Tuesday, October 22, 2013

Be On The Lookout....

Unfortunately, when autumn comes, there's usually an uptick in scams and thievery.  Please be aware of what's going on, and call 911 to report any suspicious behavior.  Two recent examples:
  • Catalytic Converter Theft.  "Sometime late last Thursday/early Friday someone jacked up my unassuming car and stole the catalytic converter. They neatly sawed it away from the connecting pipes. Have you heard of this happening in the area? My car was parked on the 4600 block of Beacon, east side of the street near the vacant lot.

    I got my car to the repair shop at Lawrence and Ashland and, with after-market parts, it still came to nearly $700 to replace. The guys there knew right away what had happened when I started my car for them and said they have seen it before. I got home and filed a police report right away."

    There's not a lot you can do to prevent this from happening, but Nationwide Insurance suggests, among other things, taking your car to a muffler shop and having the catalytic converter welded to the frame.  Another website suggests welding the bolts or buying a protective sleeve.
  • Package Theft.  A reader tells us that she observed four kids, aged seven to eleven, walk into the lobby of the condo building across the street from her, and walk out with a package that had been sitting in the lobby.  They returned five minutes later and took four more packages.  She called 911 three times but did not get a police response.

    Best thing is to not have a lobby that non-residents can easily enter and to remind neighbors to not let in, or buzz in, people in they don't know.  If you don't have a receiving room and can't work with the postal carrier or Fed Ex about not leaving packages lying out, see if you have a neighbor who's home during the day who would agree to sign for packages.  This happens every year, although it's pretty horrifying to hear that kids as young as seven are involved.  

Report theft to the police so they're aware of it; and keep calling 911 if you see anything suspicious.  Take a cell phone photo if you can, and don't figure "someone else will get involved."  We need to watch each other's backs.

3 comments:

  1. I'd be scared if that lady was looking out the window at me!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I'd be more scared of the auto shop on Ashland and Lawrence. They scam more people then the car parts theives.

    ReplyDelete
  3. The catalytic converters net the thieves about $75. They have platininum & the thieves will take it to the junk yard that will buy it. Of course, these junk yards know they're stolen but do it anyways. The vagrants usually target SUV's because they are easier to steal.

    ReplyDelete