Local RCMP are strongly advising residents of the Elk Valley to keep themselves, and their personal belongings safe this season. Recently, RCMP have dealt with numerous calls of petty theft and entry into vehicles, mostly taking place in the Sparwood and Fernie area. In most cases, the vehicles involved were left unlocked. Suspects have not yet been arrested in the case, and investigations are ongoing.
RCMP members have also been called on several occasions in which residents have received a phone call from an individual claiming to be from Microsoft or Windows, stating they have knowledge that your computer was attempted to be hacked into. The alleged technician claims that for a price, they can protect your computer and stop the hacking from continuing. "Both of these cases are different in nature, but in each case residents need to remember simple things that can keep themselves safe," says Sgt. Will Thien. "Residents are strongly encouraged to keep the doors of their vehicles and homes locked. Sometimes, in a small town one gets a false sense of security, but these types of things can and do happen," he says. "Also, we would like to strongly warn all people that callers claiming to sell or offer computer protection, with an online credit card payment are usually scams. In these cases there is really very little police can do to track the suspects, as callers are conducting the scams from worldwide locations," says Sgt. Thien.
"We just advise all people to use common sense and caution. It is better to keep your belongings and money protected than to try to have to recover it after an incident has occurred," he concludes.