Neighborhood Watch

By James Pan

POLICE ASK FOR HELP FROM RESTON RESIDENTS

The Fairfax County Police Department is seeking help from the Reston community to help prevent car-related thefts. The Reston District station recommends residents lock their car doors and remove all valuables from their vehicles, particularly at night. Police are also asking car owners to be aware of their surroundings and report any incidents where someone is seen checking cars for unlocked doors. Other suggestions for residents include the following:

  • Turn on notifications if you have a home motion-detector security recording system.
  • Be a "good witness" by looking out the window if dogs are barking, a car alarm goes off, or you hear an unusual noise.
  • Observe and report, but do not engage. 
  • Close and lock your garage door.

Police contact numbers are 703-691-2131 (non-emergency) and 911 (text or voice) for emergencies.

BE AWARE OF TEXT PHISHING (SMISHING)

Have you received unsolicited mobile text messages with an unfamiliar or strange web 

link that indicates a USPS delivery requires a response from you? If you never signed up for a USPS tracking request for a specific package, then don’t click the link! This type of text message is a scam called smishing.

Smishing is a form of phishing that involves a text message or phone number. Victims will typically receive a deceptive text message that is intended to lure the recipient into providing their personal or financial information. These scammers often attempt to disguise themselves as a government agency, bank, or other company to lend legitimacy to their claims.

The criminals want to receive personally identifiable information (PII) about the victim such as account usernames and passwords, Social Security number, date of birth, credit and debit card numbers, personal identification numbers (PINs), or other sensitive information. This information is used to carry out other crimes, such as financial fraud.

The Postal Service offers tools to track specific packages, but customers are required either to register online or to initiate a text message and provide a tracking number. USPS will not send customers text messages or e-mails unless a customer first requests the service with a tracking number, and it will NOT contain a link. So if you did not initiate the tracking request for a specific package directly from USPS and the message you receive contains a link, do not click the link!

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