Crime: Senior Alert (2nd Ed)

[Music] thank you [Music] [Applause] [Music] thank you [Music] I never thought this would happen to me it's unfortunate but true crime against senior citizens is Big Business senior citizens are targets for all sorts of criminals they look upon us as easy prey and of course I didn't do anything to dispel that notion my credit cards my checkbook and several hundred dollars were in that purse it all happened so suddenly I was bruised pretty badly but I guess I was lucky not to break something like I said I just never thought it would happen to me of course that's probably what most people say after the crime when I reported it the officer said fighting back was a mistake just let him have it he said the things in your bag can be replaced you can't he also gave me some other tips like don't carry a lot of cash and credit cards with you now I do a few preparations at home before I go out I take a blank check and some other things out of my regular purse the check a small amount of cash my identification and a credit card go into a coin purse then the coin purse and my keys go right in my pocket I also leave my good jewelry at home whenever possible [Music] I use a clutch bag as my regular purse a thief will go for what he can see if he steals the clutch bag all he gets is my makeup and some other non-essentials the officer called this transferring the risk these days when I go out I go with a friend whenever I can besides providing company we look out for each other the buddy system the officer called it we walk down the middle of the sidewalk that way we avoid someone loitering in a doorway or an alley or someone who might grab at us from a moving car the biggest change I've made is in how I carry myself when I'm in public I keep my head up walk with a sense of purpose so I won't be an easy target and I make eye contact with as many people as possible I pay attention to what's going on around me if I see something suspicious ahead I cross to the other side of the street automated teller machines are something I'm really careful about Well we'd be all alone back there the branch up the street they have their machines out in the front that's a lot safer well it is on the way to the mall well you know all the stores at the mall take credit cards and checks why bother taking a lot of cash with you when you don't have to I see your point and I do have my credit card let's go on down to the other branch and I'll deposit my check okay I've been a victim once and that's once too many I still can't believe I fell for it the guy seemed so genuine he appeared to be exactly where he said he was a line inspector for the telephone company he had identification uniform tools everything seemed okay [Music] yes hi Mr Davenport Steve Barnes with the phone company we've been having some trouble in the area I need to make sure your lines are okay well uh just take a minute sir you hardly know I'm here all right come on in boy That's a classic how long have you had it oh ever since to my wife and I moved in it's about uh 40 years now and that boss what a beauty yeah that's a uh anniversary gift for my sister it's very special all done here any other phones in the house yeah yeah it is one in the bedroom it's uh over here over there nice photo Mary passed away last year but it still seems like she's around this picture was taken on our wedding day not really water yes sure [Music] foreign thank you I finished it here both your phones seem to be okay you shouldn't have any more problems oh thanks for dropping by you're welcome I bought his entire act he got me talking and all the while he was sizing up the house to see what he could make off with I didn't pay any attention to what was actually going on At first I felt so foolish that I didn't report it well if I finally did and the police made me aware of one cold hard fact never but never let a stranger in your house I had to learn that the hard way now I do things differently may I help you uh yes sir I'm with the gas company and we're doing routine inspections in the neighborhood well we're just a minute now I've got to call the gas company to verify if there is a serviceman working in this area what's your name and your ID number please my name is Brian Shaffer and my ID number is 1289 and the company phone number is 555-9191 I don't call the number they give me I look it up in the phone book [Music] just as I thought maybe the police ought to know about this it doesn't matter who they say they are social security Meals on Wheels Water and Power I just don't open the door for strangers our experience was a little different two young men asked us if we wanted our driveway we coded and they made us an offer that sounded too good to be true they said they had just finished a job down the block and had some coding left over they looked honest and they seemed to know what they were talking about cracks in your driveway like I said or resurface your entire driveway for a third of what it would normally cost and will guarantee the job any problems just give us a call yeah here's our card what kind of coating will you use it's a high grade material we buy direct from the manufacturer the best money can buy sounds good let's go ahead with it we've been needing to have it done for some time now so we have a deal then we have a deal great let's get to work [Music] what a mistake we made what mistakes we made she's right just three days after they finished the job I washed down our driveway and the coating they use washed right down in the gutter the phone number they gave us was out of order and there was no listing for the company we had to get someone else out to do the job correctly which meant we even had to pay more money but at least we went about things the right way this time we investigated before we invested we made sure the company was legitimate and we asked to see his business license [Music] we also asked him for references regarding your work well sure I can furnish you with as many references as you want we appreciate that we also got a contract that spelled out exactly what was to be done and how much it was going to cost just give us a few days to review this and we'll get back to you no problem just give me a call whenever you're ready thank you thank you I follow up on the names he gave us I even went and looked at some work he done on the driveway not too far from here from now on if we need home repairs we'll search out the best company for our needs the thing to remember is that if a deal sounds too good to be true it probably is I'm Bud Klein I've been retired for six years now and things were seeming a little routine when the man called he said he was an examiner from my bank and then he needed help improving one of the tellers was