Identity theft among topics at sheriff ’s event
LANCASTER — The new year is well underway and deputies at the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department’s Lancaster station have begun hosting the virtual “Coffee with a Captain” event once again.
The first event of the year was held on Tuesday morning, with Deputy Deciga, Deputy Green, Capt. Weber, Deputy L. Green and Deputy Schreiber discussing a range of topics, including identity theft and online dating.
Following Weber’s introduction, Community Relations Deputy L. Green offered some tips for online dating.
“Be aware of what I’m about to tell you,” he said.
The tips included: Don’t give out too much personal information; conduct FaceTime, Zoom or video chats prior to meeting anyone, so that you can see a live picture to make sure the person who shows up is the person you’ve been chatting with; meet in a public place and drive yourself, in case you need to leave early; tell a friend where you are going and what time you’ll be there; make sure someone knows where you are at all times; make sure you have everything documented in case something happens; and stay sober.
“There are plenty of fish in the sea,” Green said. “Some
fish can be thrown back. I hope this advice helps you out during the month of February. I need you to be safe and be aware of your surroundings.”
Weber said he’s known a lot of people who have had great success in meeting people online — some have even gotten married.
“It’s a great way to meet people; just be careful,” he said.
The next deputy to offer advice was another deputy named Green, this one the Lancaster station watch commander. He spoke about COVID scams and text scams that are targeting Antelope Valley residents.
He said there are several scams that Lancaster Station has identified. One allegedly is from the Federal Communications Center’s Financial Care Center. The message claims the Center will send you $30,000 in COVID-19 relief funds.
“This is false,” Green said. “There is no way they’re going to send you $30,000 for COVID relief.”
Another text scam claims to be from the Better Business Bureau and tells its recipients that they must take a mandatory online COVID vaccine.
“No vaccines are done online,” he said. “There are government imposters that offer COVID news and once you click on the link, it will take you to a site where they will request your personal information.”
Weber said scams regarding the COVID vaccine are plentiful.
“A lot of people are anxious to get the vaccine,” he said. “I know it’s frustrating. … Opportunists will prey on that and prey on peoples’ fears. COVID is the single-most thing that has people anxious, scared and nervous. Opportunists will capitalize on that. If anyone offers to sell a vaccine, it’s a scam. You have to go through authorized agencies to get the vaccine.”
Deciga said the vaccine scam is one that is common in the Hispanic community.
“Don’t fall for it,” she said. “If someone says they have a vaccine and can sell it to you for such and such money … that happens a lot in our Hispanic community.”
Green said people will get numerous scams telling them that they have won money, but don’t believe it.
“If a financial institution has money for you, they will contact you,” he said.
Next, Field Sgt. Schreiber talked about how to the community can safeguard against identity theft. Feb. 1-5 is recognized as Identity Theft Awareness Week.
He said ring cameras have been catching people tampering with mailboxes — something that is happening often.
Schreiber said now that tax season is here, thieves tend to break into mailboxes, looking for W2 forms or paychecks.
Some tips he offered to avoid having your mail — and possibly your identity — stolen were:
•Set up a Ring camera to record activity if you have a stand-alone mailbox outside your house.
• Check mail regularly; don’t let it pile up.
• Make sure you shred your mail; don’t toss out entire pieces of mail.
•Unsubscribe from online offers that might result in mail being delivered to your home.
•Instead of placing checks and other sensitive mail in the outgoing mail slot, take it to the post office.
•Sign up for informed delivery through the postal service. This will allow you to get a screenshot of the mail and packages that will be delivered to your home, so you know what to expect. Sign-up can be done at www.usps.com
•Set up a post office box instead of using a stand-alone box or a cluster box outside your home.
Weber also cautioned the public to be vigilant in shredding or tearing each piece of mail, especially credit card applications and other, similar offers.
“People can get it and start to build a profile with it,” he said.
He also suggested taking a Sharpie or other permanent marker and thoroughly marking out all personal information on the mail before shredding it or tossing it in the garbage.
“If you go on vacation, place your mail on hold,” Deciga said.