Whether your child is leaving the protection of the nest for the first time or your parent is moving to assisted living, we worry about them. They may be vulnerable to thieves. Sometimes bad people target these two groups if they are perceived as easy targets.
What can you do?
Maintain Pictures and appraisals/receipts for expensive jewelry (pictures help trace stolen items at pawn shops.)
Maintain pictures of all electronics and their serial numbers. TV's, laptops, gaming systems, phones, bicycles, vehicle license plates.Back these up to the cloud so they are available at any time any place.
All computers should be backed up with an external hard drive or to the cloud. You don't want to lose all of your work and your computer.
Consider using tracking apps for phones and laptops, ETC.
Maintain pictures of collectables, family heirlooms, and paintings.
No legitimate federal agency does any collection over the phone. There are many caller scams out there.
Bad guys may say they are the IRS and you owe back taxes. The IRS does not call people for back taxes.
Bad guys may call to say there is a warrant for your arrest and unless you send money they will come and arrest you. Law Enforcement never does this.
Bad guys may call to say a family member is in jail and needs bail money. First you should ask to talk to the family member directly. In my family we have a "code word" to indicate a valid problem. We merely use our middle name in conversation. If the caller can't give me the correct code word I hang up.
Bad guys can pirate or steal caller ID.Meaning that when you phone rings and you look at the caller ID it may say "Chief Koval. 555-5555." If in doubt tell them you will call right back.Research the number and the name. Call them back if it all checks out.
MPD is here to help. If there are any questions or concerns about scams or thefts encourage your loved one to call us. Or you call for them. MPD notifies the media of current trends in scams and we post the information on our web site.
Lt Dave McCaw