EAST DIVISION. July Project Cool Breeze

Transcription

1 EAST DIVISION C B /C W N July 2015 Project Cool Breeze In an effort to reduce extreme weather related injuries among the citizens of the City of Fort Worth, the Fort Worth Police Officers Association, the Fort Worth Black Law Enforcement Officers Association and Brothers Air Conditioner Service, in cooperation with Local Business Owners, will be sponsoring PROJECT COOL BREEZE. Project Cool Breeze will offer free Air Conditioning repairs, window mounted Air Conditioners, or an appropriate heat source, to citizens that meet the following criteria: Must live within the City Limits of Fort Worth Must be 62 years of age or older, or have a physical disability that is recognized by Social Security Services and Must Show a financial need. If you have or know of a neighbor that may qualify for this service, contact your NPO (Neighborhood Police Officer) or any Police Sector. East Division South Division Central Division North Division West Division Code Blue/Crime Watch Newsletter is published by the Fort Worth Police Department East Division Code Blue/Crime Prevention Unit For more information please contact Shirlee Wilkinson at or shirlee.wilkinson@fortworthtexas.gov

2 Crime Watch Newsletter July 2015 Page 2 Officer Kingston and Officer Speed did a stranger danger presentation at the Learning Bridge Academy Day Care talking to the kids from everything to what is a police officer, stranger danger, Eddie Eagle firearm safety to stop, don t touch, run and tell and adult and that officers are their friends! The hairy dog is Say No a puppet with a Fort Worth Police Department shirt and badge! Officer Speed states I like to say we recruit at an early age for FWPD as I asked them how many wanted to be police officers. City Offices will be closed Friday, July 3, 2015 Have a Safe and Happy Fourth of July!

3 Crime Watch Newsletter July 2015 Page 3 Don't Fall for Credit Repair Scams If you are planning to buy a house, lease a car or even get a new job, your credit score matters. Scammers know this, and they make a living preying on those desperate to improve their score. Lately, BBB Scam Tracker has received numerous reports from consumers targeted by credit repair scams. How the Scam Works: You get a phone call or see an ad for a company that claims it can instantly repair your credit. The offer grabs your attention. Your poor credit rating has been holding you back, so you decide to give it a try. You contact the company, and they promise to remove past credit mistakes, such as late payments or a bankruptcy, from your credit report. They may even offer to give you a new "credit identity." Don't fall for it! Both of these techniques are scams. Scam credit repair companies may persuade you to contest accurate information on your credit report. Others urge you to apply for a new ID number (typically one used by businesses for tax purposes) or provide you with a stolen Social Security number and tell you to apply for the loan with the new number. Misrepresenting yourself like this is illegal. How to Spot a Credit Repair Scam: Not all businesses promising to help you repair bad credit are scams. Watch out for the following warning signs: You are asked to pay in advance: In the US and Canada, credit repair companies can only collect their fee after they perform the services promised. The company promises to remove negative information from your credit report. If the information is accurate, no one can remove it. You are urged to get a new "credit identity." In the US, some scam companies will ask you to apply for an Employer Identification Number instead of using your Social Security number. Misrepresenting your SSN is a crime. Beware of contract red flags. Make sure you sign a contract and that it contains the terms of your agreement, including the price, the time period and the services to be performed. Know you can cancel. If you signed up for a credit repair service and it looks suspicious, you can cancel. In Canada, you have 10 days, and, in the US, you have three days.

