Police: 'Car hoppers' active again

McCOOK, Neb. -- The McCook Police Department is once again warning residents to lock their vehicles in an attempt to limit opportunities for criminals actively combing city streets.

"The car hoppers, walking thieves that enter vehicles and take your property, are active again," said McCook Sr. Sgt. Kevin Darling in a press release Thursday.

Sgt. Darling asked citizens to be a little more security-minded of their personal property and ensure they are locking vehicles and securing their homes.

"We can help ourselves by limiting their opportunities," said Darling.

The McCook police activity log shows a total of ten thefts were reported the first three days of this week, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Compared to a total of 12 thefts reported during the prior 14 days. The report does not differentiate between the various types of theft reports received.

Several scam efforts are also circulating, according to Sgt. Darling. He said officers continue to receive reports of scammers posing as IRS agents and threatening to seize property and bank accounts. The criminals hope to capitalize on the recent tax season and often confuse and alarm those they make contact with.

Scammers posing as representatives of Discover Credit Card in an effort to harvest personal information from victims has been another popular ploy recently.

"The caller provides a phone number to return the call," said Darling, adding the number was not actually associated with the corporation. He said many would-be victims were catching onto the scam and either hang up or contact their credit card company directly to ensure a real problem doesn't exist.

"We've also been made aware of an internet scam involving a promotion out of South Africa. Again, people are starting to catch on to the fact that there are lots of individuals out there constantly trying to take something that they haven't earned," said Sgt. Darling.

Also in the release, the police department said it appreciated input from citizens and issued a reminder, "if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is."

"If you already know you don't owe the IRS, or anyone for that matter, don't let someone guilt you into being foolish with your personal information and property," warned Darling.