Drive by Shootings:

· Watch for groups gathering or forming near your house. Gangs are usually unmistakable in the clothing they wear, but with increasing gang enhancement penalties, some try to avoid police detection by only wearing some articles of clothing that shows their "colors". Such as a blue bandanna, a red belt, etc. Tattoos and graffiti are big with gangs, usually 13 or 14, or XIV or X111, are signs of gang activity. There are so many branches and trickle-down gangs formed; it would be impossible to even try to name them all. Gangs can be any race, age, sex, or combination.

· If you see groups hanging out, especially if "tagging" starts to occur, (tagging means spray painting or marking walls, fences, etc. with gang logo), this is a dangerous start. The gang is "marking their turf" and your neighborhood becomes a battlefield if rival gangs come into the area.

· Keep an eye out for drug activity in your neighborhood. If you notice dealers starting to loiter on the street corners, or in front of a drug house, call the police. Once dealers become established in the area, they are hard to get rid of. The neighborhood also becomes the target of a hostile and often deadly takeover. Drug dealers are only after one thing. $M$O$N$E$Y$. And if your neighborhood is producing alot of sales, which translates into money, it becomes a prime target for drive-bys to claim the area.

· Call the police, form neighborhood watch groups, keep control of your neighborhood. Drug dealers and gangs will only gather where they are allowed to. We don’t expect you or your neighbors to move the groups on, or to confront the groups, that would be dangerous. Call the police; explain if you have suspected gang members gathering, or if you have drug dealing going on in front of your house. Report any weapons or drugs seen, and who is holding drugs or weapons, or where they are hidden. You can remain anonymous.

· Believe me, if the dealers or gangs have the police moving them along, or arresting them everytime they gather in your neighborhood, they will find somewhere else to gather. Somewhere people don’t care, where they can peddle their dope, shoot off their guns, gamble and drink in the streets. Somewhere where no one calls the police. The choice is yours. Gangs and drug dealing almost always invite shootings, violence, noise, fights and the decline of a once nice neighborhood.

· It’s never too late to take back your neighborhood, I see it all the time. When the pressure is on, the gangs and dealers move on to easier pickings.

· Contact your local Police Department or Sheriff’s Office for more information on neighborhood watch programs. A good neighborhood watch group with neighbors who care really does work. Besides, whose neighborhood is it? Yours, or the drug dealers from across town trying to set up shop? You CAN make the difference………

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I’m still seeing a lot of fake e-mails from scammers trying to lure people into disclosing their financial information. Not just the guy in Nigeria who wants to split $10,000,000.00 with you if you just send him "good faith" money, but e-mails from what appear to be genuine notices from major banks and credit unions. And some of these e-mails look extremely real. There are many scams on the internet from crooks trying to get peoples personal information and believe it or not, some people actually fall for these scams. If someone banks at Bank of America and they get an e-mail stating that their account will be frozen unless they update their personal information, some people actually enter their account numbers, PIN numbers, Social Security numbers, etc thinking that they are keeping their accounts active. What they are actually doing is providing a thief all the information they need to drain their bank account and open new accounts in their name. Identity theft is the fastest growing crime nationwide. And if you become a victim of identity theft, it takes years to try to straighten out your tarnished credit history. You could be the victim of identity theft and not know about it until your credit history is ruined. A few tips to avoid identity theft:

NEVER, NEVER give out personal information on the internet unless it’s a site you initiated, know and trust. Even then, most just ask for names, addresses and credit card info. Be leery of sites asking for name, date of birth, social security numbers and other personal information. I never give out my social security number unless it is absolutely necessary and I know and trust the company I am dealing with. Most companies have a contact phone number if you are unsure. Banks, credit unions etc will never ask you to update your personal information over the internet. Also be suspicious of phone calls threatening interruption to your phone or utility service unless you verify your personal information over the phone. If in doubt, call your bank or utility company to verify.

Get a copy of your credit report from the three major reporting agencies at least once yearly and verify that all the information is correct. You can get one free copy of your credit report each year by checking with the credit reporting agencies. There are also companies offering services that you can purchase which monitor your credit history and notify you whenever an inquiry is made to your accounts or new accounts are opened in your name.

NEVER give out your PIN number to anyone and do not write it on the back of your card or keep it in your wallet or purse. If someone finds it they can clean out your account. If you need to write the PIN number down to remember it, hide the PIN in a false phone number. (example: if your PIN number is 4419, write a number down such as 516-4419. It looks like a phone number to anyone else but you’ll know the last four digits are your PIN #. Cover the keypad numbers with your hands when entering the PIN number in a store, store clerks already has access to your credit card or ATM number; don’t let them see what your PIN is too.