4 Crime Watch Newsletter July 2015 Page 4 Phony Clients Fool Photographers in New Scam Freelance photographers are getting targeted by a new con. Scammers are posing as potential clients and fooling photographers into paying thousands of dollars. It's a new twist on the classic overpayment scam. How the Scam Works: You are looking online for freelance photography jobs. One post looks particularly promising, a family in your area is hiring a photographer to take family portraits. You send a message to the provided, but, in their reply, the potential client has some odd requests. First, the client doesn't want to meet or talk on the phone. He or she only wants to communicate by . Second, the family is amazingly flexible with their time. They give you a huge window in which they are available for photos. Finally, there's the biggest red flag of all. The client wants to send you a check for far more than your fee. You are supposed to deposit it and transfer the difference to an "event planner" or other third party. Don't take the job! A version of this scam is targeting freelance photographers across the US and Canada. The exact scenario given may change, but the central scam remains the same. If you deposit a fake check, the money will appear to be in your account. But if you transfer the funds before the bank officially clears the check, you are responsible for the difference. How to Spot a Freelance Scam: Don't fall for an overpayment scam. No legitimate job would ever overpay a contractor and ask him/her to wire the money elsewhere. This is a common trick used by scammers. Watch out for clients who won't meet in person or talk on the phone. You may be an excellent candidate for a job, but beware of offers made without talking first. Scammers use many excuses to avoid talking, ranging from having surgery, being out of the country or even being hearing impaired. If your "client" will only communicate through or text message, that's a big red flag. Watch out for bad grammar. Many scams targeting job seekers and freelancers operate overseas. Be wary of help wanted postings and s written in poor English. If a job looks suspicious, search for it online. If the result comes up in other cities with the exact same post, it is likely a scam.

5 Crime Watch Newsletter July 2015 Page 5 Take a Survey, Get $100? Don't Fall for It! Booking a summer vacation? Steer clear of fake offers promising you gift cards in exchange for taking a quick customer survey. This scam keeps cropping up, and it's back with a seasonal travel twist. How the Scam Works: You receive an or see a social media post urging you to claim a free voucher or gift card. "You have-earned-yourself a $100-GiftCard: Take Our-Survey," reads the subject line of one version. This time of year, fake airline offers are particularly popular, but the "gift card" could be from any well-known brand. The urges you to click a link and complete a short customer survey. It sounds easy... but don't do it! These survey scams have a variety of tricks. The link may lead to a real survey, but when you complete it, the $100 gift card happens to be "out of stock." Not coincidentally, all that remains are "free" samples of spammy products like diet pills and wrinkle cream. In other versions, the form is actually a phishing scam that requests banking and credit card information. Or the link may download malware to your computer to steal your passwords and other critical information. Tips to Spot a Fake Voucher Scam: With many businesses offering discounts in exchange for customer feedback, it can be hard to tell a real offer from a fake one. Here are some pointers. Look up the website on WhoIs. Right click on the link and select "Copy Link Address." Then, paste this destination URL into the WhoIs.net directory. This directory will tell you when and to whom a domain is registered. If the URL is brand new, or if the ownership is masked by a proxy service, consider it a big warning sign of a scam. Watch out for look-alike URLs. Scammers pick URLs that look similar to those of legitimate sites. Be wary of sites that have the brand name as a subdomain of another URL (i.e. brandname.scamwebsite.com), part of a longer URL (i.e. companynamebooking.com) or use an unconventional top level domain (the TLD is the part of the name after the dot). Legitimate businesses do not ask for credit card numbers or banking information on customer surveys. If they do ask for personal information, like an address or , be sure there's a link to their privacy policy. Watch out for a reward that's too good to be true. If the survey is real, you may be entered in a drawing to win a gift card or receive a small discount off your next purchase. Few businesses give away $100 gift cards just for answering a few questions.

