REPORT ALL SUSPICIOUS OR CRIMINAL ACTIVITY TO 911

Thursday, September 29, 2016

SNOHOMISH COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE- Law Enforcement Embedded Social Worker Update


The Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office has published the latest issue of the Crime Prevention Newsletter. It has an update of the work of the Law Enforcement Embedded Social Worker that works with the homeless in delivering addiction and mental health treatment. You can see it at:



Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office:



Sunday, September 25, 2016

2016 ELECTION- Scammers Will Take Advantage of Upcoming Election


AARP’s Fraud Watch Network has issued an alert on 5 voter scams that we can expect to see with the coming November election. Posing as pollsters, political parties, and Political Action Committees (PAC’s), scammers are after your money and your identity. The alert points out, under the guise of a political organization, the scammers can skirt the Do No Call Registry (https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0108-national-do-not-call-registry).

The alert warns of 5 scams:



1.     Survey Swindle. Posing as pollsters, scammers may ask questions that you would expect. But then questioning may become more sensitive, asking about your income, medications, etc. They may offer a prize for participating, which legitimate pollsters do not do. The aim is to gather your personal information to use or sell, or to install malware on your computer.

2.     Phony fund-raising. Posing as a political party, candidate representative or representing a cause, scammers will ask for donations. AARP recommends that you do not give money to anyone over the phone, email, or to someone at your front door. If you want to donate, contact the political party or candidate directly or through their website.

3.    Registration Ruses. Scammers may call offering to update or confirm your voter registration. They are really looking for your personal information to conduct identity theft. Sometimes they ask for credit card information as part of the “confirmation” process. Real canvassers will leave forms for you to fill out and send in. Better yet, you can update or change your voter registration directly with the county at: http://www.snohomishcountywa.gov/224/Elections-Voter-Registration.

4.     Vote by Phone. You may receive a call offering to allow you to vote by phone. Elections laws do not allow voting by phone. This scam tries to collect personal information. It also could charge large per-minute calling fees. In Snohomish County, voters vote with mail in ballots. The county auditor’s office sends out ballots before Election Day. Voters can return the ballots by mail, drop them off at drop boxes throughout the county, or bring their ballots directly to the elections office in Everett. For more information go to http://www.snohomishcountywa.gov/Faq.aspx?TID=16,.

5.     Petition Ploys. While not common, sometimes scammers will pose as signature gatherers for petitions on hot-button issues. The scammer’s real goal is to collect names, addresses and phone numbers for sales calls and ID theft. Page 10 of the “Filing Initiatives and Referenda in Washington State” specifies information to be collected from petition signers (http://www.sos.wa.gov/_assets/elections/Initiative%20and%20Referenda%20Manual.pdf).





AARP:





Thursday, September 22, 2016

SNOHOMISH COUNTY- Cool Weather Can Be Good Time for Car Theft


The Snohomish County Auto Theft Task Force has put out a warning about car theft and warming your car in the morning. As the weather becomes cooler, some people run their cars to warm them up in the morning before they start their commute. They go back into their house to finish getting ready for the day.

With the car running and no one around, this is an excellent opportunity for a car thief to take your car. In addition, you can be cited for leaving your car running unattended according to RCW 46.61.600. So when you start your car, stay with your car.






Washington State Revised Code:


HG.org:



EVERETT- Man with Dementia Found Alive


Yesterday evening, the Snohomish County Volunteer Search and Rescue Unit found an Everett man with dementia who had been reported missing. The man was enrolled in Project Care Track which is designed to help find people with disabilities and the tendency to wander.

The gentleman was found about an hour after he had been reported missing.

If you have a family member with a disability and might wander away, you can sign them up for Project Care Track. For more information, go to: http://snohomishcountywa.gov/313/Project-Care-Track.



Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office:



STANWOOD- Two Scams Reported


STANWOOD- Two Scams Reported



The Stanwood Police Department has issued two scam alerts this week.

The first was for the warrant scam. Numerous citizen complaints talked about a caller claiming to be a Stanwood police officer or from the U.S. Marshal’s Office. The caller says that the victim did not respond to a jury summons and will be arrested soon if they do not pay fines immediately. A few of the citizen reports said that the callers used the name “Williams” and that they could hear a police radio in the background. If you receive a phone call like this, hang up and report it to police at the non-emergency number, (425) 407-3999.

The second alert was for another imposter scam. Citizens reported receiving phone calls from someone claiming to be “Jason Fargo” from the PUD. Jason demands immediate payment over the phone or else the power will be shut off.  Again, if you receive a phone call from Jason, or anyone else claiming to be from a utility or law enforcement and demands immediate payment hang up and report it to police at the non-emergency number, (425) 407-3999.



Stanwood Police Department:



YAHOO- 500 Million Accounts Breached


Yahoo has announced that information from 500 million accounts was stolen from the company in 2014. According to USA Today, the company believes that a “state-sponsored actor” was involved in the attack.

Information taken may have included names, email addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, and encrypted or unencrypted security questions and answers.

A rule of thumb for cyber security experts is that discovery of a breach occurs 150 to 200 days after the actual breach. Claims of this breach first surfaced in early August of this year.

Any data breach should be a concern to users of the service that was attacked. Hackers can use ID and passwords to gain access to other accounts and more information. According to one survey, 50% of users use the same password across several accounts. Hackers who have stolen ID’s and passwords from one account can try the stolen passwords on different services such as bank accounts and credit card accounts. They also have gathered information on loyalty points from hotel chains and airlines, avatars, online game points, and the values stored on coffee cards. As a result, the hackers can create information dossiers on many people.

Yahoo is recommending that its users do the following:


·         Change your password and security questions and answers for any other accounts on which you used the same or similar information used for your Yahoo account.

       ·         Review your accounts for suspicious activity.

      ·         Be cautious of any unsolicited communications that ask for your personal information or refer you to a web page asking for personal information.

       ·         Avoid clicking on links or downloading attachments from suspicious emails.



Also, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has recently created a web page, http://www.identitytheft.gov/databreach, that provides a checklist for you to follow in case your private information has been compromise in a data breach. If you have been affected by this data breach go to the link and follow the FTC’s guidance.

USA Today:


YAHOO:


Fox News:


FTC:

Monday, September 19, 2016

MILL CREEK- Senior Healthy Living Fair


The Mill Creek Family YMCA will be hosting a Senior Healthy Living Fair this Friday, September 23 from Noon to 3pm at its facility at 13723 Puget Park Drive in the Silver Firs area.

It will be offering information for seniors on financial and retirement planning as well as free health screenings and flu shots.

Also, it will offer information about scams and identity theft prevention. Sgt. Marty Zelaya, from the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office will be there. This will be a good opportunity to say hi or ask him a question.

For more information about this free event, go to:

Mill Creek Family YMCA: