REPORT ALL SUSPICIOUS OR CRIMINAL ACTIVITY TO 911

Friday, June 30, 2017

NEW SCAM TWIST- Scammers Targeting Real Estate Closing Costs


There seems to be no end to what scammers will target. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Washington State Department of Financial Institutions (DFI) are warning consumers to watch out for scammers intercepting money transfers during real estate transactions.  Consumers have lost thousands of dollars thinking wiring instructions were changed when in fact scammers were redirecting their funds.   

The way the scam works is as follows:

Scammers will hack into the email accounts of buyers and real estate professionals to collect information about upcoming real estate transactions.

When the scammer finds a pending real estate deal, they will send an email to the buyer, posing as the real estate professional or the title company, with instructions about a last-minute change to the wiring instruction to a different bank account. The new account belongs to the scammer.

This scam tries to take advantage of a buyer’s emotions as a real estate deal closes. The time up to sending payment to the seller can be a busy period in the transaction. A house purchase is an important transaction for most people, so most buyers will feel pressure to get things right. If the scammer can slip in some bogus instructions to convince the buyer to send the money to a bogus account, then they have just made some easy money.

One method of hacking for the information is phishing or in some cases spear phishing. In a phishing attack, a hacker will send an email with links to malware or attachments with malware that when opened will send back information to the hacker. In a spear phishing attack, the hacker has learned who belongs to the organization and sends the email with malware to specific employees, often posing as supervisors or other employees in the organization.

If you are closing on a house, the FTC and DFI recommend that you:



·         If you get an email changing your money-wiring instructions do not do anything until you have checked with your real estate agent or the title company. Do not call or email to any phone numbers or email addresses in the email. Use phone numbers or email addresses that you have received separately. Remember, email is not a secure way to send wiring instructions.

·         Don’t open email attachments, even from someone you know, unless you are expecting it. Opening an attachment can install malware on your computer.

For more information about this scam, look at the following links,



Federal Trade Commission:


Washington State Department of Financial Institutions:



The Simple Dollar:


For more information about phishing scams check out this link from the FTC:





Wednesday, June 28, 2017

SNOHOMISH COUNTY- Jury Duty Scam


They're baaaaaack! The jury duty scam came back. According to a Sheriff’s Office posting on Facebook today three victims have told the Sheriff’s Office that they were contacted by someone who said that the victims needed to pay thousands of dollars to have a warrant “lifted” because they missed jury duty. The caller claimed to be from the Sheriff’s Office.

In one call, the scammer used the name “Deputy Miller’ and threatened arrest if the victim did not pay with a “Money Pack” (a type of cash card). In another call, the scammer claimed to be from the Sheriff’s Office’s “Civil Department.”

In a statement, Sheriff Ty Trenary said, “If someone who claims to work in law enforcement or for the courts calls you asking for payment over the phone or for other sensitive information like your Social Security number, you can guarantee this is a scam.” He added, “County employees will never call you to request this information and anyone who does should be reported to the police immediately.”

If you receive a call like this, just hang up.

                     

Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office:

Tuesday, June 27, 2017

SHERIFF’S OFFICE- Crime Prevention Newsletter- Fentanyl


The Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office has published the latest issue of its crime prevention newsletter, “Partners in Crime Prevention.” This issue focuses on a new designer opioid that is causing problems in other parts of the US and in British Columbia. Local drug task forces are expecting the drug to come to the northwest. To learn more about this designer opioid, please look at the newsletter here,



Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office:



Monday, June 26, 2017

JULY 4- Use Fireworks Safely


The Fourth of July holiday is coming and fireworks will be part of the celebration.

Last year the Sheriff’s Office responded to over 540 fireworks complaints.

