Parkside Crime Alerts and Updates

PARKSIDE CRIME ALERTS AND UPDATES ---

We've received two reports of thwarted burglary attempts:
FYI, my tenant called #911 on Saturday evening, 9/12/09 to report 3 male
trespassers around 11pm in our next door neighbor’s yard in the 1st
block of Colvin between Amherst Street & Tillinghast Place. They jumped
the fence & ran down Tillinghast before the police arrived. The police
did check out the area, but the men were not located. I was upset about
the intruders but pleased that my tenant was alert & took proper
action. We need be vigilant for our safety!

And this from a Greenfield resident - Somebody tried to pull the handle
off the screen door in the back of the house, probably to gain
entrance, between 11:30 am to 1:30 pm today. [Thursday] This is
surprising since we have a very protective german shepherd, and equally
protective male boxer.

Main Street Construction - The work is nearing completion with final
surfacing work taking place during the week of October 5. This will
entail the entire Phase II area (from Hertel to Humboldt).
Intersections will be affected and the contractor will be posting NO
PARKING signs along Main as they work through the various sections.
They appreciate the cooperation they have had through all of the
construction. I'll remind you again that they've accomplished what had
been planned to be a two year project in one year. The end is in
sight.

Urban Legends - In the last mailing I included what I believed to be
valid notices about cell phone registry and automatic car locks.
Although they contained a "Snopes Approved" message, apparently they
were not. I have learned that to be sure of the validity of forwards
you receive you can go to http://snopes.com and type in some
significant phrase from the message. According to this site, it is
unnecessary to register cell phones and the chance of someone "breaking
the code" of your security system is highly unlikely. My apologies
for sending on something I hadn't cleared.

Parkside Crime Alert

PARKSIDE CRIME ALERT
We have received four reports of cars being broken into in the last week. In one case, the car was unlocked and the theives went through everything, but didn't end up taking anything, not even change. In another case, there was no evidence of forced entry. They took an i-pod, but left change and a passport. The owner is not sure his car was locked. Both of these incidents happened sometime during the night of Sept. 20 and happened on Crescent between Robie and W. Oakwood.There was also an incident on Woodward in which theives went through the back window of the car and stole a back pack during the night.Make sure your car is locked and report any suspicious activity to the police.

How to Lock Your Car and Why

I locked my car. As I walked away I heard my car door unlock. I went back and locked my car again three times. Each time, as soon as I started to walk away, I would hear it unlock again!! Naturally, alarmed, I looked around and there were two guys sitting in a car in the fire lane next to the store. They were obviously watching me intently, and there was no doubt they were somehow involved in this very weird situation. I quickly chucked the errand I was on, jumped in my car and sped away. I went straight t o the police station, told them what had happened, and found out I was part of a new, and very successful,scheme being used to gain entry into cars. Two weeks later, my friend's son had a similar happening.... While traveling, my friend's son stopped at a roadside rest to use the bathroom. When he came out to his car less than 4-5 minutes later, someone had gotten into his car and stolen his cell phone, laptop computer, GPS navigator, briefcase.....you name it. He called the police and since there were no signs of his car being broken into, the police told him he had been a victim of the latest robbery tactic -- there is a device that robbers are using now to clone your security code when you lock your doors on your car using your key-chain locking device..They sit a distance away and watch for their next victim. They know you are going inside of the store, restaurant,or bathroom and that they now have a few minutes to steal and run. The police officer said to manually lock your car door-by hitting the lock button inside the car -- that way if there is someone sitting in a parking lot watching for their next victim, it will not be you.

REMEMBER: Cell Phone Numbers Go Public next month.
REMINDER.... all cell phone numbers are being released to telemarketing
companies and you will start to receive sales calls.
......... YOU WILL BE CHARGED FOR THESE CALLS
Even if the message is saved on your phone, you will be charged for the
minutes to listen to it.
To prevent this, call the following number from your cell phone:
888-382-1222 .
It is the National DO NOT CALL list. It will only take a minute of your
time. It blocks your number for five (5) years.
You must call from the cell phone number you want to have blocked.
You cannot call from a different phone number.