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Neighbourhood Watch Newsletter Area LTB1 Bridle Estate April 2007 (NHW115)

Mischievous email, Scams, Australian Electoral Commission, Police Crime Report, Smoke Detectors.

By Malcolm Lawrence - 3rd April 2007 - Back to News

Neighbourhood Watch Area LTB1, Bridle Estate.

Police Co-ordinator: Senior Constable Brett Godden, Phone 5131 5085

Next Meeting

When: Monday 16th April 2007.

Time: 7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

Where: Salvation Army Hall,

Bridle Road, Morwell.

An erroneous and mischievous email is doing the rounds at the moment. The email relates to the reversal of your PIN number for an ATM card.

The email states:
"If you should ever be forced by a robber to withdraw money from an ATM machine, you can notify the police by entering your PIN in reverse. For example if your PIN number is 12345 then you would put in 54321. The ATM recognizes that your PIN number is backwards from the ATM card you placed in the machine. The machine will still give you the money requested, but unknown to the robber, the police will be immediately dispatched to help you."

The information in this email is completely incorrect! When a reversed PIN number is typed into an ATM, the machine reacts the same way as if an invalid number has been entered.

The Commonwealth Bank Security states that they have had thousands of calls in relation to this email. The AFP are also looking into it. This is just one more malicious email to be aware of.

Scams:

The Australasian Consumer Fraud Taskforce is running an awareness program to alert the public to the most common scams used to defraud them by criminals. This program is divided up into four parts: Protect Yourself, Protect Your Identity, Protect Your Phone and Protect Your Computer.

Almost everyone will be the target of a scam at some time, you may have been already. Some scams are easy to spot while others can happen without you even knowing it.

Protect Your Identity.

Þ Never give out your personal information to someone you don’t know or trust. Only give your personal details and information if it absolutely necessary and if you initiated the contact and trust the other party.

Þ Destroy personal information, don’t just throw it out. Cut up, burn, or shred old bills, account statements or cards so scammers cannot get hold of your personal details.

Þ Treat your personal details like you would treat money. Don’t leave them lying around for others to take.

Þ Order a free copy of your credit report at least once a year to make sure no one is using your name to borrow money or run up debts. You can get a copy of your credit report from a credit reporting agency. There are three main credit reporting agencies in Australia: Baycorp Advantage, Dun and Bradstreet and Tasmanian Collection Service.

SCAMS TARGET YOU. To find out more about scams and to report scams visit www.scamwatch.gov.au or call 1300 795 995

Members of the Australian Electoral Commission are travelling around the La Trobe Shire doing role checks. The only residences being visited are those where the AEC believes that enrolment changes may have been made. They will have all the correct ID/Authority cards displaying their photos and carrying a distinctive satchel displaying the Commissions name and logo.

Police Crime Report For Neighbourhood Watch Area LTB1 March 2007

Due To Privacy Considerations NOT ALL Offences For This Area Are Listed

• 9/11/2006 Bridle Road Property damage.
• 11/2/2007 The Boulevard Theft from a house.
• 2/3/2007 Kurt Street Theft from a motor vehicle in the driveway.
• 2/3/2007 The Boulevard Burglary at a house.
• 4/3/2007 Chestnut Avenue Theft from the front garden of a house.
• 7/3/2007 Chestnut Avenue Property damage to a residence.
• 11/3/2007 Bridle Road Property damage in the front garden of a house.
• 18/3/2007 Cherry Crescent Aggravated burglary in the back yard of a house.
• 26/3/2007 Spring Court Two bicycles stolen from the front garden of a house.
• 27/3/2007 Wattle Tree Crescent Theft of a motor vehicle.

SUMMARY OF STOLEN ITEMS FOR THE ABOVE OFFENCES

1 Electrical Appliance, 1 Car Accessory, 4 Clothing,

1 Personal Property, 1 Power Tools, 22 Sporting Goods

1 Motor Vehicle Stolen

5 Offenders Were Charged For Any Reported Offence In The Area

Did you remember to change your Smoke Detector batteries when you changed your clocks. If the batteries have been in for a year they should be changed to ensure your protection in case of fire.

Source: www.gippsland.com

Published by: malcolml@dcsi.net.au