Briefly

Fraudulent e-mails seek bank info

A number of Spokane residents received fraudulent e-mails Monday purporting to be from Wells Fargo.

The letters, addressed “Dear Wells Fargo Bank customer,” note several recent attempts by identity thieves who are targeting Wells Fargo customers.

The letter explains that customers should confirm their information to safeguard their online bank accounts or credit cards, Spokane Police spokesman Dick Cottam said in a press release.

The letters also state the information updates are mandatory or customers will have their accounts suspended, Cottam said.

Wells Fargo officials said the e-mails are false and are actually trying to get the very information they say they are trying to protect, Cottam said.

Wells Fargo officials said they have not tried to contact any of their customers in this fashion and they ask that recipients ignore the requests, Cottam said.

Driver reports attack by two in other car

A motorist told Spokane Police that he was driving home at about 1:45 a.m. Sunday when a white Volkswagen Jetta pulled up next to his car at Division and Spokane Falls Boulevard.

The occupants of the 2002 Jetta yelled at the man and followed him to the light at Ruby and Indiana, police spokesman Dick Cottam said in a press release.

Near Montgomery, the Jetta cut off the driver and two males jumped out with baseball bats. They struck the man’s car several times, smashing windows and denting the car’s body, Cottam said.

The men ran back to the Jetta and drove off. The victim followed for about a mile and called police. The four-door Jetta is registered to an address in Deer Park, Cottam said.

The two men were in their 20s. One of them was 5-foot-10, 180 pounds with short blond hair. The other was 5-foot-10 with dark hair.

Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Check at 456-2233.

Burglars targeting Indian Trail garages

For the second time this year, neighbors in the Indian Trail area have suffered a rash of garage burglaries, Spokane Police reported Monday.

Burglars struck five garages this past weekend, police spokesman Dick Cottam said.

The thieves are hitting garages when homeowners leave their garage doors open. They are also getting into garages when homeowners leave their cars unlocked with garage openers inside the cars, Cottam said.

Investigators want to remind homeowners that leaving garage doors open or unlocked makes their homes a more inviting target.

Spokane Valley Arts meeting rescheduled

The Spokane Valley Arts Council has rescheduled a meeting to build support for arts in the Valley.

The newly formed council will gather Oct. 27 at 5:30 p.m. to share ideas for promoting and expanding arts to different age groups.

This summer the council provided children’s art classes at a local library and, recently, the group presented a juried art show at Valleyfest. The Spokane Valley Chamber of Commerce is helping by donating office space in its building.

The meeting will be held at the Spokane County Library District’s Valley branch, 12004 E. Main Ave.

For more information about the arts council, call Norma Ventris at 926-4994 or 926-3957.

Woman, 2 kids die when car hits truck

Olympia A woman and her two children died when the family car slammed into the rear of a stopped recycling truck south of town, authorities said.

Kathy Stanton, 45, and her son Taylor Stanton, 13, died instantly in the crash Thursday on Littlerock Road. Daughter Chloe Stanton, 1, died Saturday at Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital in Tacoma.

Baxter, the family dog, survived the crash and was taken in by occupants of a nearby recreational vehicle park, said Ken Stanton, 41, husband of Kelly and father of the children. “It’s a tiny drip of joy but still in a sea of pain,” Stanton said.

The cause of the crash remained under investigation.

State Patrol Trooper Johnny Alexander said the truck driver was returning to the vehicle with some recyclables when it was hit by the Stantons’ white Honda Accord, leaving the front end of the car smashed under the rear of the truck.

Investigators found no skid marks or other sign that Kathy Stanton had tried to stop, and the crash occurred in the center of the lane, indicating she had not tried to swerve, Alexander said.

Authorities were trying to determine whether a medical problem or some other condition may have caused her to lose consciousness or attention.