Skokie police on Thursday issued a “possible scam notice” after a handbill was circulated in parts of the village urging residents to pay to have their address numbers painted on residential curbs by their homes to make the addresses easy for emergency responders to see.
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“The village of Skokie has not contracted any private service providers to paint address numbers on residential curbs,” the notice said. It went on to say that “a handbill was distributed in the Timber Ridge Area and possibly other locations, by unknown persons without a permit, advertising for an unknown company to provide this service.”
Police included a copy of the one-page handbill in their emailed notice. The handbill is titled “Operation Safe House” and says “Your Participation is Urgently Requested.” It goes on to say that the fee for the work is $20, which is charged to offset the cost of labor.
The notice from police says the village has not authorized the painting or marking of any village-maintained curbs and that police are advising residents not to pay for this service, “as it is likely a scam.”
Police also asked resident to call 911 if they see anyone distributing the handbills or painting curbs.
“Rest assured, Skokie Police/Fire personnel are very capable of reading house and building numbers as posted on your home,” the notice from police said. “We do appreciate residents keeping their address numbers clear from tree/shrub overgrowth.”
Brian L. Coxx is a freelancer.