 6231 W. 128th Place, 708-280-3012
Tips to keep your Home Safe
From the Cook County Sheriff’s Police Department
(Distributed
at the 1st Palos Gardens Community Watch Meeting on Jan. 24,
2012)
INDOORS
· Use automatic timers on your indoor lights when you are away from home
· Place radios on automatic timers and raise the volume so they can be heard outside.
· Lower the sound of your telephone ringer and answering machine so they can’t be heard outside.
· Secure your patio door with a pin-type lock, a key lock or a rod inserted into the door channel.
· Do not have money, jewelry or other valuables lying out in plain view from a window. Keep valuables and important documents in a safe.
OUTDOORS
· Install motion detector lights around your house instead of leaving the lights on at night. The lights coming on and turning off attracts the attention of neighbors.
· Prune your trees and shrubs to prevent overgrowth which provides a good hiding place for burglars.
· Do not hide spare keys under the door mat or outside your home.
· Prune lower branches of trees near your house if they could help a burglar gain access to a second story window.
· If you are home working outside, leave all other doors that are out of sight locked.
· Keep ladders stored in a locked garage or locked shed so they can’t be used to climb into your home.
· Hand highly visible alarm decals or beware of dog signs, near doors or windows even if you don’t have either one. The bad guys don’t know that.
· If you receive a new TV or computer, break down the box, then put it in the trash, instead of setting it out at the curb. Don’t advertise your new purchase!
VEHICLES
· If parking your car in the driveway or in front of your home, lock it EVERY time and place the garage door opener out of sight. An unlocked car allows a burglar to push the garage door button and walk right into your house.
· Do not program your home address into your GPS system. If it gets stolen – when parked away from your home – along with your garage door opener / keys/ vehicle, the bad guy knows where you live and can go right over and rob your house.
WHEN YOU ARE AWAY
· Don’t give repairmen your key and don’t give someone repairing your vehicle your whole set of keys. Your house keys can be easily duplicated and your address obtained from your license plate number.
· Have a family member or friend pick up your mail and newspaper while you are away.
· Don’t leave notes on the door for family members or repair men. These alert burglars that you are not home.
· Turn off alarm clocks so people outside cannot hear them ringing for an extended period of time.
· Don’t advertise your vacation plans on social media websites like Facebook, Twitter or any other place on the Internet.