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Crime Prevention Tips

Identity Theft

Goverment officials call identity theft "the fastest growing crime in the nation"' with over 400,000 people affected last year alone. The average loss to an identity fraud victim is estimated at $36,000.

How to guard against it.

Remove all mail promptly from your mailbox. Never use your mailbox for outgoing mail.
Gaurd your social security number. Do not give out personal information like PIN or credit card numbers over the phone or the internet unless you initiate the transaction.
Be very carefull with receipts. Make sure you have them when you leave a store or ATM and do not throw them into a public trash can.
Review your credit report from time to time. The major credit bureaus are:
1. Equfax: 1-800-685-1111
2. Experian:1-800-682-7654
3. Trans Union: 1-800-916-8800
Destroy pre-approved credit card applications before you throw them out.
Account for all new checkbooks when you recive them in the mail. If you are missing any report them immediately. Keep new and cancelled checks in a safe place.
Block your ATM transactions with your body, to keep someone from learning your PIN number.
Do not write down passwords and personal I.D. numbers, commit them to your memory.
Be creative when you select a password.

What to do if you are a victim.

Contact your credit card company and financial institution and close your accounts.
Call the three major credit bureaus (listed above) and tell them. Request that a "fraud alert" be placed on your file and that no new credit be granted without you approval.
Call the Social Security Fraud Hot Line at 1-800-269-0271.
Contact the Federal Trade Commission theft hot line at 1-877-438-4338.
You should also file a police report and get a copy of the report for later use.

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Telemarketing Sales Rules

Many worthwhile organizations call to ask you to donate money. Most telephone solicitations are ligitamate, but some are not. Here is the federal law governing all telemarketers. They

Can call only between 8:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m.
Must tell you it is a sales call, their name, and what they are selling before they make their pitch.
Cannot misrepresent any information about their goods or services, earnings potential, risks involved, or nature of the prize.
Must take your name off their calling list, or be fined, if they call you again if you tell them not to call you back.
Cannot withdraw money from your checking account unless you give them specific authority.
Must tell you in advance if you need to buy or pay something to enter a contest or prize promotion.
Must tell you the odds of winning and any additional costs or conditions necessary to win a prize.

For more information, order a Telemarketing Fact Sheet (D15385) (in English or Spanish) from AARP Fulfillment, 601 E Street NW, Washington, DC 20049.

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Tips on Successful Home Sharing

Sharing your home with someone else may be a good way to stay independant, reduce your housing costs, and gain companionship. Many people homeshare by inviting others to move in with them or moving to a home owned by someone else. However, a successful homesharing arrangement takes careful planning.

Here are some things to consider before homesharing:

Take an honest look at your experiences living with others. Are you assertive, able to compromise, sensitive to others' feelings?
Figure out your needs and preferences about costs, smoking, visitors, cooking, pets, privacy, etc.
Look for a homesharer whose situation complements yours. Make sure your personality and preferences fit with your potential homesharer.
Check with your local zoning board to make sure your local zoning laws permit two or more unrelated people to share a house.
Schedule a brief trial period. Then talk honestly about how each of you is getting along with homesharing.
Plan how you will resolve any differences.
Write down your arrangements on household duties and finances.

For more information, request A Consumer's Guide to Homesharing (D12774) from AARP Fulfillment, 601 E Street NW, Washington, DC 20049.

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Home Repair Fraud

Americans spend close to $100 billion each year on remodeling projects. Although many home improvement contractors do excellent work, some do not. Before undertaking any remodeling or modification project in your home, be sure to do the following:

Decide what you want to have done and how much you can spend.
Gather a list of reputable contractors from friends who have had similar work done.
Make sure the contractor is licensed, bonded, and has a current certificate of insurance.
Ask to see these forms and verify them with your local consumer protection agency.
Take advantage of free estimates. Get two or three before choosing a contractor.
Compare costs, materials, and methods by getting several written bids.
Remember that the lowest bid is not always the best deal.
Ask for references for similar work and then check them out.
Make sure you have a signed contract detailing the work you want done, specific materials to be used, total price, terms of payment, and completion date.

For more information, order DoAble Renewable Home, (D12470), from AARP Fulfillment, 601 E Street NW, Washington, DC 20049.

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Help a Mail/Phone Fraud Victim

Are you concerned that a friend or relative is the victim of telemarketing or mail scams? Here are some warning signs to look for:

Stacks of sweepstakes mail proclaiming "a guaranteed winner."
Many telephone calls from fast-talking operators offering "fantastic" opportunities to claim prizes or make sure-fire investments.
Lists of prizes that they have been told they have won.
Unusual number of packages containing inexpensive costume jewelry, plastic cameras, or other trinkets.

Here's how you may help:

Don't lecture. Fraud victims may resist being criticized or feel humiliated and reject your good advice.
Ask them to compare the actual value of their prizes to the money they have paid.
Remind them that the person on the other end of the line, no matter how charming, may be a crook. Fraudulent telemarketers and mail con artists are criminals who steal billions of dollars a year.
Urge your friend or relative to report mail and telemarketing fraud to their local police department, Postal Inspector, state Attorney General, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Offer to change their phone to a new unlisted number.
Offer to help screen their mail for unsolicted sweepstakes or lottery offers.

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Domestic Violence: What to do when your home isn't safe

If you are being abused, it seems at times that things will get better; that the violence will stop; that your abuser's promises to change will come true. But batterers do not change on their own, and often will become more dangerous as time goes on. They may threaten to hurt or kill you, your children or themselves if you leave or try to get help.

Develop a safety plan for the future.

