Expensive Lottery
An elderly woman was defrauded in a lottery scam. On Sunday, December 1, an 80-year-old woman living on the Upper East Side received a phone call from an unknown perpetrator, telling her that she had won the lottery. To cover "lottery expenses," however, the caller asked her to send a MoneyGram wire transfer in the amount of $9,000 to an address in Jamaica. The woman sent the money, but became suspicious and reported the incident to police after she received further calls requesting yet more money for "lottery expenses."
Check Cheat
Someone wrote a forged check against a man's bank account. A 59-year-old man was reviewing his bank account balance when he realized that money was missing. It seems that someone had written a fraudulent check on Tuesday, December 17, in the amount of $9,260. The victim still had possession of the real check bearing the same number as the fake check cashed.
Saksed
Someone opened a fraudulent store account in a man's name and charged merchandise at Saks Fifth Avenue. On Thursday, January 9, a 35-year-old man received a credit card in the mail from Saks for an account that he had not opened. He read the statement enclosed and saw that an unknown person had charged $2,332.32 in merchandise to the fraudulent account. The victim cut up the card, and the store said they would investigate the incident. CRIME ADVISORY FROM THE 19TH PRECINCT: Lock your doors and windows!
Police at the 19th precinct have spotted a new pattern of burglary on the Upper East Side in which thieves are gaining access to victims' apartments through unlocked windows that open onto fire escapes. POLICE WARN AREA RESIDENTS TO KEEP WINDOWS OPENING ONTO FIRE ESCAPES LOCKED AT ALL TIMES. They also advise residents always to lock the front and rear doors of their apartments, even in seemingly secure doorman buildings. Unscrupulous messengers and delivery personnel have been checking for unlocked doors and entering apartments to commit burglaries.
