The Crime Prevention theme for November is cyber-crime and Rimbey RCMP are passing along some tips to help prevent the community fall victim to scams and online threats.
• Don’t reuse passwords, change them often, and be sure to use a combination of letters, numbers and special characters to create a strong one!
• Many websites, especially social media platforms, offer the option of multi-factor authentication. Multi-factor authentication makes it more difficult for criminals to access your accounts by needing more than one piece of identifying information.
• Review privacy settings regularly in order to control who can see what personal information is posted to your profile.
• Buy from reputable sources and don’t let unbeatable prices cloud your judgement.
• Avoid conducting financial transactions via public Wi-Fi.
• Install updates on your devices as soon as you’re prompted. Updates fix security issues.
• Phishing is a commonly used tactic for cyber-crime. Phishing messages ask you to validate information by clicking links and may threaten you with legal action. Verify legitimacy by calling the company directly.
Alberta RCMP accounts will be posting cyber-crime reminders and tips, with the hashtag #CyberSafety for the month of November on Twitter @RCMPAlberta and on Facebook @RCMPinAlberta.
Addionally, in the last week Rimbey RCMP responded to 36 calls for service.
These files include, but are not limited to: one mental health related file, one complaint of threats uttered, one assault file, one impaired operation of a motor vehicle investigation, and five suspicious activity reports.
On Nov. 2 at approximately 7:30 p.m. a travel trailer was left in an open area near Hwy 22 after it got a flat tire. While parked there awaiting repairs the trailer, a 2011 white Sprinter with two slides was stolen. It has not been recovered.
If you have information on this crime, contact your Rimbey RCMP 403-843-2224 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.