Protect Yourself Against Tech Crimes

Huntley Police Chief John Perkins has family members who do lots of social networking, but he gives his family the same advice he would give Huntley residents: Don’t give out your personal information.

The increase of Internet crimes, from scams to identity theft to debit card fraud, has Huntley police trying to get the word out that prevention is key to protecting yourself against such crimes.

These crimes are hard to investigate, which make them a magnet for criminals, and the only thing Huntley police can really do is teach crime prevention, he said.

Dos and don’ts

Perkins recommends not putting personal information, including your birthday, on the sites, and do not announce your vacation plans.

If you are selling something online, never accept a personal check, he said. If you are buying something online, designate one credit card for these purchases so you can keep track of any fraud.

Finally, he recommends using debit cards as credit rather then using a pin number. Even major stores, like Aldi and Michaels have had trouble lately securing customer’s personal information like pin numbers, he said. Bigger department stores should be safe, he said.

Prevention is the key in keeping your information safe, he said.

“We’ve tried to give talks and put information out there,” said Perkins, adding officers are available to give presentations about crime prevention.

The future

Perkins would like to assign a detective full time to create an Internet crimes unit, which would monitor cases, as well as warn Huntley residents of scams.

“When the manpower exists, I’d like to do it,” said the chief, adding he hopes he can create a special unit within the next two years.

Right now, Huntley officers “often make a report for the sake of the victim because they need a report to file a complaint with the state’s attorney and the credit bureaus,” Perkins said. “Unfortunately, all we accomplish as a police department is documenting it for the victim and tracking it.”

Ideally, a task force of local, state and federal law enforcement agencies should be organized so there won’t be a question of jurisdiction, he said. He sees the formation of these types of task forces, similar to drug task forces, to start organizing in two or three years once funding is available, he said.

“Someone needs to take the lead,” Perkins said.