STREET RACING – WSP and Local Law Enforcement Working Together

The Washington State Patrol (WSP) is coordinating with local police agencies in Snohomish, King, and Pierce counties to stop illegal street racing in central Puget Sound.

According to WSP, street racing has become a growing problem in the Puget Sound region as well as in major metropolitan areas throughout the U.S.

South Snohomish County has seen some instances of street racing while King and Pierce counties have seen the bulk of the racing activity. Racers in the Bothell area have been charged with reckless or negligent driving, malicious mischief, and disorderly conduct.

WSP emphasizes the dangers of racing on public streets. With high speeds and practices such as “take-overs” (where racers block all lanes entering an intersection) then practice “drifting” (circling the intersection) there is a clear potential for disaster that includes severe injury and even death.

WSP officials encourage calling 911 when citizens see racing on the public streets. WSP Trooper Chase Van Cleave says that reports to 911 are valuable in prosecuting drivers who race on the streets.

 

Washington State Patrol:

https://www.wsp.wa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Press-Release.pdf

 

KIRO TV:

https://www.kiro7.com/traffic/puget-sound-police-agencies-join-forces-stop-street-racing/OFAWVM5YHZF2RKODIMK2E74NSE/

 

Mill Creek Beacon:

https://www.millcreekbeacon.com/story/2021/05/14/news/wsp-street-racing-focus-draws-regional-support/12642.html

 

Edmonds Beacon:

https://www.edmondsbeacon.com/story/2021/05/27/news/street-racing-increasing-but-its-not-an-issue-in-edmonds/25029.html

 

 

STALKERWARE – Leveraging Modern Technology

The National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA), a consortium of major corporations that educate the public and business on how to be more cyber secure, has issued warnings about stalkerware. Stalkerware, also sometimes called spyware, may be used by an individual to surreptitiously monitor the movements and activities of their spouse or partner.

Stalkerware apps can be installed on a smartphone by someone who has access to the smartphone. The apps can follow the location of the smartphone, listen to phone calls, view text messages and emails, and other activity on the smartphone. Stalkerware is used to isolate, monitor, and control a survivor.

NCSA says that 53,870 Americans reported having stalkerware on their smartphones in 2020.

Domestic Violence Services of Snohomish County says that they have not seen an increase in clients reporting use of stalkerware apps. However, they frequently have clients report suspicions that they are being tracked. Some suspected tracking methods include:

·         Stalkerware apps.

·         Devices in their cars tracking their location.

·         Hidden cameras or recording devices in their homes.

·         Software on their computer tracking keystrokes, stealing passwords, and monitoring email, etc. to know what they are saying and where they are going online.

Cyber security technicians note that stalkerware is easier to install on Android pones than Apple phones. Stalkerware is not found in the Play Store but is easily found in a Google search. Most are paid apps. Sometimes they are advertised as parenting apps but are not clearly marked like parenting apps are.

It can be difficult to know if you have stalkerware on your phone. Some clues might include,

·         The battery drains faster than normal.

·         You notice an increase in data consumption.

·         Weird things start to happen such as

o   Your WIFI, GPS, etc. is mysteriously enabled or disabled.

o   You see text messages that do not make sense such as “Get GPS,” “Retrieve SMS.”

You can take action to prevent stalkerware on your phone,

·         Keep your device with you at all times.

·         Lock your device with a strong password and take advantage of other features, if available, such as facial recognition or fingerprint recognition.

·         Only download apps from verified developers or official app stores.

·         Use strong passwords or passphrases that only you would know.

·         Periodically review your apps. Make sure their privacy and security settings protect you and your information. Delete any apps that you no longer use or do not recognize.

·         Use antivirus software.

What to do if you find stalkerware. If you find an app that you suspect is stalkerware, the first instinct might be to remove it. Or maybe fear of what kind of reprisals you might endure if you remove it. The most important consideration needs to be your safety as a survivor. The stalker will know if you remove the app. Talk to an advocate, such as someone from the Domestic Violence Services of Snohomish County, about your safety plan.

Some considerations include,

·         Do you want to gather evidence for the police or for a civil legal action?

·         If you decide to remove the app, doing a factory reset (the phone company/store can help you with this) is the easiest way erase the app. Care needs to be taken when reinstalling other apps and files that you do not reinstall the stalkerware app.

·         If you decide not to remove the app, consider using a separate phone that is tied to a separate account.

·         Consider updating sensitive accounts with new passwords by using a separate device from the device with the stalkerware.

 

Domestic violence is as old as humanity. Abusers have tried to isolate, monitor, and control survivors for many centuries using a variety of techniques. Stalkerware and even the threat of stalkerware adds a new dimension for the abuser.

Below are links to resources on domestic violence and stalkerware.

