Full Notification

The following Part I crimes occurred in Zone 5 (Valencia).   

A burglary occurred near the 25600 block of Chimney Rock Road.  An unknown suspect entered the victim’s residence through the rear slider and stole numerous items from inside his home.  The home was ransacked and numerous high dollar electronics were also stolen from the location. 

A grand theft occurred near the 24200 block of Magic Mountain Parkway.  Three female suspects entered the location and stole perfume bottles from the location and ran out of the store into a waiting vehicle. 

A second grand theft occurred near the 24200 block of Valencia Boulevard.   An unidentified male and female suspect entered the location and stole several hundred dollars in sunglasses and exited the store.   

For the second straight week we have had numerous thefts of catalytic converters from Toyota and Honda vehicles.  The suspects are targeting these vehicles and stealing these items at different hours of the day and night.  If you see anyone suspiciously tampering with a vehicle, please call the Sheriff’s Station at 661-255-1121. 

A shoplifting occurred near the 24200 block of Valencia Boulevard.  An unidentified female suspect walked into the location and stole 238 pairs of woman’s underwear.   The suspect walked into the location and walked straight to the display case and cleared out the whole case. 

Another grand theft occurred near the 26400 block of Rockwell Canyon Road.  An unknown suspect stole 12 batteries from the location.  The location is a cell site (tower) located on the west side of the location.  

A vehicle theft occurred near the 24100 block of Valencia Boulevard.   The victim had her 1998 Honda Civic stolen from the location.   The vehicle was locked while parked at the location.

A second vehicle theft occurred near the 28100 block of Avenue Stanford.  The victim had his 2000 Ford F-350 stolen from the location.  The victim stated his vehicle was locked when he last left it.

A vehicle burglary occurred near the 27000 block of Rio Pecos Dr.  An unidentified suspect entered the victim’s vehicle and stole items from inside.  The victim stated the vehicle was locked, but no signs of forced entry were seen. 

Over the past week we had five shoplifting thefts occur at local businesses.  Two out of the five incidents resulted in arrests made by our patrol deputies.  All of these cases are currently being investigated by our station detective bureau. 

Please take a minute to review a few safety tips for protecting yourself from becoming a victim of identity theft. 

IDENTITY THEFT PREVENTION TIPS

The LASD suggests the following crime prevention techniques to avoid becoming a victim of identity theft:

1.         To minimize the amount of information an identity thief can steal, do not carry extra credit cards, a social security card, birth certificate or passport in your wallet or purse, except when needed.

2.         To reduce the amount of personal information that is in circulation consider the following:

            Remove your name from the marketing lists of the three major credit reporting bureaus, i.e., Equifax, Experian (formerly TRW) and Trans Union. This will limit the number of pre-approved offers of credit that you receive. These offers, if thrown away in the trash, are potential targets of identity thieves who will use them to order credit cards using your identity.

            Sign up for the Direct Marketing Association Mail Preference Service and the Telephone Preference Service. By doing this, your name is added to computerized name deletion lists used by nationwide marketers.

            Have your name and address removed from telephone books and reverse directories.

3.         Install a locked mailbox at your residence or business to reduce mail theft or use a post office box.

4.         When you order new checks, do not have them sent to your home address. Have them sent to a post office box or arrange to pick them up at your bank.

5.         When you pay bills, do not place the envelopes containing your checks in your home mailbox for the letter carrier to pick up. If stolen, your checks can be altered and cashed by identity thieves. It is best to mail your checks and other sensitive mail at the post office rather than your home or neighborhood mailbox. Write checks with a fine-point permanent marker.

6.         Pay bills with an electronic bill payment service.

7.         Reduce the number of credit cards you actively use to a bare minimum. Carry only one or two credit cards in your wallet. Cancel all unused credit card accounts. Even though you do not use these accounts, account numbers are recorded in your credit report along with other data that can be used by identity thieves.

8.         Keep a list and/or photocopy of all your credit cards, account numbers, expiration dates and telephone numbers of the customer service and fraud departments in a secure place (not your wallet or purse) so you can quickly contact your creditors in case your credit cards are stolen. Do the same with your bank accounts.

9.         Never give out your credit card number or other personal information over the telephone, unless you have a trusted business relationship with the person or company and you have initiated the telephone call. Identity thieves have been known to call their victims with a fake story that goes something like this, "Today is your lucky day! You have been chosen by the "Jane and John Doe Sweepstakes Committee" to receive a free trip to Europe. All we need is your credit card number and expiration date to verify you as the lucky winner."

10.       Order your credit report once a year from each of the three major credit bureaus to check for inaccuracies and fraudulent use of your accounts. Make sure that you recognize every line of information established in your file.

11.       Always take credit card receipts with you. Never throw them in a public trash container.

12.       Watch the mail when you expect a new or reissued credit card to arrive. Contact the issuer if the card does not arrive.

13.       When creating a password or Personal Identification Number (PIN), do not use the last four digits of your social security number, date of birth, middle name, the name of your family pet, consecutive numbers of anything else that could easily be discovered by identity thieves.

14.       Ask your financial institution to add extra security protection to your account. Most will allow you to use an additional code (a number or word) when assessing your account. Do not use your mother’s maiden name, as that is all too easily obtained by identity thieves.

15.       Memorize all your passwords. Do not record them on anything in your wallet or purse.

16.       Protect your social security number. Release it only when absolutely necessary (tax forms, employment records, most banking, stock and property transactions). The social security number is the key to your credit and bank accounts and is a prime target of identity thieves.17.       Do not have your social security number printed on your checks. Do not let merchants write your social security number on your checks because of the risk of fraud.

18.       Order your Social Security Earnings and Benefits Statement once a year to check for fraud.

19.       Carefully review your credit card statements for unauthorized use.

20.       Do not throw pre-approved credit offers in the trash or in a recycling container without first shredding them. The discarded credit offers can be used by identity thieves to order credit cards in your name and to have the credit cards mailed to their address.

21.       Do the same with other sensitive information like credit card receipts. Home shredders can be purchased at many office supply stores.

22.       Demand financial institutions to adequately safeguard your data. Request a special password that only you would know. Memorize all passwords. Discourage your bank from using the last four digits of the social security number as the PIN they assign to customers.

23.       When you fill out loan applications, find out how the company disposes of them. If you are not convinced that they store them in locked files and/or shred them, take your business elsewhere. Some car dealerships, department stores, car rental agencies, and video stores have been known to be careless with customer applications.

When you pay by credit card, ask the business how it stores and disposes of the transaction slip. Avoid paying by credit card if you think the business does not use adequate safeguards.

24.       Store your cancelled checks in a safe place. In the wrong hands, they can reveal a lot of information about you. Never permit your credit card number to be written on your checks. It is a violation of California law (California Civil Code 1725) and places you at risk of fraud.

25.       Any entity involved in handling personal information should train all its employees, from the top to the bottom, on responsible information-handling practices. Persuade the companies, government agencies and nonprofit agencies with which you are associated to adopt privacy policies and conduct privacy training. Employees should be trained to check picture identification cards when accepting credit cards.

As always, please feel free to call or email me. 

Thank you, 

Deputy Brian Heischuber  

[email protected] 
661-255-1121 EXT. 5164 
Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station 
Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department 
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