Remember, in unincorporated Snohomish County, you can only shoot fireworks between 9am and 11:59pm on July 4. Cities within Snohomish County set their own regulations regarding fireworks. The following handout lists the rules for most cities in the county:


The Fire Marshal’s Office recommends that you take the following measures to use fireworks safely:

         in case of an emergency, when there is an immediate threat to life or property, dial 9-1-1.

         have a bucket of water for emergencies and to douse used fireworks. Keep the ground wet.

         never build or experiment with homemade fireworks.

         never let children handle or light fireworks; even sparklers can be dangerous.

         never ignite fireworks while holding them; light one at a time and move away quickly.

         make sure you give yourself enough room in a safe location – away from buildings, vehicles and flammable materials.

         never light fireworks inside a structure.

         watch what you wear; loose clothing can catch fire while handling fireworks.

         never try to re-ignite fireworks that have malfunctioned; soak them in water, then throw them away.

         never ignite fireworks while you are under the influence of alcohol and/or mind-altering drugs.

         never aim fireworks at vehicles, homes, or people.

         Only light one firework at a time.



Also, if you see illegal discharge of fireworks, please call the non-emergency phone number, (425) 407-3999 for unincorporated Snohomish County or (425) 775-3000 for cities of Brier, Edmonds, Lynnwood, Mill Creek, Mountlake Terrace, Mukilteo and Woodway. DO NOT call 911 unless there is an immediate threat to life or property.




For other resources about fireworks, go to,



National Council on Fireworks Safety:




Snohomish County Fire Marshal:




Fireworks Discharge Locations:




Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office:





Monday, June 19, 2017

SCAM UPDATE- New Twists to Old Scams


IRS Scam with a Twist. The IRS scam is alive and well. The IRS has issued a warning to taxpayers about a new twist to this long, lasting scam. It has received reports from around the country that a scammer, claiming to be from the IRS, tells the victim that the IRS had sent two certified letters in the mail and that they have been returned as undeliverable. Then the caller threatens arrest if the victim does not make a payment through a prepaid debit card. The caller claims that the card is linked to the IRS’s EFTPS payment system. The caller also warns the victim not to contact  their tax preparer, an attorney or their local IRS office until after the “tax” payment is made.

Payment is not linked to the EFTPS and is totally controlled by the scammers.

EFTPS is an automated system for paying federal taxes electronically using the internet or by phone. This is a free service and does not required the purchase of a prepaid debit card.

The IRS reminds everyone that it will not call and demand immediate payment of taxes, threaten to use local police to arrest you, or ask for credit or debit card numbers over the phone.

For more about protecting yourself see the alert at,

Internal Revenue Service:




Tobacco Settlement Scam. The Washington State Attorney General’s Office is warning consumers about online advertisements claiming that consumers can receive “guaranteed” tax-free payments of $2,300 every month – forever. According to the scammers, this is a provision of the Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement. The Attorney General’s Office says that this is a scam. Individuals cannot receive payments from the agreement.

The Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement is an agreement between the four largest U.S. tobacco companies, 46 states, the District of Columbia, and five U.S. territories. It settles lawsuits that related to health care costs incurred by the states. While not providing for payments to individuals, some states, including Washington, issued bonds backed by the settlement agreement payments as an investment opportunity.

While claiming the availability of tax-free payments, the advertisements points the reader to an order form to receive information in how to apply for the payments. Consumers must purchase a subscription that has a fee of between $79 to $129. The order form asks consumers for personal information and credit card numbers. The Attorney General’s office warns consumers that once they provide a credit card number, it may be difficult to cancel and obtain a refund.

If you have received these advertisements you may file a complaint with the Attorney General’s Office at http://www.atg.wa.gov/file-complaint.

Washington State Attorney General’s Office:




Door-To-Door Home Repair Scams. The AARP warns everyone that summer is a good time of year for door-to-door scammers to operate. Often, scammers will knock on your door and tell you that they have just finished some work for your neighbor and that they would be willing to do work for you at a deep discount. He will demand an up-front payment to start work then disappear or do a shoddy job and demand additional payment to finish. One example is someone claiming that they just laid down asphalt for a neighbor and that they have some extra that they could install right away and for cheap.

