Protecting Your Personal Information When Selling or Trading Your Vehicle

As the summer winds down and holidays pick up, if you are in the market for a new car, Labor Day, Columbus Day, and Veterans Day may bring you some of the best deals. Some consumers may choose to trade in their current vehicle during the purchase process of their new car, and some may look to sell their vehicle privately. Whichever works best for you, as you gather your personal belongings from your old car, you should also consider cleaning out the electronic system.

Your vehicle’s computer stores a lot of information just like your personal phone or computer. When you trade in, sell, or donate your car, that personal data may become accessible to the new owner if you don’t take steps to remove it.

Some vehicles may have a factory reset option in the settings selection. The factory reset option will wipe all the data from the vehicle’s electronic system and return the settings to the original state. However, the factory reset option may not delete the connection to subscription satellite radio, mobile Wi-Fi hotspots, or other data services like navigation. In order to delete those services, you may need to contact the provider directly to cancel the services or have them transferred to your new vehicle.

If you choose to manually delete data from the vehicle’s electronic system, consider your phone contacts and address book. On most occasions, when consumers connect their cell phones to the vehicles through Bluetooth, the vehicles actually download your contacts to your car’s computer instead of simply syncing that information when your phone is present. You may have to delete each address book for each phone that was connected via Bluetooth.

In addition, you should consider deleting any applications you logged into directly through your vehicle. For example, some vehicles come equipped with YouTube, Pandora, Apple Car Play, and even email services. Most of these applications store your login in formation or data that’s gathered and stored on the mobile device versions of these apps and then synced to your vehicle may also be stored in the car’s electronic system.

Also keep in mind that your music media, like your songs and playlists, may be stored separately on the vehicle’s built in hard drive and you may need to manually delete that information.

One of the most important services to delete in your vehicle is your location data. If your car has built in navigation or you downloaded and synced a map application from your mobile device, you should delete your previous routes and any addresses you had saved as “home,” “work,” or “favorite places.”

Moreover, you should wipe any garage door codes for your home. This may include the Home Link option a lot of vehicles are equipped with

Furthermore, make sure you’ve cleared all the connections between your devices and the vehicle. Sometimes, even though you’ve deleted the data, the vehicle may try to continue to connect to devices within range. With that said, you should certainly delete the vehicle information from your devices. This includes apps that allow you to control some of the car’s functions or find your vehicle from your phone.

For more information on resetting and removing data from your vehicle, check your owner’s manual, contact your dealer, or visit your vehicle manufacturer’s website.

Protecting Yourself from Nanny and Caregiver Scams

We know that finding a new job can be difficult. Sometimes, websites can help you find work, but scammers also use these sites to find people to scam. One of these scams target consumers looking for nanny or caregiver positions. The scammers post fake job listings for nannies and caregivers, then make up elaborate stories to get your money. The positions seem real, but they’re not.

In these instances, scammers will offer you a job, but say you need to buy supplies or other equipment. They pressure you to act quickly before you have time to think. They send you a check and tell you to deposit it and transfer the money to their vendor to buy the supplies. Don’t do it! This is a scam. The check will bounce and the money you sent is actually your own, and it will be gone.

In these cases, scammers may even pressure you to send money via gift card or cash reload card. Anyone that asks you to pay with such a card is scamming you and it is always a red flag.

If you’re looking for work on a caregiver or nanny site:

Don't send money to someone who says they want to hire you. Don’t deposit their check and wire that money back to the company. Don’t send gift cards or cash reload cards to anyone.
Search online for a potential employer’s name, email address, and phone number. You might find complaints by others who have been scammed and what warning signs to look for.
If you sent money to a scammer posing as an employer, contact the bank, wire transfer service, gift card company, or cash reload card company and tell them it was a fraudulent transaction. Ask to have the transaction reversed if possible.
Report nanny or caregiver job scams to the job site and to

Fairfax County Short-Term Lodging Zoning Ordinance

The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors adopted the Short-Term Lodging Zoning Ordinance Amendment on July 31, 2018. The new rules will go into effect on Oct. 1, 2018.

The Department of Planning and Zoning provides the following information on its Short Term Lodging in Fairfax Countyweb page:

New Short-Term Lodging Rules

The rules will go into effect on Oct. 1, 2018. Starting on that date, short-term lodging operators must apply for a new $200 two-year zoning permit.

The regulations don’t bar homeowners or community associations from prohibiting short-term lodgings within their subdivision or development.

Short-term rentals will be allowed in single-family homes, townhouses, condos, mobile homes and apartments with limitations that include:

Owners or renters must be permanent residents of the property they offer for short-term lodging. This limitation is to prevent businesses from operating multiple, full-time rentals, like a hotel or motel, in residential neighborhoods.
Properties may be rented for 60 days per calendar year.
Guests would be limited to six adults, the lodgers must all be associated with the same rental contract and only one contract per night is allowed. This is to prevent multiple rentals of a property by unrelated groups at the same time.
Operators must identify an authorized agent, who will be available in addition to the operator, to address problems that arise while a property is being rented.
Operators must have one designated parking space available for lodgers.
Regardless of where posted, advertisements must include an operator’s short-term lodging permit number and identify the location of the required parking space and any other available parking.
Properties may not be rented for events or commercial purposes like parties, weddings or fundraisers.
Properties must be made available for inspection by county code enforcement inspectors upon request, and properties must comply with state building safety rules.

The permit application and additional information regarding the adopted amendment will be posted on the Short Term Lodging in Fairfax County web page once they are available.

Your Community, You’re Connected – Owner Responsibilities

Tune to Fairfax County Channel 16, on Tuesday, September 18, 2018 from 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. for the next live episode of Your Community, You’re Connected – Owner Responsibilities. Guests will provide guidance on the responsibilities of owners who live in common interest communities.

Do you want to be a part of the conversation? Email your questions to ycyc@fairfaxcounty.gov. Using #FFXYCYC, post your questions on the Fairfax County Consumer Affairs Branch Facebook Page or send us a tweet on Twitter. We look forward to connecting with you!

Your Community, You’re Connected – Replay Days, Video on Demand, Archived Episodes

The most recent episode of Your Community, You’re Connected – 2018 Legislative Review can be viewed 24/7 by Video on Demandand on Fairfax County Government Channel 16 on the following days and times:

Monday at 8 p.m.
Tuesday at 8 a.m. and 3 p.m.
Friday at 8 p.m.

If you are looking for a previously recorded programs, please visit the Your Community, You’re Connected Archives.

Looking for Homeowner and Condominium Resources?

Visit the Homeowners’ and Condominium Association web page for links to valuable resources such as education, publications and laws related to living and managing a common interest community. Feel free to contact the Homeowners’ and Condominium Association Liaison any time at 703-222-8435.

Consumer Services Division

Alert:

Department Resources

eNewsletter Fall 2018