Homeowners: Be Alert!

Neighborhood Break-In

Last week we had a break-in in the neighborhood. The perpetrators broke in through a back window, stole a computer, and left thru the front door, escaping in a waiting white car.  After the break-in became known, another homeowner nearby reported that a couple of teenaged young men knocked on her door, asking for someone named ‘Alex’, saying they believed he lived there.  When the homeowner began asking for a description of the boy and a description of the home that ‘Alex’ had apparently given them, their answers were vague and evasive, raising the homeowner’s suspicions.  She took note of the car they drove away in; it was a smaller model white vehicle,....quite likely the same vehicle that was seen as the get-away car. 
 

If our suspicions are correct, the ‘bad guys’ are canvassing the neighborhood, knocking on doors in order to identify a house where nobody is home, and then targeting that one.  Criminals have used this strategy in the past here in Forest Estates, and it appears they are trying it again.  Our homeowners need to be well aware, and take the necessary safety precautions.  If you would like someone to perform a security assessment of your home, just contact your Block Watch Captain for information.
 

Attempted Identity Theft

This past week, another homeowner reported that she received a phone call from someone who said he was working with a company that works with Microsoft.  He told her that they had been receiving ‘messages’ generated from her computer, indicating it potentially had a ‘virus’.  He directed her to go to particular website, and then to give him her password so he could access her computer to fix the issues.  Fortunately, she didn’t give it to him. 

Please know that Microsoft, or any other company, would never ask for a person’s login information.  Those who have fallen prey to these types of scam report that the caller sounds very convincing, but within an hour of revealing their login info, their identify information is compromised, even to the emptying of bank accounts, and unauthorized use of credit cards.  If you receive a call that seems to be suspicious, hang up, and call the FBI (www.ic3.gov).  Remember to NEVER give your personal login information to anybody.