 

Domestic Violence Services of Snohomish County (DVS):

https://dvs-snoco.org/

 

DVS recommends the following resources to learn more about stalkerware,

Easy Tech Trick:

https://www.easytechtrick.org/hidden-camera-detector-apps/

 

Technology Safety:

https://www.techsafety.org/resources-survivors

 

https://www.techsafety.org/12tipscellphones

 

 

ACLU:

https://www.aclu.org/blog/privacy-technology/internet-privacy/staying-safe-when-you-say-metoo

 

Other resources,

National Cyber Security Alliance:

https://staysafeonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Stalkerware-Tip-Sheet-2021.pdf

 

Technology Safety:

https://www.techsafety.org/spyware-and-stalkerware-phone-surveillance?rq=stalkerware

 

The Seattle Times:

https://www.seattletimes.com/business/technology/apples-airtag-trackers-made-it-frighteningly-easy-to-stalk-me/

 

Stop Stalkerware:

https://stopstalkerware.org/

 

We Live Security:

https://www.welivesecurity.com/?s=stalkerware

 

 

 

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

The Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office has published its latest issue of its crime prevention newsletter, “Partners in Crime Prevention.” This issue concentrates on car theft, catalytic converter theft, and carjacking.

To see it go to the following link,

 

Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office:

https://www.snohomishcountywa.gov/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/6644

SCAM ROBOCALLS – The Future of Crime

KING TV News recently broadcast a series on robocalls. It gives an insight into how robocall scammers work and some of the current limitations on stopping them.

Robocalls are those annoying calls that you receive that may offer a product or service that is too good to be true. Scammers often use robocalling techniques to make offers for fake goods/services as in the tech support scam or to frighten you into giving your personal information or to pay them with gift cards that cannot be traced as in the grandparent scam or warrant scam.

Robocalling uses computer technology to dialing thousands of phone numbers a day in hopes that just a few people will answer and stay on the line long enough to be convinced to give over their personal information or money.

The scammers who use robocalling techniques are difficult to stop for several reasons. Part of it is that they can easily set up operations anywhere. Journalists in the KING-TV series cited two robocalling rings, one in Costa Rica the other in Florida. And scammers can operate anywhere in the world. Russia, Eastern Europe, the Philippines, India, Nigeria, and yes here in the U.S. you name it, there probably is a scamming ring in the country. So, if U.S. law enforcement wanted to take a scammer to court, they would have to work with law enforcement in other countries who might not want to make scamming a priority. Federal law enforcement officials have gone overseas to try to suppress scammers, but it takes time and patience to work with another country’s law enforcement agencies. A good example of a bust outside of the U.S. was the joint U.S. and India bust of scammers in India posing as IRS agents to Americans a few years ago.

But even for those scammers in our country, getting them to stop can be only a temporary thing. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) regularly takes scammers to court. But the FTC can only make civil charges which the court may levy a stiff fine. For some scammers, they pay the fine, promise not to do it again, then set up shop in another city. For scammers who the FTC thinks could be charged criminally, the FTC refers those cases to other federal agencies such as the FBI or Secret Service.

One way the FTC and other law enforcement agencies and other organizations have been trying to reduce the negative impact that scammers have had is to educate the public about simple steps they can take to avoid becoming victimized by scammers.

Some things you can do to avoid being scammed by a robocall are,

·        Don’t trust your Caller ID. Robocallers can “spoof” any number to make you think they are calling from a legitimate agency or organization.

·        Hang up on robocalls. The FCC suggests that you do not answer phone calls from phone numbers that you do not recognize. But if you do answer, and you hear a recorded or live voice trying to scare you into action or starting a pitch for a product or service too good to be true, hang up.

·        Use call blocking. There are a few ways that you can block calls from suspicious phone numbers. Register you phone number with the Do Not Call List ( https://www.donotcall.gov/). Yes, scammers do not pay attention to this list, but if one of them calls you, you can complain to the FTC who can use that information in its investigations. If you receive a scam phone call on your cell phone, block that number. Use a call blocking service such as Nomorobo (https://www.nomorobo.com/) or a call blocking app or the call blocking service provided by your telephone provider.

·         If you receive a scam phone call report it to the FTC at https://reportfraud.ftc.gov/#/?pid=B.

For more information about robocalls check out the following resources,

 

King TV News:

https://www.king5.com/robocalls

 

Federal Trade Commission:

https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/blog/2021/05/unwanted-calls-just-block-em-and-report-em

 

AARP:

https://www.aarp.org/money/scams-fraud/info-2019/robocalls.html?intcmp=AE-FWN-LIB3-POS14

SCAM WARNING – Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office Issues Warning About Text Scam

The Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office is warning Concealed Pistol License (CPL) holders about a text scam claiming to alert them that their permit needs to be renewed or changed and offers a link to a fake website that collects the permit holder’s personal information.

The Sheriff’s Office has received a notice from its CPL vendor, Permitium, that this text scam has been going around nationwide.

The Sheriff’s Office reiterates that such text messages with malicious links is not generated by the Sheriff’s Office or Permitium. Also, text messages from Permitium will not contain any links.

If you have received one of these text messages report it-

·         To the Washington State Attorney General’s Office- https://www.atg.wa.gov/file-complaint

·         To the Federal Trade Commission- https://reportfraud.ftc.gov/#/

 

 

Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office:

https://snohomishcountywa.gov/210/Sheriffs-Office

 

USA .gov:

https://www.usa.gov/stop-scams-frauds