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Attorney General Rob McKenna has warned consumers to be aware of a new identity theft scam in which a caller claims to be your pharmacist and asks for a list of your medications and a credit card number. He also cautioned consumers about a recent proliferation of foreign lottery and counterfeit check scams.

Seniors in Wenatchee, as well as Southern California and Chicago, have recently reported receiving cold calls along these lines. In the Wenatchee cases, the caller(s) had a foreign accent and the recipients were unable to trace the calls by dialing *69.

“Never provide any personal or financial information to an unknown caller,” McKenna said. “Cons want details about your finances so that they can steal from your account or cause other harm. Legitimate companies that you do business with already have your information and will not call to ask for it. If you questions about whether a call is legitimate, hang up and contact your pharmacist or doctor directly.”

McKenna said the Attorney General’s Office continues to receive an increasing number of calls from consumers inquiring about foreign lotteries.

“The Attorney General’s Office has received numerous calls from consumers who have received notices in the mail indicating they are the big winner of a foreign lottery,” McKenna said. “A check is included, which the recipients are instructed to cash to help cover so-called processing fees. Consumers are then asked to wire money in order to receive the rest of their winnings.

“The checks are an attractive lure, but worthless,” McKenna added. “If you cash one, it will eventually bounce and your bank will withdraw the money from your account. These pitches are always scams.”

To win a legitimate lottery, you must purchase a ticket. It’s also important to know that can’t legally play a foreign lottery in the United States.

Posted under Health, Privacy

According to CCC Information Services Inc.’s 2004 most stolen vehicle report, one of every 200 registered 1999 Acura Integra’s was stolen last year, making it 2004’s most stolen vehicle. The 2002 BMW M Roadster and the 1998 Acura Integra ranked as the second and third most stolen vehicles respectively.

A technology provider to the automotive claims and collision repair industry, CCC processes more than 1 million automotive claims-related transactions each day, resulting in an extensive database of vehicle information. The company identifies the most-stolen vehicles by analyzing total loss claims it receives from more than 350 property and casualty insurers in North America. CCC then compares its stolen-vehicle data against vehicle registration volume information provided by R. L. Polk & Co. to determine the rate of theft as a percentage of registered vehicles. The vehicle with the highest theft percentage is deemed the year’s most stolen vehicle.

“We cannot determine with absolute certainty the reason why thieves steal some vehicles over others, but we see trends in the data that provide interesting insight,” said Carole Comstock, CCC’s vice president of marketing and product management. “For instance, our data suggests some cars are stolen for the value of their parts, which may explain why we often see a ‘clustering’ effect with same make and model vehicles from sequential model years. The data also points to a high proportion of stolen cars that are built for speed such as the BMW M Roadster, Audi S4 and Mercury Marauder, which all appear on the top 25 most stolen vehicles list in 2004.”

‘Clustering’ most frequently occurs with upper midsize cars, such as the Acura Integra and Honda Accord. The 2004 most stolen vehicle list provides an example of this phenomenon. Acura Integras with consecutive model years (1994-2001) account for eight of the top 25 spots. “Some manufacturers retain the same part-type from model year to model year, so a part from a 1995 model may fit a car manufactured three years later,” added Comstock.

As for thieves’ ‘need for speed’, said Comstock, “There is a growing interest in street car racing and participants seem to gravitate toward the Acura Integra as their vehicle of choice. Other vehicles, including the Mercury Marauder and BMW M Roadster, while not likely to be used in street car racing, have been manufactured with speed in mind.”

Other trends observed in 2004 demonstrate the correlation between consumer preferences and increasing gas prices with vehicle thefts. The growing number of thefts of the Fullsize Utility vehicle segment, including the Cadillac Escalade and Land Rover, is consistent with the rise in popularity of these vehicles. Additionally, The Heavy Duty Station Wagon vehicle segment, which includes those vehicles known for their gas guzzling, has dropped off of the top 10 most stolen vehicle segments list, and the more efficiently fueled Basic Economy vehicle segment has moved up that list.

Information on Make, Age and Segment of vehicle· Vehicles made in 1997 were the most susceptible to theft, followed by model years 1996, 1999, 1995 and 1998.

· The high number of stolen Integras made Acura the most stolen make of 2004, followed by Hummer, Land Rover, Daewoo and Honda.
· The top three vehicle segments with the highest rate of theft for 2004 were the Fullsize Utility (e.g., Cadillac Escalade), Upper Midsize (e.g. Acura Integra) and the Prestige Luxury (e.g. Bentley Continental and Mercedes Benz).

The most stolen vehicle report is based on total losses identified as stolen and not recovered. CCC does not include temporary auto-related thefts such as “joy-rides” or the theft of car items such as stereos. Vehicles from model year 2005 were not included on this report.

Most Stolen Vehicles of 2004
Source: CCC Information Services
1. 1999 Acura Integra
2. 2002 BMW M Roadster
3. 1998 Acura Integra
4. 1991 GMC V2500
5. 2002 Audi S4
6. 1996 Acura Integra
7. 1995 Acura Integra
8. 2004 Mercury Marauder
9. 1997 Acura Integra
10. 1992 Mercedes-Benz 600
11. 2001 Acura Integra
12. 1989 Chevrolet R25
13. 1993 Cadillac Fleetwood
14. 1994 Acura Integra
15. 1996 Lexus GS
16. 2000 Acura Integra
17. 1999 Mercedes-Benz CL
18. 1996 Lexus SC
19. 2004 Cadillac Escalade
20. 1996 BMW 750
21. 1998 Land Rover Range
22. 1994 Audi Cabriolet
23. 2001 BMW M Roadster
24. 2003 Cadillac Escalade
25. 2000 Honda Civic

Posted under Automotive