Scam Alert

From our friends at the Sheriff's Department:

It's a startling phone call you could receive: "There's a warrant out for your arrest."

A scam going on right now in San Diego County hopes that fear will cause you to act without thinking. These scams are currently telling victims that a warrant for their arrest has been issued due to a failure to pay taxes or to appear for jury duty, but may entail other false threats.

The caller is very pushy and poses as an employee of the Sheriff's Department. To make the pitch very convincing, the scammer will:

• use the name of an actual Sheriff's Department employee
• give the actual telephone number of a Sheriff's Station or Substation
• have some of your personal information such as a former address or your date of birth
• threaten you with jail time or taking away your driver license
• ask for more personal information
• ASK FOR MONEY either with a credit, debit or prepaid card

Recent cases in the East County have involved the scammers using a technique called "Caller Spoofing." What this means is the scammer will call their intended victim and make the incoming call appear to be coming from a legitimate government agency such as the Sheriff's Department.

Impersonating a Sheriff's Deputy is a violation of state law. REMEMBER, no deputy or employee of the Sheriff's Department will ever contact members of the public by telephone to demand money or any other form of payment. If you get this type of call, hang up IMMEDIATELY.

Since 2010, the Truth in Caller ID Act has prohibited caller ID spoofing with the intent to defraud or cause harm. If you receive one of these calls, go to the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) website at www.fcc.gov/complaints to report the incident. If you are a victim of a scam, call the Sheriff's Department at (858) 565-5200.

People with outstanding warrants are encouraged to turn themselves in Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. at any one of the Sheriff's Court Facilities. For a list of locations, visit: http://goo.gl/y035S. For more information on warrants and bail notices, visit: http://goo.gl/J5N5g. To check if you have an outstanding warrant in the County of San Diego, visit: http://goo.gl/J5N5g.

To watch a Sheriff's safety video about warrant scams, follow us on VIMEO: http://goo.gl/iXuT4n.

To learn more about the Sheriff's Financial Crimes Unit, visit: http://www.sdsheriff.net/financial

Children Left in Cars!!

Community: Where's Baby? Look Before You Lock!

A child in a locked car on a hot day, Sheriff's Deputies have responded to these tragic calls.

As temperatures rise, the San Diego County Sheriff's Department is partnering with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to raise awareness about the dangers of leaving children in hot cars.

Even the best of parents can overlook a sleeping baby in a car. NHTSA says every ten days, one child dies from being left alone in a hot car. On an 80-degree day, a car can reach deadly levels in just ten minutes. A child dies when his or her temperature reaches 107 degrees.

Thursday, July 31st is National Heatstroke Prevention Day. We want parents and caregivers to ask themselves this question every time they get out of the car: WHERE'S BABY? LOOK BEFORE YOU LOCK!

Under Kaitlyn's Law, it is illegal to leave a child under the age of six alone in a car anywhere in California. The law is named in memory of a six-month old Kaitlyn Russell. Her babysitter left her alone in a hot car nearly 14 years ago.

Here are some safety tips to keep your children safe:
• NEVER LEAVE A CHILD ALONE IN A CAR even if the windows are partially opened, even for just a minute.
• Make it a habit to check the back seat every time you leave the car.
• Keep a teddy bear or stuffed animal in the back/car seat. Move the teddy bear to the front seat when you place the child in the seat as a visual reminder.
• If it is your turn to drop off a child at daycare, ask a partner/spouse/friend to call you to make sure the child was not left in a hot car.
• Always lock the car and keep the keys out of reach.
• Teach children that a car is not a play area.
• If you see a child left alone in hot a car, call 911 right away.

We also want to share this child safety video courtesy of RedCastle Productions: http://goo.gl/kxmBSG. No child was harmed in the making of the video, but it's a reminder of how fast a hot car can injure or tragically kill a child.

REMEMBER: WHERE'S BABY? LOOK BEFORE YOU LOCK! 

Fourth of July Parade

Our Annual 4th of July Parade is coming up on July 4.  The parade starts at the RSF School parking lot at La Granada and Avenida De Acacias and goes through the village to end where it starts.   Form up for the parade starts at 12- 12:30. Enter the school from El Fuego.  Access off of Avenida De Acacias may be limited.  The parade starts at 1:00pm.  There is a community BBQ immediately following in the south village park. To make the form  up easier, please keep this in mind:

1. Follow the marshals instructions for form up- they will be in red shirts. Cars go against the curb- don't take up the parking spaces! 
2. Kids have to wear Helmets if they are on bicycles (good idea for skateboards too)
3.  Please, no candy in cars, floats. Throwing candy causes small kids to run into the moving vehicles.
4. Tell your children to stay in formation.  It is dangerous if they run ahead or through the parade.
5.  Antique cars overheat.  If the car has radiator or cooling issues, it may be best not to drive it.  
6. Horses are last.  Only well trained parade horses should participate.  The route is noisy with loud speakers, sirens and lots of people.  If the horses cannot be controlled safely we will ask them to move out of the parade.
7. Have Fun!