short-changing senior citizens stealing really irks me so I agreed to help yeah how can I help you well yeah sure I'd be happy to do that you you want me to come down to the bank now well I can be there in about 20 minutes okay fine I'll be right down bye thank you for coming Mr Klein now here's what I want you to do I want you to go to Anita's window and I want you to withdraw three thousand two hundred twelve dollars okay now don't count the money there at the window bring it right outside directly to me you got that let's do it I got so caught up in the excitement I did exactly what he told me to do [Music] okay Mr Klein let's see what we've got there thank you two three thousand two hundred and twelve it's all here well I guess you'll have to get her next time yeah maybe see before I forget let me get you a receipt for this cash okay hang on three thousand two hundred twelve there you go thank you so much let me give you this look at this and I will certainly see that your money is redeposited as discreetly as possible in your name and I want to thank you we want to thank you so much for the help I'm glad to help great job great job thank you again it was almost two weeks before I realized I'd been conned when the deposit didn't show up on my statement I called the bank manager to find out what was going on are you telling me that Mr Wilson doesn't work for the bank [Music] well [Music] but he said he was going to redeposit my money oh what happened to my money oh my no I I I I understand did I feel foolish later when I called the Sheriff's Office they told me that Banks and Savings and Loans don't ask their customers for that kind of help if I get a request like that again I'll call the bank immediately you know it's my nature to want to get involved from now on though I'll verify that what I'm being asked to do is legitimate nobody's going to take advantage of me again she seemed like such a nice lady I guess I forgot that old saying looks can be deceiving it happened in the market where I shop all the time [Music] excuse me hi I need some help I'm not sure which one of these to use in the spaghetti I'm making tonight which one do you think is better well I've had better luck with this brand it's quite not as salty oh you'll find it makes a big difference well great well then I'll use it thanks for your help my pleasure as it turned out it was anything but my pleasure as I got to the cashier I realized my wallet and checkbook were gone suddenly I put two and two together my money had been stolen by someone whom I had done a favor it just doesn't figure now when I go to the market I take a small coin purse in my pocket and they clutch back under my arm in the coin purse I take my keys a few dollars cash and one or two checks if I know I'm going to a store that doesn't accept checks I'll often take a long Travelers check they're a lot safer than cash the police tell me that most crimes are crimes of opportunity well I don't give the criminal an opportunity to steal from me you can't imagine how it feels until it happens to you we got back from visiting a friend at about 9 30. everything seemed just as usual as we walked up to the door but it looks like a nice couple Henry [Music] [Music] [Laughter] [Music] they'd ransacked our home stolen some of our most treasured possessions even eating our food we reported it and the officers came right out we were careful not to touch anything until the officers arrived are you folks okay well we're okay but our house sure isn't we called as soon as we could we thought the quicker we made our report better our chances would be of ever seeing our property again could you give us a description of the burglar no we really only sorry shadow was there any identification on any of your things that were stolen no sorry there's not much chance in getting your things back then look if this ever happens again don't call from inside your house go next door to a neighbor's house and call from there the burger could still be inside just like this time what you don't want is a confrontation you're right we were lucky how'd they get in well we left a window open around the side of the house they just popped the screen off and crawled in let's take a look around a dark house told the burglars we weren't home and the open window was well an open invitation but the officers gave us some advice and things are different around our house now we keep the Shrubbery around the house trimmed back especially around the windows and doors that makes it easier for our neighbors to see what's going on around our home we're careful not to leave newspapers lying around too long we've engraved an identification number on all of our valuable possessions in our city that's called operation identification at least now there's a chance we'd see something again if it was ever stolen we've organized a neighborhood watch made it a point to get to know our neighbors and let them know our schedule I've installed deadbolts on all of our outside doors along with the regular knob set lock deadbolts provide great security if we didn't have the window in the front door a people like this would be essential now our sliding glass door has a lock and a nail that goes through a hole drilled in the frame and our Windows have more secure locks too the alarm we've installed also gives us greater security [Music] door lights on timers a I set them to go off periodically throughout the night that gives the impression that someone is up and about I've also installed timer operator outdoor lights that really brighten up the place burglars don't like to work under a spotlight not only do the lights keep the house secure but they make it safer for us when we come home after Dark when we go out at night we leave a radio on usually tuned to a news or talk show sounds almost like someone's having a conversation we vary our routine for instance we don't always go to the movies on Tuesdays why set ourselves up by falling into a pattern and we let our neighbors in on our plans we help protect them and they help protect us we're not an easy target these days we've done everything we can do to protect our home and together with our neighbors we're making it difficult for Crooks take away the opportunity don't let anyone take advantage of your good intentions if an offer sounds too good to be true it probably is never let a stranger in your house don't make it easy for criminals and transfer the risk although crime is not going to go away there is no reason for any of us to be victims we have a right to enjoy life in the pleasures that we have worked so hard to earn sometimes it takes a little effort to keep yourself and your home safe but remember there is one person who is going to be your best protector and that's you [Music]