AARP recommends that you be wary of anyone who,



·         Comes to your door and offers to fix a problem.

·         Anyone who tries to pressure you to make a quick decision.

·         Anyone who asks for payment up front.

In dealing with potential contractors,



·         Get a written estimate and compare bids before starting any work.

·         Ask for three references and check them.

·         Check with the Better Business Bureau (https://www.bbb.org/en/us) for any complaints before you hire a contractor.

For more about protecting yourself from fraud and scams go to,



Wednesday, June 14, 2017

SNOHOMISH COUNTY- Gang Activity Increasing


On Monday, the Sheriff, Ty Trenary, two Sheriff’s Office detectives and an FBI agent testified before the Law and Justice committee of the County Council on the gang activity in the county.

Since early 2015, there have been 56 gang-related shootings that have killed two people and injured 14. Many of the people involved in this gang violence have been teenagers with the shootings occurring in and around schools and apartment complexes in South Snohomish County. The danger to the public, in addition to becoming injured or killed in crossfire, includes a rise in robberies and property crimes such as theft, car theft, car prowls, burglary, vandalism in the form of graffiti, etc.

The Sheriff’s Office team emphasized proactive police work in the form of working with other local law enforcement agencies, working with schools to lower the level of truancy, and developing community-based prevention strategies.

One of the most important things that you can do initially to prevent gang related crime is to educate yourself about the gang problem. Please look at the following sources of information.

Here are a couple of links to the testimony before the Council:

Briefing paper:


Video (the testimony starts at about 11 minutes from the beginning) Testimony lasted about 40 minutes: http://snohomish.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=2&clip_id=5767

This article gives a good summary of the problem,



Saturday, June 3, 2017

EDMONDS- Mail Theft


The Edmonds Police Department says that between 100 and 200 pieces of mail were stolen overnight (Friday night/Saturday morning of June 2/3) in downtown Edmonds and in the north part of Edmonds.

Most of the mail was taken from unlocked mailboxes although mail thieves did pry open some locked boxes.

A police spokesman attributed the thefts to mail thieves looking for money that has been mailed a graduation gifts. Mail thieves often look for money (cash, checks, gift cards, credit/debit cards) or information that they can easily convert to money such as account numbers on bank statements or credit card bills). With the months of May and June a prime time of year for school graduations, it makes sense the mail thieves would be looking for money as gifts in the mail.

Edmonds police highly recommend:



·         Pick up your mail regularly. Do not leave it overnight in your mail box, even if it is a locked box.

·         Consider using a locked mailbox.



Mail thieves usually go through the mail immediately after they steal it, then discard any mail that they do not want.

Edmonds police said that they would take any found mail to the Post Office so that it can be re-delivered.

If you find mail on the ground report it to police and to your local post office.



My Edmonds News:



Thursday, June 1, 2017

CAR PROWL PREVENTION- A Strategy

With summer coming, car prowls tend to rise. Recently, Teresa Wippel, from Lynnwood Today (http://lynnwoodtoday.com/), interviewed Lisa Wellington, a Crime Prevention Officer for the Lynnwood Police Department on how to prevent car prowls.
Wellington recommended that, if possible, you put away anything that could be construed as valuable. That can be your laptop, cell phone, glasses, purse/wallet, back pack, sports bag, etc. Some car prowlers at parking lots will watch for people putting away valuables in their trunk, console, or other hiding place. Then when the car owner leaves the car, the prowler will go right to the valuable item.
In addition, she recommended that when you park your car, you,

·       Scan the inside of your car for anything that could be considered valuable.
      ·         Stow away everything in view in your car.
      ·         Secure your car by rolling up windows, closing sun roofs’ and locking all doors.

This simple procedure will help you prevent a car prowl against your vehicle.

Lynnwood Today:
http://lynnwoodtoday.com/ask-lynnwood-cop-keeping-car-safe-prowlers/