Burglary & Theft on the Rise in Andover - Fight Back Against Identity Theft

City Administrator Jim Dickinson addressed the City Council last week on a growing number of thefts and burglaries in Andover.  In particular, he noted that theft from vehicles is on the rise and cautioned the public against leaving valuables out in plained sight when parked - put away the GPS units, the cellphones, even articles of clothing.  He also noted that too many of us leave our homes vulnerable - we don't lock service doors to our garages, or leave our big garage doors open.  At a minimum, be sure to lock doors that exit from the house into the garage.

One outcome of many thefts is the use of our identification for other means.

Here's a link to an article from the FTC on Identity Theft:

http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/microsites/idtheft//consumers/about-identity-theft.html

Here are some excerpts:

The FTC estimates that as many as 9 million Americans have their identities stolen each year. In fact, you or someone you know may have experienced some form of identity theft.

The crime takes many forms. Identity thieves may rent an apartment, obtain a credit card, or establish a telephone account in your name. You may not find out about the theft until you review your credit report or a credit card statement and notice charges you didn’t make—or until you’re contacted by a debt collector.

Skilled identity thieves may use a variety of methods to get hold of your information, including:

1. Dumpster Diving. They rummage through trash looking for bills or other paper with your personal information on it.
2. Skimming. They steal credit/debit card numbers by using a special storage device when processing your card.
3. Phishing. They pretend to be financial institutions or companies and send spam or pop-up messages to get you to reveal your personal information.
4. Changing Your Address. They divert your billing statements to another location by completing a change of address form.
5. Old-Fashioned Stealing. They steal wallets and purses; mail, including bank and credit card statements; pre-approved credit offers; and new checks or tax information. They steal personnel records, or bribe employees who have access.
6. Pretexting.  They use false pretenses to obtain your personal information from financial institutions, telephone companies, and other sources.  For more information about pretexting,

Once they have your personal information, identity thieves use it in a variety of ways:

• Credit card fraud
• Phone or utilities fraud
• Bank/finance fraud
• Government documents fraud
• Other fraud
• They may get a job using your Social Security number.
• They may rent a house or get medical services using your name.
• They may give your personal information to police during an arrest. If they don't show up for their court date, a warrant for arrest is issued in your name.

What should you do if your identity is stolen?
Filing a police report, checking your credit reports, notifying creditors, and disputing any unauthorized transactions are some of the steps you must take immediately to restore your good name.


Sheriff Andersohn wrote a fine article in the May/June issue of the City of Andover newsletter, in which he gave tips for not making it to easy for criminals to spot easy targets - in particular homes where the owners on vacation.  Check it out at the top of Page 4:

http://files.andovermn.net/pdfs/Newsletter/AndoverToday05-06-2010.pdf

He's warning us against these types of individuals:

Unraveling of regional burglary spree continues

Authorities say a trio of burglary suspects arrested in Kanabec County late last month could eventually be tied to upwards of 100 home invasions in 10 counties throughout central Minnesota and Western Wisconsin.

Most of the crimes linked to the trio took place during the day and involved unoccupied residential properties located in mostly rural areas. At least two and possibly more such crimes that occurred in Kanabec County have been tied to the spree.

Law enforcement officials say the men stole a wide range of high-dollar items from guns and jewels to televisions and tools. At least some of these items have been recovered inside a storage unit and a hotel room. Deputies from Kanabec County were among those from throughout the region attempting to identify ownership of the items.

Here's a link to the full story:

http://www.moraminn.com/detail/62353.html

For more information on crimes in Andover, here's data taken from the time period, 1999-2005:

http://www.city-data.com/crime/crime-Andover-Minnesota.html