FASTSIGNS® of Aurora, CO was recently recognized in the “If You See Something, Say Something®” campaign by Homeland Security and TSA for their great work in flagging suspicious activity.
The team was alerted to strange activity when a request first came through as an order. The customer was evasive about what type of ID badge he needed, and when asked what the ID was for, he replied that it was to replace one he lost at work. The team wondered why he wouldn't just replace it through his employer.
The team then asked if they could see an example of the ID he wanted FASTSIGNS to make, and he showed a coworker’s badge, asking them to make one similar but with his photograph. The team noted how suspicious this was and also that the employer was associated with the airport. Because of this, the team politely declined the request and then decided to contact TSA to report him.
“Identifying order requests for counterfeit identification materials is not something that we specifically train employees about, but we always encourage everyone on the team to use common sense and their best judgment,” said Matt Mersfelder, franchisee at FASTSIGNS® of Aurora, CO. “Our team knows they can always speak up about any concerns that arise and they will be supported. We rely on everyone around us to help keep us safe, and I'm very proud of our team for taking the initiative to flag this incident and do what they thought was right. They deserve all of the credit and recognition we received from TSA and Homeland Security.”
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has designated September 25 as national “If You See Something, Say Something®” Awareness Day. The “If You See Something, Say Something®” campaign works with partners year-round to inspire, empower and educate the public on suspicious activity reporting. By designating a day to the campaign, the Department hopes to highlight the importance of suspicious activity reporting.
Informed, alert communities play a critical role in keeping our nation safe. We can all help keep our communities safe by learning the indicators of terrorism and terrorism-related crime, paying attention to our surroundings, and reporting suspicious activity to local law enforcement.
About “If You See Something, Say Something®” campaign:
The "If You See Something, Say Something®" campaign was originally implemented and trademarked by the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority and is licensed to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for the purpose of creating a nationwide campaign.
In July 2010, DHS launched the campaign in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Justice's Nationwide Suspicious Activity Reporting (SAR) Initiative (NSI), with the goal of training state and local law enforcement to recognize behaviors and indicators of terrorism and terrorism-related crime. The NSI standardizes how these observations are documented and analyzed. It ensures that reports are shared with the Federal Bureau of Investigation-led Joint Terrorism Task Forces for investigation and with state Fusion Centers for analysis. Only those reports documenting behavior that is reasonably indicative of terrorist activity will be shared with federal and state, local, tribal and territorial (SLTT) partners.
About FASTSIGNS®
FASTSIGNS® of Aurora, CO is a locally and independently owned and operated sign, graphics and visual communications company that provides comprehensive visual marketing solutions to customers of all sizes—across all industries—to help them attract more attention, communicate their message, sell more products, help visitors find their way and extend their branding across all of their customer touch points including décor, events, wearables, digital signage and marketing materials. To learn more, visit fastsigns.com/aurora-co/ or (303) 529-7004.