Not too long ago, police issued warnings to drivers to lock their vehicles and avoid leaving valuables visible to avoid being targeted by opportunistic thieves; these days that advice needs an update.

Criminals have become adept at grab-and-go situations, willing to take the risk of breaking into a car because the payoff can exceed the average victim’s expectations.

“Don’t be misled by your surroundings,” advised Tammy Everitt, an East Marlborough Township resident who recently fell prey to such tactics. “Just because you live in safe and beautiful Kennett Square doesn’t mean this can’t happen to you.”

Everitt agreed to share her story because she believes that educating the public – and banking officials – is critical to thwarting an alarming trend that has received only sporadic publicity.

She said she pulled into the middle lot of the Kennett Area YMCA at 7:30 a.m. on Jan. 29 for a 7:45 a.m. class. By the time she exited the Y at 8:45, a crowd was gathered around her car, one that included Y officials and police. One of her car windows had been smashed, which set off an alarm and may have kept other people from being victimized.

Like many YMCA patrons, Everitt didn’t take her purse inside with her but knew better than to leave it within sight. She said it had been tucked underneath the front seat and was missing, initiating a nightmarish sequence of events.

Among the stolen items were her driver’s license, credit cards, debit card, and an irreplaceable state-issued ID for a dear friend who had died. Everitt said she carried it as a fond reminder, “receiving comfort from having something of hers close to me.”

After painstakingly accounting for all that had been stolen, Everitt said it took about seven hours over three days to slog through the bureaucracy of canceling and replacing the various credit cards and bank debit card. She said it didn’t occur to her to cancel all of the family’s bank accounts.

Two weeks after the break-in, Everitt said she got a frantic 7 a.m. phone call from one of her two sons in college. “He asked, ‘Mom, what happened to all my money?’” she said. Everitt soon learned that three joint accounts that bore her name – one with her husband and one with each of their sons – had all been emptied of thousands of dollars.

In talking with police and doing research, Everitt got a primer on the tactics of what authorities have dubbed the Felony Lane Gang, a far-reaching criminal enterprise that came to the attention of Kennett Square Police Det. Jack Trevisan, the lead investigator for Everitt’s case, in 2011 and that made headlines in Tredyffrin Township earlier this month.

On Tuesday, March 1, at approximately 1:30 p.m. Tredyffrin police responded to the Wendy’s Restaurant in the 100 block of West Swedesford Road for a report of suspicious activity. An alert firefighter had called to report a subject’s changing the license plates on two motor vehicles.

Within minutes, police arrived, a vehicle chase on Route 202 and the Schuylkill Expressway ensued, a police cruiser was struck, and a foot pursuit followed. In the end, police retrieved dozens of identity documents, including credit cards and driver’s licenses later traced to regional identity theft victims. Seven people from as far away as Fort Lauderdale, Fla., were taken into custody, police said.

Tredyffrin Township Police said charges against the suspects include aggravated assault of a police officer, fleeing or eluding police, ID theft, and criminal conspiracy. Police said the suspects had numerous regional warrants and more than 100 previous arrests across the country.

Trevisan said he’s waiting for bank surveillance photos from Everitt’s case to determine whether any of the same suspects are linked to the Kennett Y incident. He said low-level members of the gang, which is set up like a drug-trafficking operation, often conduct surveillance in parking lots, sometimes with binoculars.

“They watch to see if a woman takes her purse with her,” he said. “If she doesn’t, they’ll bust a window, reach in and grab it. This gang is unbelievable.”

Trevisan said the fact that Everitt’s purse wasn’t visible didn’t matter since the thieves assume that women don’t leave home without them. If the crooks don’t quickly find it underneath a seat or in the glove compartment, they’ll pop the trunk, he said.

“Your ID is worth so much money that these people will take risks,” Trevisan said. “These guys are making millions.”

Once the thieves have someone’s information, they use it in various ways. In Everitt’s case, 11 checks with the names of 11 other victims were made payable to Everitt. Underlings or mules carrying various wigs likely donned a short blonde one to match Everitt’s driver’s license photo, Trevisan said.

Gang members quickly traveled to multiple Citizens branches, where Everitt banked, always choosing the drive-through lane farthest from the teller to avoid close scrutiny, Trevisan said, explaining the origin of the Felony Lane moniker. When a teller requests ID, the thieves supply the stolen driver’s license or debit card.

Trevisan said mid-level gang members sometimes hide in the backseat or are watching from nearby to ensure the crooks get their pre-determined allotment of money. The thieves often obscure the license plate in some way to hinder apprehension, he said.

Everitt theorized that the thieves used similar tactics to empty her bank accounts, posing as her and requesting balances so they knew how much they could withdraw from each. Because the banks are insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, she said she expects to be reimbursed; however, ultimately it’s law-abiding citizens who pay, either through higher taxes or increased banking fees.

Many law-enforcement officials agree that the public needs to be aware of this alarming criminal trend.

“It’s important for people to know that this is occurring,” said Kennett Square Police Chief Edward A. Zunino. “People should safeguard their valuables as best they can, even if it means taking them with them.”

Everitt said she plans to photocopy her driver’s license and keep that paper with her, but she expressed concern about what might happen if she ever got stopped by police. “Under these circumstances, if someone only has a photocopy, that’s OK,” Zunino said. “In this day and age, we can get the information electronically.”

Registering your Social Security number online so that it can’t be used by anyone else to set up a fraudulent account is another tip that Trevisan gave Everitt, which she immediately followed. But Trevisan, a proponent of credit-monitoring services like LifeLock, said that option is not recommended for anyone who anticipates applying for a mortgage or car loan since it creates extra hurdles for the applicant.

Chester County District Attorney Tom Hogan said crimes like the ones perpetrated by the Felony Lane Gang and imitators, tend to be cyclical and are “on the rise now.”

Echoing Zunino and others, Hogan recommended that no identification or other valuables be left anywhere in a vehicle. He said the major targets tend to be high-volume parking areas frequented by suburban mothers, who often leave stuff in their cars.  As a result, “the most at-risk areas are gyms, malls, and day-care centers,” he said, adding that affluent areas are even more attractive to thieves.

Hogan urged being vigilant and contacting police if people appear to be monitoring cars, particularly those with out-of-state license plates.

Trevisan added that members of the public should ask their banks whether they have surveillance cameras for their drive-through lanes since not all do. More cameras overall – at businesses as well as homes – would also be helpful. Trevisan said Citizens Bank, which maintains cameras in all of its drive-through lanes, has been extremely cooperative, and he is eager to obtain surveillance photos from them.

He said he recently attended a meeting about the problem with officials from Delaware, Montgomery, and Chester counties, and he hopes that federal or state prosecutors will take action. “It’s going to take a large task force to combat this,” he suggested. “It needs to be a coordinated effort.”

In the meantime, Everitt said she plans to keep spreading the word. She said she has been surprised by the lack of information some officials, including bank employees, have about the crimes. And she hopes the bank surveillance photos will match up with the suspects apprehended in Tredyffrin.

“That would provide some nice closure,” she said. “No one is safe. This was a horrible experience, and the fallout is continuing. I want to do whatever I can to keep other people from being victimized.”

The crimes have become so prevalent that the Federal Trade Commission, the nation’s consumer protection agency, operates a website devoted entirely to identity theft. The site provides checklists and sample letters to assist victims with the recovery process as well as prevention tips. For more information, visit https://www.identitytheft.gov.