Don't become a soft target for creepers
BY Cynthia Lee
Today Staff writer
They are known by campus police as “office creepers,” people who can pass for backpack-toting students or employees leisurely strolling through the many public areas in UCLA buildings.
The UC police know the creepers’ real objective: an unlocked door to an unoccupied lab or office where they might find a purse in an unsecured drawer. Credit cards are all they need to finance a 10-hour or longer shopping spree before the cards are cancelled.
While the campus is a relatively safe area, thieves are finding UCLA a rich hunting ground for iPods, laptops, cash, and ID and credit cards. Approximately 97% of all crime that occurs on campus is property-related. And since fall, 22 victims reported to campus police that their data have been hijacked by identity thieves.
“It’s true that you can’t avoid all crime, but you can at least make it a lot harder for the criminal,” Luis A. De Vivero, campus crime prevention officer, told employees attending a Feb. 22 Learn-at-Lunch presentation hosted by UCLA Staff Assembly. “Never give out your personal information on the phone or online.”
One simple rule for keeping your data and valuables out of the hands of crooks is to lock your office door or secure your valuables even if you need to leave your lab or office for 15 minutes. “A lot of you work in offices or labs off hallways that are not secured,” UC Police Department Detective Richard Elias warned.
Many employees have a false sense of security from working in an area with a relatively low crime rate. But one UCLA staffer learned otherwise when someone made $30,000 in purchases on her stolen credit card in just one day, said Elias, who handles fraud, computer crime and identity theft.
“And they are growing more sophisticated,” he warned, identifying you as a target and learning your name from an ID badge or office nameplate. One thief had fake ID cards made before stealing the victim’s credit cards.
Campus police offered these tips:
• Never give out information to a stranger over the phone about a colleague who’s not in the office. Take the caller’s name and number instead.
• Program the campus police department number — (310) 825-1491 — into your cell phone for quick access. If you dial 911 while you’re on campus, the call goes to the CHP who will have to figure out which local police department should handle the call. On Jan. 25, a staff member was held up at gunpoint near campus. Fortunately, the victim had recently taken an officer’s advice and had just programmed the number into his cell phone. “We were there in a minute,” De Vivero said.
• If you work late at night and park a distance from your office or lab, call for a CSO Escort at (310) 794-9255 or the Evening Van Service at (310) 825-9800 to get to your car.
Don’t hesitate to call UCPD if you notice a suspicious person. Employees may feel reluctant to point a finger at someone without a clear cause, but the police want to at least talk to you about your suspicions. If they feel it’s necessary, they will send an officer to check out the person without involving you.
“You have your own police department here at work,” De Vivero said. “That’s a great resource, but you need to utilize it.”
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