Internet Safety

Focus on Internet Safety This June With kids out of school for the summer, it’s easy for parents and kids to shift their focus from education to fun. Parents want to make sure their kids are having fun and staying safe at the same time, and this should apply to all activities, from riding bikes to swimming to being online. Summer means kids will have more free time, which may mean more time on the computer. June is National Internet Safety Month, a time to reflect on our current online behavior and commit to being more responsible and safe online. This June, the Stop.Think.Connect. Campaign encourages parents and educators to start an Internet safety dialogue with their children and students. Topics can include: How to practice online safety every day. Discuss clicking on links, talking to strangers, setting strong passwords, and how to avoid sharing too much personal information online. Being a good online citizen. Explain the importance of treating others online with respect and avoid saying or writing things online that you would not say in person. When to report suspicious people or activity. Encourage kids to talk to trusted adults when someone online is making them feel uncomfortable or unsafe. Parents can take steps to ensure that the Internet is safer for their kids by setting up appropriate firewalls and safe searches and monitoring their kids’ Internet use. For more resources on how help your kids practice online safety, review Stop.Think.Connect.’s Resources for Parents and Educators, which includes a booklet on how to chat with your kids about being online.

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Cybersecurity and Older Americans Older Americans are online more than ever before. According to May 2013 testimony by Federal Trade Commission Acting Director Charles Harwood the “number of adults over 65 who use the Internet is increasing rapidly”. The Internet provides older Americans the opportunity to stay connected with their community, friends and loved ones, shop, plan travel, and manage their finances. With these opportunities, however, come risks, especially as cyber criminals take advantage of older Americans’ lack of familiarity with technology to access to their personal information, especially for financial gain. For example, criminals are using the Affordable Care Act to take advantage of seniors, getting access to their personal and medical information for purposes of identity theft and collecting payments for fraudulent insurance plans. Older Americans should take special care when conducting the following activities online: Connecting with friends and family. Only add people who you know on social media (e.g., Facebook) and programs like Skype. Adding strangers can expose you and your personal information to scammers. Do not include a lot of personal information about yourself on websites, even if the site requests it. For example, do not share your address or telephone number. Getting medical advice and information. Many pharmaceutical companies create websites with information to sell their products. Look for sites ending in .edu (for education) or .gov (for government) for accurate guidance. Also, be on the lookout for websites claiming to sell legitimate prescription drugs at much lower prices. Banking. Do not access your bank accounts from a public computer or through an unsecured wireless network. Do not reveal your personal information, such as social security number, bank account number, or date of birth, to unknown sources. When paying a bill online or making an online donation, be sure that you type the website address into your browser instead of clicking on a link or cutting and pasting it from an email. Online shopping. Make sure you only shop on websites that start with “https” – the ‘s’ means that the website is secure. Look for the padlock icon at the bottom of your browser, which indicates that the site uses encryption to protect your personal information, such as your credit card number. Type new website URLs directly in the address bar instead of clicking on links or cutting and pasting them from emails. Older Americans can benefit from following these general online safety tips from the Stop.Think.Connect.™ Campaign: Choose strong passwords. Choose a password that means something to you and you only. Use strong passwords with eight characters or more that use a combination of numbers, letters, and symbols.  Do not include your name, your kids or pets names, or other well-known information about yourself in your passwords. Avoid using common words in your password or passphrases. Instead, break up words with numbers and punctuation marks or symbols. For example, @ can replace the letter “A” and an exclamation point (!) can replace the letters “I” and “L” Think before you click. Avoid opening attachments, clicking on links, or responding to email messages from unknown senders or companies that ask for your personal information. Keep a clean machine.  Install and regularly update the software on your computer, including anti-virus and anti-spyware programs. These programs can help protect the information stored on your computer. Visit http://www.dhs.gov/publication/stopthinkconnect-older-american-resources for more resources on how older Americans can protect themselves online.

Fire Information

For current information check this website
http://www.sdcountyemergency.com/

Here is the update page
http://www.sdcountyemergency.com/updates/

RSF Fire:
http://www.rsf-fire.org/

It's Nice Outside

It is the time of year that everyone is opening their windows for fresh springtime air….. A  nice breeze to enjoy the quiet peacefulness of the ranch.

 Please be a good neighbor and be mindful of noise…

Noise complaints increase this time of year.  We get complaints about dogs, chickens, peacocks, tree trimmers, leaf blowers… you name it. 

Please be a good neighbor and make sure you keep the dog from barking excessively and tell your workers not to start too early with the equipment.  Below are some basic hours of day guidelines to remember:

Construction work:  7am-7pm  Monday-Saturday  (not on Sundays and Holidays)

Yard Maintenance:  Monday- Saturday  7am-8pm, 10am-8pm Sundays

(The Covenant does have a “guideline” on Leaf Blowers and asks that they be used between 8 am and 6pm M-F, 9am-5pm Saturdays and 12pm- 5pm Sundays and Holidays)

·         There are exceptions for emergency work and related

For all the details, check the San Diego County Code.  They cover all sorts of noise regulations. 

http://www.amlegal.com/sandiego_county_ca/

Road Closure 4/9/14

Due to a vehicle collision Wednesday morning, the streets approaching the intersection of Avenida De Acacias and Lago Lindo will be closed.  A vehicle hit a power pole at the intersection and caused the pole to fall and wires to be thrown across the roadway.  SDGE estimates restoral of power by 5pm.  You can look at SDGE's website for restoral info  http://www.sdge.com/safety/outages/outage-map