Dear residents,

Last month police broke up an identity theft ring, which had allegedly stolen nearly $200,000 from 150 victims (including Johns Creek residents) over the last year via a credit card scam set up at the BP Gas station at 11425 Haynes Bridge Road.

The members of the ring were Russian/Armenian natives, who authorities say were in the US illegally and moved from California to specifically target North Fulton’s affluent residents.

One member installed a bogus credit card swipe machine and a small hidden camera during the late hours he worked as an attendant at the station. He captured customers’ names, credit and debit card numbers and debit pin numbers. The ring then duplicated the cards and withdrew money from ATM machines, or bought gift cards and merchandise.

When they were arrested at their apartment near North Point Mall, the ring had $50,000 in cash, $10,000 worth of heroin and thousands of dollars in fraudulent gift cards. Authorities believe the ring could be part of a bigger identity theft operation with international connections.

On another front, car break-ins continue to be a crime of opportunity in Johns Creek (see crime stats below). Breaking into cars to grab laptops, wallets, address books, computer discs, etc., to steal personal information is an easy option for thieves. Please do not leave any personal items in your car and keep it locked!

Identity theft is a very serious crime and one of the most difficult to resolve. Victims often spend months or years and thousands of dollars to clean up the mess the thieves left behind.

According to the Federal Trade Commission, more than 800,000 consumer fraud and identity theft complaints were filed in 2007 with consumer loss totaling more than $1.2 billion.

Rest assured the Johns Creek Police Department is working closely with local jurisdictions, the FBI and other government agencies to counteract identity theft in our community.

If you believe you are a victim of identity theft, please contact the Johns Creek Police Department as soon as possible at 404-730-7109 and a police officer will be dispatched to your location.

Sgt. Debra Kalish
Community Services

Picture this:  you’re at the airport waiting for your flight and you connect to the airport’s Wi-Fi to do some online shopping; or you go to your local coffee shop and open up your office e-mail.

According to the FBI, the odds are there is a hacker nearby with his own laptop, attempting to “eavesdrop” on your computer to obtain your personal data and get access to your money or company’s sensitive information.

There are 68,000 Wi-Fi “hot spots” in the US:  coffee shops, airports, hotels, bookstores, schools, etc. Some of these hotspots have secure networks, but not all of them and this leaves you exposed to attacks from hackers.

What can you do to protect yourself? Most importantly, do not connect to an unknown Wi-Fi network. If you feel you must, take these precautions to decrease the threat of being hacked:

• Make sure your laptop security is up to date, with current versions of your operating system, web browser, firewalls, and antivirus and anti-spyware software.
• Don't conduct financial transactions or use applications like e-mail and instant messaging.
• Change the default setting on your laptop so you have to manually select the Wi-Fi network you’re connecting to. 
• Turn off you laptop's Wi-Fi capabilities when you're not using them.

Some 300 million people in the US use Instant Messaging (IM). More and more employees use it in day-to-day business because it’s so convenient.

But Instant Messaging presents a great security risk if you do not protect yourself or your company. Unsecured IM installation can place computer systems at risk to viruses and hackers.

Make sure you:

• Utilize anti-virus and anti-spyware products.
• Create secure communications paths when using instant messaging with trusted business partners.
• Educate partners with whom you share files, and teach them to delete shared files after the IM session.
• Install products specifically designed for instant messaging security.

For more information, visit SANS Institute.

1. Contact one of the following three credit companies to place an alert. The company that you call is required to notify the other two:
   • Equifax:  1-800-525-6285; www.equifax.com
   • Experian:  1-888-397-3742; www.experian.com
   • Trans Union:  1-800-680-7289; www.transunion.com
2. Once you do this you are entitled to order a free copy of your credit report. Review your credit report carefully. Make sure you check your credit report periodically.
3. Close accounts that you know or believe have been tampered with or opened fraudulently.
4. Call and speak to someone in the security or fraud department of each company.
5. Keep track of everyone you speak to, the date and what they told you.
6. Follow up in writing with all contacts you've made on the phone or in person. Use certified mail, return receipt requested, so you can document what the company or organization received and when.
7. Keep copies of all correspondence or forms you send. Keep the original of all supporting documents, like police reports and letters to and from creditors; send copies only.
8. Keep old files, even if your case is closed. You never know if something will come back to haunt you.
9. File a police report in the community where the identity theft took place. If you cannot determine where, call your local police department. Then get a copy of the police report and keep it with you to help you deal with creditors who will need proof of the crime. This will also help if wrongful criminal violations are attributed to your name.
10. File a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission to provide important information to help law enforcement officials across the US track down identity thieves.

For a more in-depth guide to identity theft, visit the Federal Trade Commission.

Top 5 roads for accidents:

1. Medlock Bridge Road (33)
2. State Bridge Road (21)
3. Jones Bridge Road (17)
4. Abbotts Bridge Road (11)
5. McGinnis Ferry Road (9)

Top 5 Intersections for accidents:

1.  State Bridge & Medlock Bridge roads
2.  Medlock Bridge & Abbotts Bridge roads
3.  Medlock Bridge & Old Alabama roads
4.  State Bridge & Jones Bridge roads
5.  Medlock Bridge & Bell roads

December car break-ins (total 67): Silver Ridge (2), St. Ives (3), Myers Park (7), Foxworth (1), River Glen (1), Medlock Bridge (1), Morton Plantation (2), Clublands (3), Lakeview Estates (1), Hillbrooke (3), Windgate (3), Lexington Woods (4), Cambridge (3), The Reserve (1), Carriage Park (1), Huntington (1), Rivermont (1), Wellington (3), Sugar Mill (1), Abbotts Pond (1), Tavistock (1), Kani House (1), 3000 Old Alabama (1), Newtown Park (2), Walgreen’s at 4395 Kimball Bridge Road (1), Haynes Bridge Village (2), Mt. Pisgah Church (1), Tech Park/Johns Creek (1), Chattahoochee National Recreation Area (2), LA Fitness (3), Home Depot (2), Regal Cinemas (3) and Medlock Corners (1).

December burglaries (total: 32): St. Ives (2), Saddle Bridge (1), Avonlea on the River (1), Waterford (1), Wentworth (1), Colony Glen (1), Cameron Forest (1), Prestwick (1), Rivermont (1), Morton Reserve (1), Wellington (3), Alara (1), The Falls at Autry Mill (2), Sugar Mill (1), Exxon Food (1), Dermatology of Atlanta (1), AutoPilot (1), ITT Institute (1), T-Mobile (1), 4385 Kimball Bridge Road (2), 9810 Medlock Bridge Road (5) and Northwood (1).

The Georgia Sex Offender Registry is always online for your review.