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Attorney General Recognizes
Glendale Heights Police Officer

Attorney General Lisa Madigan’s office bestowed special recognition on three police officers and a federal prosecutor for their extraordinary efforts in protecting children against online predators at the annual meeting of the Illinois Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force in Oak Brook Terrace, Ill.

Detective Chuck May of the Glendale Heights Police Department was honored for creating a new method of investigating subjects who use online networks to distribute child pornography. Working from leads supplied by Madigan’s ICAC Task Force, May has located offenders responsible for distributing thousands of images and videos of child pornography. May was instrumental in the arrest, prosecution and incarceration of one suspect who traded child pornography, as well as stole young girls’ clothing at the apartment complex where they resided.

“Protecting children against online dangers is one of the greatest challenges we face today and I honor these partners for their work in this area,” said Attorney General Madigan. “The types of cases for which we honor these men cover an array of high tech crime issues, but what they share is an intelligent use of high tech police work and tough prosecution.”

Posted 01/23/09

Don’t Be Fooled
By Work-at-Home Scams

The FBI and the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) continue to receive numerous complaints from individuals who have fallen victim to work-at-home scams and remind consumers to be vigilant when seeking employment online. These work-at-home schemes are designed by criminals to gain the trust of job seekers in order to take advantage of working relationships to further illegal activity. Most victims do not even realize they are engaging in criminal behavior until it is too late. In many of the reported scams, victims are often hired to “process payments,” “transfer funds,” or “reship products.” However, these scams exploit unwitting employees by having them cash fraudulent checks, transfer illegally obtained funds for the criminals, or receive stolen merchandise and ship it to the criminals.

Other scams entice victims to sign up to be a “mystery shopper,” receiving fraudulent checks with instructions to cash the checks and wire the funds to “test” a company’s services. Victims are told they will be compensated with a portion of the merchandise or funds. Job scams also often provide criminals the opportunity to commit identity theft when victims provide their personal information, sometimes even bank account information, to their potential “employer.” The criminal/employer can then use the victim’s information to open credit cards, post on-line auctions, register websites, etc., in the victim’s name to commit additional crimes.

“Don’t get duped by these criminals offering easy money. Remain skeptical of unsolicited job offers that sound too good to be true and report any scams you might encounter,” said Richard Kolko, FBI National Press Office. To receive the latest information about cyber scams, please go to the FBI website and sign up for e-mail alerts by clicking on one of the red envelopes. If you have received a scam e-mail, please notify the IC3 by filing a complaint at www.ic3.gov. For more information on e-scams, please visit the FBI's New E-Scams and Warnings webpage at www.fbi.gov or www.lookstoogoodtobetrue.com.

Police Department Begins Online
Auctioning of Seized Vehicles

The Village of Glendale Heights now auctions its Seized vehicles through eBay.com, an online auction service.

All property offered for sale is "AS IS," "WHERE IS," and without recourse against the Village of Glendale Heights.

Click here to be directed to the Police Auction page.

FBI Fraud Alert

If you answer "YES" to any of the following questions, you may be getting SCAMMED!

Are you about to cash a check from an item you sold on the Internet, such as a car, boat, jewelry, etc?

• Is it the result of communicating with someone by email?
• Did it arrive via an overnight delivery service?
• Is it from a business or individual account that is different from the person buying your item or product?
• Is the amount for more that the item's selling price?

Are you Sending money overseas?

• Did you win an international lottery you didn't enter?
• Have you been asked to pay money to receive an inheritance from another country?
• Are you receiving a commission for accepting money transfers through your bank and/or PayPal account?

To report an online crime go to www.IC3.gov.

Don't be a victim of identity theft!

Posted 10/31/07

Budding Young Anonymous Artist

The above picture and note were dropped off at the Police Department by an anonymous talent.

Posted 8/31/07

Coyote Sightings

There has recently been an increase in sightings of coyotes throughout the Village. The coyote is a naturally occurring animal whose presence in urban areas has been greatly underestimated in recent years. Coyotes in urban areas also have a longer lifespan than those in rural areas due to a larger and easier obtainable food supply. Their usual choice of prey includes rodents, and birds, including geese. This helps to keep those populations in check.

Due to a relatively large concentration of coyotes in urban areas, attempts to eradicate them are usually unsuccessful as coyotes from neighboring areas quickly move into the area. 

There are several steps that you can take to make your property less attractive to area coyotes:

• Keep cats indoors at all times.
• Keep your dog on a leash.
• Don’t leave cat or dog food outside.
• Secure garbage in areas where coyotes can’t access it; keep yards clean of refuse and brush.
• Do not let pets out at night unless accompanied by a person.

It is also very important that you do not feed coyotes. Doing so can lessen their natural fear of humans, leading to more interaction, which increases the potential for problems. To view an article about coyotes from the State of Illinois Department of Natural Resources, click here.

Posted 11/20/06