If a purse or wallet is stolen or lost, report the loss to the credit card companies, banks and DMV immediately. A 2 hour delay can clean out your accounts. I once had a case where $20,000 was charged on various cards within 2 hours of a purse theft. Also report the loss to the local police department if credit cards and a driver’s license is stolen. 

And back to what we originally spoke about, fake e-mails. I’ve seen these for Bank of America, Bank of the West, ebay, PayPal, Wells Fargo, several Credit Unions and many others. They send them out whether you actually bank at these establishments or not, hoping that it will reach some people that will actually fall for it. And they look EXTREMELY real because they use the company’s logos, graphics and other information. Most say there is suspicious activity on your account and your account has possibly been accessed by an unauthorized person. They say your account will be frozen unless you update and verify your personal information by clicking on a link and filling in the information. No matter how real they look DO NOT click on the link or put in your personal information. If in doubt, call your bank or account holder to report the suspicious e-mail. Many companies request that you forward the entire fake e-mail to their security departments.        

I could go on for hours on the topic of identity theft and the nightmares it creates but just use common sense to protect your personal information. Check out the rest of our web-site for lots of FREE safety information. While your browsing our site, check out our book "Coptalk" to find out how to keep yourself and loved ones from becoming victims of crime. In this day and age, there is no Mayberry left. Protect yourself and keep yourself safe.

Mark
Coptalk.info

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Child Abductions:

· First, a kidnapper is going to look for an easy target. A neighborhood with kids about, no adults in view or a child who walks up to his car when asked something. What’s easier? He simply has to reach out and grab a child, pull them in a car, and disappear forever. Now the same kidnapper comes in your neighborhood, good, kids running about. But what’s this, a few adults sitting out front, reading, washing a car, playing with kids, Oh No, they are looking at him. Better get out of here before they get a good look at him. As he drives out, he sees a lone child walking around the corner. AHH might as well try this kid. The kidnapper asks the kid for directions. The kid sees the kidnapper is a stranger and ignores him. The kidnapper pulls the car to the curb and stops, calls to the child again and opens the door. The child yells for help and runs. The kidnapper wants NO attention brought to him so he quickly leaves for easier targets. No kidnapping suspect wants attention that can identify him or her. Teach your children to avoid strangers, and to scream or yell for help if they feel threatened. Keep an eye on your kids when they play. A yard is great, but alot of kids want to play "out front". Maybe neighbors can all keep an eye out, or take turns watching the kids. If an abductor sees even one adult in view of his intended target, chances are he will pass up that child.

· Tell all the neighborhood kids to promptly tell a parent, neighbor, baby-sitter, etc. of any suspicious persons or cars in the area. People who are not familiar to the area, starting up conversations with children, asking kids for help looking for lost pets, offering toys or candy, all should be warning signs. If your children do not know a person, they should avoid conversations or close contact with strangers when you are not with them.

· If you see a strange car cruising through the neighborhood, jot down the license plate and description of the car and driver. It may be nothing. But then again, that may be the bit of information needed to get a child back alive and unharmed.

· Teach your children self defense moves or strikes to free themselves from an attacker if grabbed. Kick, hit, bite, punch, scream, anything and everything to get away.

· Remember what your child is wearing when they go outside. It helps a lot during a search to look for particular clothing worn by your child rather than just a physical description. Tell your children the importance of letting you know when they leave, change friends houses, or even come home. You should know every moment where your child is. A little leeway can be given for older teens, but the same rules apply, since older kids can be kidnapped too. Kidnappings occur from babies taken from a hospital, up to adults taken by force or with a weapon.

· Don’t let hours slip by if you cant find your child, especially a small child. Time is critical. After an initial search, call the police. We would rather get canceled half way to your house when you find your child, than to respond 3 hours later wishing we got the call hours earlier when it was still light. Think about how far someone can travel in 3 hours. Even on foot! Now a car!

· Have a recent photo of your child. Alot of city functions offer child fingerprinting and photographing, I have even seen companies donate equipment to videotape your child. You don’t want to search for a photo at a critical time, then to only find one from 2 yrs. ago.

· Remember if the dispatcher ask alot of questions on the phone, it’s to relay the information to officers arriving in the area to begin a search. The more information we have, the quicker we get it, the better chance we have of bringing your child home safe.

The more information you have, the more information you give your children, the better chance we all have of keeping our children safe.

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As most are seeing Twitter has been in the new alot lately showing both it’s good and bad uses. Here is an interesting story about how police might or might not want to use it and the difference between authorized and unauthorized use:

“Plenty of government agencies are dipping their toes into the Twitter waters these days, but when we found the Denton Police Department’s Twitter page this afternoon, we knew we’d found something truly special.”

To See the rest of the story here – Click Here

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