PARK RIDGE, N.J.—A local woman, 30, visited police on Jan. 10, a week after she met a fella on the international matchmaking app Woo. She said the two had been in contact via phone for days meeting up.
On what appears to be their first date. Jan. 6, he told her he’d received a phone call from his boss telling him that he needed to purchase electronic equipment for an important meeting the following day.
His story was that he’d left his wallet behind and asked if she could charge the goods—naturally he’d reimburse her by check.
The woman took her swain, 35, from New York, to Best Buy in Paramus to buy him the first item on his list: a $1,013.93 (plus tax) iPad Pro.
Then it was on to the Best Buy in Woodland Park for an Alienware computer, another tablet of an unknown brand, a Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Plus, and several other items.
The grand total, bearing down on two credit cards, was $7,805.89.
According to the police report, the man took several of the receipts, claiming he needed them to account for “his” purchases at work.
He left her with a check for $8,000 to cover her costs.
The report, filed under theft by deception, explains that once the victim deposited the check, her bank froze her account and advised that the funds originated at a closed account.
The woman tried to meet with him to settle up but the apparent scammer couldn’t: his excuses involved his recent hospitalization interfering with his efforts to recoup his mother’s final wages following her death.
The victim contacted her credit card companies in an attempt to resolve the issue. The Detective Bureau was notified.