Call 911 if you are in danger or need immediate help. The police keep records of these calls which may help you in court later. If the police come to your home, be sure to get the police report number from them.
Get medical attention from a doctor or health clinic if you have been injured even slightly. This will help you heal faster, and give you medical records to use in court.
Take photographs of your scars and bruises. Keep them in a safe hiding place at your home or work, or at a friend's house, along with a written description of when you were injured and what happened.
Arrange a signal with a neighbor to let them know when you need help, such as a specific light on or window shade pulled down.
Keep some money (including change for phones), a change of clothes, your spare keys, and important documents (driver's license / ID card, check book, medical records, birth certificates, health insurance cards, etc.) at a friend's house, your work, a locked trunk or other safe place in case you need to leave in an emergency.
Contact your local domestic violence program listed below. They will give you information about the law, shelters, counseling, legal help, and more ways to keep you safe from harm.

It is easy to apply to the courts for the protection you deserve. If you are being abused and can answer yes to one of the following questions, you are eligible for an ex parte order, which is an temporary "stay away" order.

Are you or were you married to the abuser?
Do you have a child in common?
Have you at any time had a sexual relationship with the abuser, and lived in the same home for at least 90 days within the past year?
Are you related to the abuser by blood, marriage or adoption?
Is the abuser your parent, step-parent, child or step-child who has lived with you for at least 90 days within the past year?
Are you a vulnerable adult (someone who does not have the ability to take care of his or her own needs?

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Step one: Get an Ex Parte order.

You can apply by yourself for a Petition for Protection at the Civil Clerk's Desk in either the District or Circuit Court, usually in the county where you live. Your local domestic violence program can help you find the nearest court and guide you through this process.

The Petition for Protection is your statement to the judge, giving information about your abuser and the abuse you have been receiving. You do not need to give your address if you do not want your abuser to know where you are staying.

Once you complete the form, you will see a judge the same day in an "ex parte hearing." As long as the judge has reasonable grounds to believe the abuse occurred, he or she will issue a temporary ex parte order.

The ex parte order starts as soon as it is given to your abuser by a law enforcement officer. Be sure it has been served on your abuser before you return home or to a place where your abuser will be. You can find this out by contacting your local sheriff's office.

An ex parte order may:

order the abuser to refrain from all abuse;
order the abuser to stop contacting and/or harassing you;
order the abuser to refrain from any threats of abuse;
order the abuser to leave your home immediately, awarding you temporary ownership of the house;
order the abuser away from your home, temporary residence, work, school, children's school, family member's homes and any areas surrounding these places;
award you temporary custody of a minor child.

An ex parte order will list the date for a "protective order hearing," usually held within 7 days. The ex parte is only effective until the date of the Protective Order hearing.

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Step two: The Protective Order hearing.

Your abuser may be at their second, informal hearing. You may bring an attorney if you wish, or a court companion from your local domestic violence program.

The judge needs "clear and convincing evidence that abuse has occurred." Be sure to bring any evidence you have, such as any witnesses, photographs, medical and police reports, objects used to injure you, etc.

A protective order lasts for 12 months, with a possibility of a 6 month extension beyond that. In addition to the protection you receive under the ex parte, a protective order may grant you full custody of your children, financial support, use of the car, and a requirement for your abuser to attend batterer's counseling.

Once you receive a protective order, keep it with you at all times, especially places where your abuser could surprise you. Tell your work and neighbors that you have an order but may still be in danger. Tell your child's school of the possible danger as well.

If your abuser violates any part of the order, dial 911 and call the police immediately. The police must arrest an abuser if the protective order is violated.

Millions of women are battered at home each year by their spouse or intimate partner. Many do not realize they are being abused, or they feel helpless, ashamed, or too scared of their abuser to leave.

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No one has the right to harm you! It is against the law.

If you can answer yes to any of the questions below, you may be eligible for protection under the law:

Have you been physically injured in any way by your spouse, former spouse, an intimate partner that you live with, or have lived with, a person you share a child with, or someone related to you by blood, marriage or adoption?
Are you living in fear that you or someone else will be physically injured by this person?
Has this person touched you, or threatened to touch you, in any way you didn't like or allow? Examples of this include shoving, kicking, slapping, choking, or hitting you with an object.
Has this person touched or threatened to touch you sexually in a way you didn't like or allow? Has this person raped or threatened to rape you? In Maryland, a husband can be convicted of raping his wife.
Has this person thrown or destroyed any property, e.g. punched walls, broken furniture or glass, in a way that made you fear for your safety or the safety of others?
Has this person held you somewhere against your will (called false imprisonment)?

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Are you being abused by a loved one? Get help at your local domestic violence program.

CAROLINE, KENT, DORCHESTER, QUEEN ANNE'S, TALBOT

Hotline 1-800-927-4673
410-822-5276 (Local)
Mid-Shore Council
410-479-1149

This project was supported by Grant # G7EAP-97-013, awarded by the Bureau of Justice Assistance, Office of Justice Programs, U.S Department of Justice. Points of view or opinions contained within this document are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the U.S Department of Justice. Funds for this grant were administered through the S.T.O.P. the Violence Against Women Grant Program under the Maryland Governor s Office of Crime Control and Prevention.

Maryland Network Against Domestic Violence
6911 Laurel Bowie Road, Ste. 309
Bowie, MD 20715
Phone (301)352-4574
Fax (301) 809-0422
Referral Line 1-800-MD-HELP
mnadv@aol.com

If you would like information on crime prevention, a crime prevention home or business survey or a speaker for your group contact.
the Sheriff's Resource Unit.

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