6 Crime Watch Newsletter July 2015 Page 6 Scammers Prey on Affordable Housing Seekers In a particularly malicious scam, con artists have created fake websites that prey on those looking for affordable housing (sometimes called "Section 8"). The sites appear to offer a way to sign up for a voucher wait list, but they really collect fees and personal information from victims. How the Scam Works: You are looking for affordable housing and search online for the housing choice voucher waiting list. You click one of the top search results, and it takes you to a website. The site looks real and even has an Equal Housing Opportunity logo. You start to sign up for the wait list, but the site asks for a registration fee and personal information, such as your Social Security number. Don't enter it! The fee goes straight to scammers' bank accounts, and con artists can use your personal information to commit identity theft. In another version of this scam, the fake websites list Section 8 properties that supposedly are available. You can rent one... if you pay the first month's rent via wire transfer or a prepaid card. The ads are fakes, and, if you pay, you just lost your money. Tips to Avoid an Affordable Housing Scam: Contact your local housing authority. To register for a housing choice voucher program, you need to go through your local housing authority. You'll find their and phone number on the Housing and Urban Development website. Housing - authorities do not charge fees. They also won't reach out to you by phone or to suggest that you join a waiting list. Don't wire money or use a prepaid debit card: Scammers often pressure people into wiring money or putting cash on a prepaid debit card. Why? It's like sending cash: once it's gone, you can't trace it or get it back. Government agencies do not typically ask for money using these forms of payment, so consider that a "red flag." Be a skeptical search engine user: Just because something appears high in search engine results does not necessarily mean it's legitimate. Be sure to double check the URL or type it in directly if making a purchase or sharing personal information online. Have you seen this kind of scam? File a complaint with the FTC and HUD. NOTE: Although this scam focuses on affordable housing in the U.S., residents of Canada and other countries should be on the lookout for similar scams that take advantage of people looking for help through government housing programs. For More Information To learn more, read the Federal Trade Commission's alert on Section 8 housing scams. To find out more about other scams, check out BBB Scam Stopper (bbb.org/scam).

7 Crime Watch Newsletter July 2015 Page 7 East Division Crime Prevention News East Division CRIME WATCH TRAINING SCHEDULE :00am-11:30am or 6:30pm-8:00pm Police Sector 1100 Nashville Dates July 28th August 25th September 22nd October 27th November 17th December 15th Michael Grigsby East Division Crime Prevention Specialist 5650 E Lancaster Fort Worth, TX Michael.grigsby@fortworthtexas.gov office or cell

8 Crime Watch Newsletter July 2015 Page 8 East Division Crime Prevention News Auto Etching For July August Septmeber 2015 No Etching in July due to extreme weather August Central Division August 4 9am 1pm Andrew Doc Sessions Com. Center 201 S. Sylvania Ave August 12 9am 1pm Masonic Lodge 1100 Henderson St. August 13 9am 1pm Texas Pacific Lofts 201 W Lancaster Ave September East Division September 23 11am 3pm Oakland Corners Shopping Center 4119 E Lancaster Ave. September 26 11am 3pm Fort Worth Police Storefront 1258 Woodhaven Blvd. September 30 11am 3pm Target 8550 E. Freeway **NOTE** If you have questions about any of the listed dates, times or locations, call the telephone number listed for that month

9 Crime Watch Newsletter July 2015 Page 9 East Division Code Blue News As we get full swing into a long hot summer, please be even more mindful of kids roaming the streets. Some neighborhoods have been experiencing higher numbers of vandalism, (BMVs, BB Gun holes in car windows, eggs thrown at cars, toilet paper in trees). Granted some of this is not costly but a pain to clean up. And these are in broad daylight. Help your neighbors who work and the elderly. Keep an eye out for them. Although some of this meanness may slow down we cannot stop our visual watching out for others. Scams are growing either by phone or knocks on the door. The elderly are the prime targets for stuff like this. Keep in touch with your elderly widows and widowers. Don t let them get scammed by lazy people who don t want to work. Our next Code Blue training will be on Saturday, August 15 th at 505 W. Felix. I hope you can talk your neighbors into joining us in the quest to help keep our city safe. Freddie Holcomb East Division Code Blue Coordinator 5650 E Lancaster Ave, Fort Worth Texas freddie.holcomb@fortworthtexas.gov (office) (cell) Combined CAC/ Captain s Meeting with Captain Carpenter July 6, :00 pm Handley Meadowbrook Community Center 6201 Beaty St Fort Worth, TX 76112

10 Crime Watch Newsletter July 2015 Page 10 Fort Worth Police Department Public Safety Training Center 505 W Felix Street Citizens On Patrol Training Schedule for 2015 August 15, 2015 November 14, 2015 All classes are on Saturdays 9:00 am to 1:00 pm In the Training Center Auditorium

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