Information about the Burglary at the Drive-Up Payment Box

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This past weekend, the drive-up payment box at Columbia River PUD was burglarized and customer payments were stolen from it. The break-in occurred sometime between 5:00 p.m. on Friday, April 11 and noon on Sunday, April 13.  If you made a payment at our drive-up payment box during this time, please take the following actions:

1. Contact your financial institution immediately to notify them of the theft and stop payment on your check. 
2. File an identity theft report with the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office by calling (503) 366-4611.  We have filed a general report with them about this incident.  Please refer to case number 08-0464 when you call.
3. Contact our Customer Accounts Department at (503) 397-0590 to notify us that your payment was one of those stolen.

The burglar damaged the drive-up payment box, so the drive-up payment service will be unavailable until we can install a new one.  We will put a notice in our customer newsletter when installation is complete.

Because this is a serious matter, if you made a drive-up night deposit payment last weekend we strongly encourage you to take the following preventative measures now to help prevent and detect any misuse of your information:

• Closely monitor your financial accounts and, if you see any unauthorized activity, contact your financial institution promptly.
  
  
• Request a free credit report from each of the three major U.S. credit bureaus: Equifax, Experian and TransUnion.  To order your free credit report, visit www.annualcreditreport.com or call toll-free (877) 322-8228.
  
  Even if you do not find any suspicious activity on your credit reports, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recommends that you check your reports periodically.  A victim’s personal information is sometimes held for use or shared among a group of thieves at different times.  Checking your credit reports can help you spot and address problems quickly.
  
  
• Consider placing a security freeze on your credit files.  By placing a freeze, you prevent someone who fraudulently acquires your personal information from using it to open new accounts or borrow money in your name.
  
  Contact the three credit bureaus in writing to place the freeze. Keep in mind that you will need to temporarily or permanently remove the freeze in order to borrow money, obtain instant credit, or get a new credit card.
  
  The cost to place the freeze is usually no more than $10 per credit bureau. However, if you are a victim of identity theft and have filed a report with your local law enforcement agency or submitted an ID Complaint Form with the FTC, there is no charge to place the freeze.  For more information about placing a security freeze, go to the Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services at http://egov.oregon.gov/DCBS/ and click on “Identity Theft”, or call the department at (503) 378-4100.

Since the drive-up payment service will be unavailable until we can install a new payment box, here are the other payment options that are available you:

• Mail your payment in the return envelope provided with your statement.
  
• Pay at our office during our business hours of 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. weekdays.
• Call (503) 397-0590 to pay by telephone 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
• Visit one of the PUD’s Pay Stations:
•  Any branch of St. Helens Community Federal Credit Union
•  US Bank, Bank of the West, or Semling’s Pharmacy in St. Helens
• Sign up for one of our automatic payment options. Contact Customer Accounts at (503) 397-0590 or custsvc@crpud.org for more information.
• Use our free Account Online service to view or pay your bill online. Visit www.crpud.net to sign up.

We apologize for any distress this serious incident may have caused you.  Please contact Customer Accounts at (503) 397-0590 or custsvc@crpud.org if you have questions or would like more information.