Be wary of break-ins while grieving

MARTA VICTORIA COLN
The obituaries, while informative to the family and friends of the deceased, are unwittingly a source of information for would be criminals who want to take advantage of people during vulnerable times.
The New York State Association of Chiefs of Police and The New York State Funeral Directors Association teamed up to prepare a crime prevention brochure. The brochure includes information and key points to remember in protecting yourself.
While preoccupied with major family decisions and overcoming grief many families fall victim to scam artists, fraud, burglary and other crimes.
The very newspaper obituary columns listing the name of the deceased, times and locations of wakes and funerals, are used against you to cause harm.
Here are some precautions that you can take to prevent yourself or friends from being victimized:

Have a friend/neighbor stay in your home during the funeral.

Keep the lights on in your house, or leave the radio and television on.

Leave your car at home and ride with someone else to the funeral.

Do not stop mail from being delivered to your home - it might raise suspicion.
Use your answering machine to screen calls and do not have your message say you are out of town.
During times of grief, people are often targeted for swindles usually in an effort to steal a person’s identity. Always ask for things to be clarified during decision-making. Keep in the mind the following:

Try never to provide your social security number, credit card number, bank account number to anyone on the telephone, via the internet or through any unsolicited mail.

If you get any calls from strangers asking about your genealogy for research purposes do not give them information from a birth or death certificates. These might be identity thieves.

Do not let home contractors into your home because they say they had made an agreement with your loved one before they died.

Finally, refrain from opening the door to any type of sales representative - businesses will usually never cold call clients especially during these times.
Considering these safety measures during your time of grief will reduce the chances of you or your family from becoming victims of crime. For further information on how to protect yourself and your family, go to www.nychiefs.org and www.nysfda.org.