REPORT ALL SUSPICIOUS OR CRIMINAL ACTIVITY TO 911

Thursday, September 28, 2017

SNOHOMISH COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE- Crime Prevention Newsletter, Car Theft


Car theft is always a problem and a fear. Without our cars, we cannot go to work much less take care of the daily chores for our families. This issue of the Sheriff Office’s “Partners in Crime Prevention” talks about car theft and how you can protect your car or truck.



Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office:

Friday, September 15, 2017

EQUIFAX DATA BREACH- What You Should Do


You probably have heard about the data breach at Equifax. In case you have missed it, here is a quick summary.

Last week, Equifax announced that someone had hacked into its servers and stole people’s names, Social Security numbers, birth dates, addresses and some driver’s license numbers. They also stole credit card numbers for about 209,000 people and dispute documents with personal information for about 182,000. Equifax estimates that a total of 143 million Americans were affected by this breach.

Equifax is one of the three credit reporting agencies that sell information to lenders and credit-scoring companies to determine consumer’s eligibility for loans, lines of credit, and other functions such as employment. The other credit agencies are Experian and TransUnion. The danger of this breach is that hackers, scammers, and fraudsters worldwide can use your personal information for purchases, to take out loans in your name, file for Income Tax refunds in your name, etc.

While the breach and how Equifax has handled the breach has caused controversy in the press and in Congress, there are actions that you should take that will help to protect yourself. This breach is serious enough that the Washington State Attorney General issued recommendations for actions Washington consumers should take:



·         Find out of your information was compromised. Equifax has set up a website, https://www.equifaxsecurity2017.com, to allow consumers to research if they have been affected. There have been several stories in the press questioning the reliability of this website, however.

·         Consider placing a credit freeze with each of the credit agencies. A credit freeze makes it more difficult for someone to open an account in your name. If you will be applying for new credit, or applying for something that requires checking your credit such as buying a new car, renting an apartment or applying for a new job, you should temporarily lift the freeze to allow the financial institution to check your credit.

·         Check your credit reports from the three major credit reporting agencies by visiting www.annualcreditreport.com.

·         Regularly review your bank statements, credit card statements and other account statements for suspicious charges. Remember, fraudsters often make small chargers to accounts to see if the accounts are being watched. Report any suspicious transactions immediately to your bank or credit card company.

·         If you believe that there has been unauthorized activity on your accounts or that you have become a victim of identity theft, take the following actions:

o  Report identity theft to the Federal Trade Commission at   www.identitytheft.gov

o  Place a credit freeze on your credit files.

o  File a police report and send a copy to the three major credit reporting agencies



In addition to the actions above, the AARP Fraud Watch Network suggests,



·         Adding a fraud alert to your credit report. A fraud alert tells lenders and creditors who check your credit report to take additional steps to verify your identification before extending credit in your name.

·         Consider hiring an identity theft protection service.



Taking actions to protect your identity from a breach can seem complicated and time consuming. Here are some up to date resources that will help you.



Washington State Attorney General:




AARP Fraud Watch Network:




Federal Trade Commission (FTC):

Here is an explanation about Identity Theft Protection Services-


This link explains the difference between fraud alerts and credit freezes-


And an alert from the FTC, no, Equifax is not calling you-







Thursday, September 14, 2017

SNOHOMISH HEALTH DISTRICT- Offering Needle Clean-up Kits


With the opioid/heroin epidemic going on in Snohomish County and the number of homeless in the county, residents have been finding needles on the ground in some areas of the county. While most of us might judge that whoever left the needles were acting carelessly, the fact remains that the needles are on the ground and there is a concern that an accidental poke from one of them could spread disease to our families.

In some areas of Everett, community neighbors have banded together to pick up abandoned needles in their neighborhoods. Most of us, probably do not know what to do if we find a needle on the ground.

You can call for help from your local law enforcement agency. But, understand, it may take some time for a deputy or a police officer to come to the site and take care of the needle(s). If you would like to call, use one of the following non-emergency numbers:



·         SNOPAC (Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office, and cities in the northern part of the county)- (425) 407-3999

·         SNOCOM (Incorporated cities in the southwest part of the county)- (425) 775-3000

If you would like to pick up the needle(s) yourself, the Snohomish Health District has recently posted instructions on how to handle needles. It is also offering a free needle clean-up kit that you can pick up at Health District headquarters in Everett during normal business hours. To see those instructions, and a how-to video, go to,



Snohomish Health District:

Wednesday, September 6, 2017

HOME SECURITY- What to Look for in Security Cameras


Cameras are popular now to keep watch over your home. They may provide some deterrent affect especially if they are in view. But also, they can provide evidence that you can hand over to deputies if someone takes a package from your porch or burglarizes your home.

Cameras can be placed outside to cover your front porch, your front drive if you park your car there, and any other potential entry point to your house or out buildings. They can also be strategically placed inside your home where burglars might take your possessions.

Here are some things to think about when you go shopping for a camera system,



·         Resolution: The better the resolution the better odds that you and the Sheriff’s Office have in identifying suspects. A resolution of 780p should be adequate for identification, especially if you are on a budget. 1080p is better if you can afford it.

·         Field of view: The wider the field of view, how far from left to right the camera can see, the better to catch any suspicious activity.

·         Night vision: Most home burglaries occur during daylight hours. But, car prowls at home occur at night. If you are concerned about car prowls in your neighborhood, be sure that the cameras have good night vision capabilities.

·         App design: Most new camera systems allow you to view them when you are away with your tablet or smartphone. Try to check out the apps of the camera systems that you are considering for ease of use and capability.

·         Cloud storage: Most new systems store your images in the cloud. Security camera companies often offer a certain amount of cloud memory for free and more for a fee. The free storage may only be able to keep a few days of storage. Consider how much memory that you think you will need.

·         Security and privacy: Be sure that the information that is stored on the company’s servers are secure from hackers. Also, be sure that the data signal from your cameras to the company’s servers are also secure. This is important because most of the time what your cameras see are of your private life which you do not want strangers to see.

·         Internet/Wi-Fi connection: Most camera systems can connect to the internet through your Wi-Fi. Be sure to have a strong signal between the locations of your cameras and your router/modem.

For some suggestions on cameras, take a look at this link,



Business Insider: