LOVELAND MAGAZINE

News and Events from the Loveland, Ohio Area

Without fear or favor
Since 2004

Tag: BCI

  • School safety training grants available for schools in Ohio

    School safety training grants available for schools in Ohio

    Schools will have the flexibility to use these grants for things like training for school resource officers, safety and security materials, and programs to identify and help students who may be struggling with their mental health.

    Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine has announced that he is awarding $12 million in grants to help enhance safety and security at schools across the state.

    All of Ohio’s public schools, chartered nonpublic schools, and schools operated by county boards of developmental disabilities will receive the greater of $2,500 or $5.65 per student to spend toward school safety programs and training.

    “Schools will have the flexibility to use these grants for things like training for school resource officers, safety and security materials, and programs to identify and help students who may be struggling with their mental health,” said DeWine

    The grants are funded with appropriations made by the Ohio legislature as part of House Bill 318. The bill, which was sponsored by state representatives Sarah LaTourette (R-Chesterland) and John Patterson (D-Jefferson), appointed the Ohio Attorney General’s Office to develop the school safety training grant program in consultation with the Ohio Department of Education and the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services.

    The law requires that participating schools and county boards work with law enforcement in their jurisdictions to determine the best use of the grant funding.

    A full list of grant awards can be found on the Ohio Attorney General’s website.

    Other Resourses

    • Active Shooter Response: An Educator’s Guide: This 25-part video series was produced by the Attorney General’s Ohio Peace Officer Training Academy (OPOTA) to aid educators in preparing for and reacting to a potentially violent school incident, such as a school shooting. The brief videos are an update to the training offered by OPOTA beginning in 2013 that provided guidance to nearly 15,000 educators on how to intervene with students who could pose a danger and how to respond in a crisis situation.
    • Emergency Management Plan Aerial Photographs: Special agents with the Attorney General’s Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI) are available to take free aerial photographs of school buildings for inclusion in school emergency management plans. BCI currently has six drones that are used primarily to document crime scenes and assist in missing persons cases, but BCI is offering to use its drones to take aerial photos of school campuses to help law enforcement plan for and respond to an emergency. School administrators, in coordination with local law enforcement, can request photographs by calling 855-BCI-OHIO (855-224-6446).

    Attorney General DeWine also worked with schools across the state to achieve greater compliance on school safety plans and convened a School Safety Task Force that issued dozens of school safety recommendations. The task force recognized that mental health awareness was essential for schools to identify and intervene with students who may be at risk.

  • Attorney General DeWine announces enhanced efforts to investigate skimmer crimes

    Attorney General DeWine announces enhanced efforts to investigate skimmer crimes

    In a recent case, BCI agents assisted an Ohio law enforcement agency in identifying more than 700 victims.

    Columbus, Ohio – Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine announced today that cyber crime agents with the Attorney General’s Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI) now have a new tool to help local law enforcement agencies investigate crimes involving credit card skimmers. 

    Through the use of new technology, the BCI Cyber Crimes Unit now has the ability to extract data from a majority of credit card skimmers, which criminals use to steal credit card or debit card information from unsuspecting cardholders. The skimmers are often hidden on ATM and gas pump card readers and allow identity thieves to steal card information. 

    The technology that is now in use at BCI allows agents to pull data from credit card skimmers in a “forensically sound” manner to aid local law enforcement in identifying both the suspects and victims involved.

    The technology that is now in use at BCI allows agents to pull data from credit card skimmers in a “forensically sound” manner to aid local law enforcement in identifying both the suspects and victims involved. 

    In a recent case, BCI agents assisted an Ohio law enforcement agency in identifying more than 700 victims of a single skimmer device.

    “With just a simple swipe of your credit or debit card, skimmers put your name, card number, and other data into the hands of identity thieves so that they can go on a shopping spree,” said Attorney General DeWine. “Investigations to track down the source of a skimmer can be very complex, but by making this new tool available to local law enforcement, we hope to help authorities identify these cyber criminals before they have the chance to use the card information they’ve stolen.”

    Tips to avoid becoming a victim of a credit card skimmer include: 

    • Check for fake overlays, which are devices that identity thieves place over existing ATM/gas pump card readers. Most fake overlays are secured by tape. Try wiggling or pulling on the reader before inserting your card. If the device comes off, it is most likely a skimmer overlay.
    • Check for damage or foreign objects inside the card reader.
    • Check for a gas pump security seal. Some gas stations place stickers on gas pumps that will turn void if the inside of the gas pump has been tampered with. 
    • Use a credit card instead of a debit card.  If you must use a debit card, run the transaction as credit, if possible.
    • If a pin code is required to complete the transaction, cover up the pin pad with your other hand. Thieves sometimes place small cameras in card readers to obtain pin code information.
    • Pay inside at the cashier instead of paying at the pump.
    • Monitor your credit card and bank accounts regularly.

    Law enforcement officers interested in more information on how BCI can assist in skimmer cases can call 855-BCI-OHIO (855-224-6446).