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5-09-2022 8:19pm
Police Log: Cashier's Checks Scam, Unemployment Benefits Fraud, Burnouts & Donuts
Darlene Cancell
Editor
Image by Clker-Free-Vector-Images from Pixabay
The news described in Westwood Minute's Police Log article is primarily based on selected information from the Westwood Police Department's daily log and information provided by Lieutenant Christopher Sheehy and police staff. Occasionally, a few facts from other sources may be woven into these stories.
Monday, May 2nd
Identity theft and unemployment payment fraud
2:28 p.m. A resident of Webster Street reported to police that someone had fraudulently filed an unemployment claim using her name and personal information. The resident spoke with the Massachusetts Department of Unemployment Assistance and learned that the unemployment assistance was active from October 2020 through November 2021. Police advised her on how to protect her bank accounts and credit cards.
Suspicious encounter with a stranger precedes a theft
4:23 p.m. A resident of Burgess Avenue informed police that her wallet and cell phone were stolen or missing. She was shopping at Nordstrom Rack in University Station in the early afternoon that day when she was approached by a thin woman with dark hair. The woman wore an olive colored jacket with a camouflage pattern. She appeared to be in her mid-thirties and spoke with a European accent. The woman spoke with the complainant to get her opinion about a few items of clothing. Shortly after that interaction, the complainant noticed that her wallet and cell phone were missing. Also missing were the contents of the wallet - her license, credit cards, earrings and personal papers.
Later in the evening, police received another report from the theft victim, who notified them that someone had made multiple attempts to make purchases with her credit cards at the Apple Store and at Home Depot. The transactions, which ranged from about $1,000 to about $4,000, were all declined. Two days later, the complainant notified police of attempted transactions on another credit card.
The complainant cancelled all of her credit cards. She forwarded a list of the fraudulent transactions to police and detectives are investigating.
Tuesday, May 3rd
Unauthorized transactions to woman in Haiti
5:06 p.m. Police were dispatched to a Pine Lane residence in response to a case of credit card fraud. The complainant discovered what appeared to be unauthorized transactions through Western Union to a woman in Port-au-Prince in Haiti for an amount totaling $652. The complainant was managing the finances of an elderly relative. Following the discovery, she placed a freeze on her relative’s account.
Vandalism at Amtrak train station
11:06 p.m. Police were dispatched to the Amtrak train station on the report of a man causing a disturbance. On the second floor of the station, police discovered a damaged monitor. The monitor, which displays train times, evidenced damage consistent with someone throwing an object at it.
Police spoke with four males in the area who ranged from 18 years to 20 years of age. They were from Sekonk and Rehoboth in Massachusetts and Cumberland in Rhode Island. One of the men admitted to being upset about a broken cell phone, but he denied that he caused any damage to the monitor. Police observed no swelling, cuts or other injury on the individuals that could have resulted from one of them physically striking the monitor.
Amtrak police arrived and took over the investigation. They called the parents of the young man with the broken cell phone, requesting that his parents pick him up. Westwood Police have since learned that surveillance video shows that the individual with the broken phone was responsible for other damage within the train station. Charges will be filed against him.
Wednesday, May 4th
One thing leads to another
Police met a male party from Sandwich, who believed he left his Airpods and case inside a Lyft the prior day. The complainant was able to track the Airpods to an address on Washington Street. After a prolonged conversation with the residents of the home, the Airpods and case were found at the bottom of the back stairs of the residence, outdoors. They were returned to the complainant.
While police were investigating, the Washington Street resident’s dog was running loose in the street. An officer caught it and learned that it was unlicensed. The officer issued the resident a ticket for having an unlicensed dog, a $25 fine for a first offense.
Thursday, May 5th
A spot for burnouts and donuts
11:22 a.m. An employee of a business at 80 Wilson Way complained to police that after-hours, the business parking lot becomes a spot for people to congregate and attempt to perform burnouts and donuts with their vehicles. It has also been a spot for illegal tire dumping. Police will patrol the area more frequently.
Stolen credit cards
12:39 p.m. A Westwood resident reported having her wallet and cell phone taken. She believed she may have lost it at Logan Airport or after leaving it in her Uber ride, after which it may have been taken by a subsequent passenger.
The wallet contained several credit cards which someone had attempted to use. All purchases were declined. The complainant cancelled four credit cards.
The complainant and an officer were able to pinpoint the location of the phone to an address on Havelock Street in Mattapan. The complainant also informed police that someone tried to contact her through her computer, requesting a reset of the passcode on her missing phone. She declined to do so.
Friday, May 6th
A fraudulent VRBO or Vrbo transaction?
4:57 p.m. A resident of Grove Street reported that she and her husband had wired $36,000 to an individual through a website, “VRBO,” to rent a house in Chatham. However, they never received a confirmation or receipt. The website representative denied knowing about the transaction.
Stolen bike found
8:35 p.m. A resident reported having a bicycle stolen from the Thurston Middle School bike rack. After school, the student went for a walk with friends, leaving the bike behind. When the resident returned, the black Trek was missing.
The following day, the same officer who had taken the report of the stolen bike was dispatched to the Mobile gas station on High Street in response to a report of an abandoned bike on the wooded trail that abuts the station. The bike was identified by the complainant as the missing bike, and the owner was reunited with the missing property.
Saturday, May 7th
Cashier’s check scam
6:58 p.m. A Westwood resident placed a plate compactor for sale on the website, OfferUp. The plate compactor was priced at $1600. After extensive contact with a potential buyer, the seller agreed to a transaction with the buyer.
The buyer sent the seller a cashier’s check from Veridian Credit Union in the amount of $3690.40. However, upon examination of the cashier’s check before deposit, the depositing bank determined that the check was fake. The buyer identified himself as “Mr. Wallace,” but the name on the check account was “Anthony Holbrooke.”
Lt. Sheehy notes that there is a scam in which the supposed buyer sends cashier’s checks to the seller in an amount that exceed the asking price. The buyer will then ask the seller to cash the check. The seller is asked to return the excess cash back to the buyer. However, the check being cashed is fake, with the result that the excess portion sent back to the buyer will be taken from the seller's own available funds.
In this case, the seller was able to determine that the offered check was fake. The seller did not go through with the transaction.
Thanks to Lieutenant Christopher Sheehy and the Westwood Police Department for contributing information for this article.
