A scammer first stole money from an Austin Street woman through a phony “Cash App,” then doubled the take through a Google Play gift card transaction.
By try three — an attempt to to get her to reveal her checking account number — the woman knew she’d been had. She called the cops, leading to some advice for the public.
That episode leads off this week’s summary of “notable incidents” from top West Hills/ Westville/ West Rock/ Amity/ Beverly Hills cop Lt. Rose Dell.
Her write-up follows:
FROM 4/20/19 to 4/28/19 POLICE RESPONDED TO 158 CALLS FOR SERVICE IN THE WESTVILLE/WEST HILLS SECTION OF NEW HAVEN. THE FOLLOWING IS A BRIEF SUMMARY OF NOTABLE INCIDENTS:
On 4/23, a resident of Austin Street called the police to report that she had been scammed out of $500. The resident prepared taxes for a client who promised to send payment through an app called “Cash App.” She waited for the payment, but it never came. She called “Cash App” (or who she thought was “Cash App”) and a “representative” told her the money might be “stuck” in the server and that she needed to purchase a Google Play gift card for $500 in order to facilitate the transaction. The resident purchased the card from Walgreens and sent the card number to the app. When she still didn’t receive a payment, she called the number for the app again. The “representative” offered her $2000 if she gave him her checking account number and did not involve the police. She then knew she had been scammed. PRO TIP: Protect yourself against gift card scams. Never use a Google Play gift card to pay for anything outside of Google Play. Also know that you can only reach Cash App through the app or text. All phone numbers found through online searches are scammers.
On Tuesday after midnight, a city bus picked up an unknown white male in the downtown area. A group of females got on the bus at Norton Street and Whalley Avenue. The male began to make offensive remarks to the females. One of the females stood up and swung at the offensive male. The bus driver noticed the male on the floor of the bus in the area of Augustine Street and Solomon Crossing. When the police entered the bus, the females had already gotten off. The male was transported to the hospital for his injuries.
Police responded to Augustine Street on a harassment complaint Tuesday morning. The resident reported that her ex-boyfriend’s new girlfriend came to the complex the previous evening and demanded that she come outside. She ignored her but when she woke up in the morning she found cat food smeared over her front door and written on her window was “Whore.” No one saw who committed the vandalism, but she suspects the new girlfriend.
Sometime between 4/23 – 4/24 a Stump jumper mountain bike was stolen from a garage on Westwood Road. The homeowner could not recall if the garage had been locked prior to the theft.
On 4/25, police responded to Elmwood Road for a theft from a motor vehicle. The resident reported that overnight someone broke into his unlocked van and stole a pair of sunglasses. His neighbor captured the incident on his ring doorbell camera. The footage showed an individual in dark clothing walk onto the neighbor’s driveway. When an audible alarm was triggered, the subject ran from the neighbor’s property and then walked across the street and entered the van. Identification is not possible due to poor video quality.