Ventura County Sheriff's Department

Location: Hollywood Beach, Rincon, Silver Strand Beach, El Rio, Saticoy and Nyeland Acres

There has been a recent increase of reported thefts and burglaries from vehicles and residences in the listed locations. The following are a few steps that each and every person can take to avoid becoming a victim:

First, always lock and secure your vehicles and residences.

Second, don’t leave valuables (purses, wallets, laptops, GPS systems, gift-shopping bags, briefcases-to name a few) in your vehicles, especially in plain view from outside the vehicle.

Thieves are basically opportunistic individuals and will victimize you if you give them the opportunity.

If you do become a victim of one of these types of theft, you can be further victimized through Identity Theft that can be a nightmare to reverse. A suggestion to assist you if you do become an Identity Theft victim is to have the account numbers of all your credit cards and financial accounts in a safe location that will assist you in contacting their fraud department in the event your financial accounts are compromised. Also, have the phone numbers for your financial account fraud department available to call as soon as possible after a theft.

Lastly, be observant of suspicious subjects in your area. Call the police and be prepared to give as much description of the suspects and their vehicles as possible to the dispatcher.