It’s that time of year again. Things are busy in the Village, vacationers are here, and business is picking up for the retailers. Instances of fraud have also been on the rise. We have taken reports of multiple fraudulent checks being passed here in the Village. The checks appear to be payroll checks. We recommend all businesses be vigilant in reviewing checks for accuracy and checking security features to ensure any checks received are legitimate.

Scam phone calls are also on the rise. Please take extra care to protect your personal information such as your Full Name, Date of Birth, Driver’s License Number, Social Security Number, Home Address, Names of other persons living in your home, etc. We recommend you hang up on anyone you don’t know that tells you they need any of your personal information.

We also strongly advise people to consider credit monitoring to prevent and/or limit identity theft. There are multiple agencies available. If you have a mortgage or outstanding loan, ask your bank what they recommend. Your insurance agent may also be helpful. This is a growing trend and is making criminals a lot of money.

The next 2 to 3 days will be extremely warm and humid. We recommend everyone exercise caution while outside. If planning to go outside for work or recreation, please take frequent breaks, keep yourself hydrated, protect yourself from the sun, and watch for signs of heat exhaustion.

Public Safety Announcement: We've received a couple of reports of alleged activity involving an individual(s) walking up to homes and testing doorknobs to see if they are locked, particularly late in the evening or during the night. We are not aware of anyone actually gaining access to anyone's home at this time. Our Police Department will be actively monitoring for any issues.

As a precaution, we would advise all concerned residents to lock your doors whenever you are away from your home or during the overnight hours. Again, these reports have appeared to be more isolated in nature and not widespread, but we wanted to raise caution and stress the need to be diligent in securing your home. If anyone notices any suspicious activity as described above, please call 911 and alert dispatch so that our Police Department is notified and officers can investigate. As always, our primary focus is on the safety and security of all of the residents of the Decatur community.