ID thief gets even more personal with purchases
A borough woman, 62, was charged $2,730 in fraudulent hits to her Macy’s card and Bank of America credit card in which purchases including watches, “trinkets,” and, over eBay, “a female personal sexual gratification device” were acquired.
According to the police report, the victim’s email had been hacked. The purchases were forwarded to an alternate address created on her accounts and shipped via UPS. She is locked out of her Amazon account, and someone has created an Uber passenger account using her information.
She is working with her email provider, her account companies, and a credit bureau to sort the matter out. No further police action was taken.
Punk scams woman, 77, for Google Play goods
A resident fell for a scam in which she responded to a phone number on a fake-error pop-up message on her computer.
Upon calling the number she spoke with a person who told her that her computer was “infected” and that “many people were on her computer,” as the police report explains.
The person told her he could help her but she needed first to purchase a $350 Google Play card. She went to CVS and made the purchase then gave the card number—good for games, music, movies, and other digital content—to the scammer.
Then he told the victim, 77, that due to her “delay” in getting back to him the problem, unfortunately, had worsened and now she needed to pay $200 more “to complete the firewall.”
She disconnected the call and contacted the police department. She was advised to contact her financial interests and monitor them for suspicious activity and to contact police with any other suspicious incidents.
Sheep bolts from birthday party, makes round of west side
Reports of an escaped sheep trotted through social media on May 18, sending residents and police out into the night to try to corral the animal—to no immediate avail.
Officers were dispatched just after 7 p.m., coming up empty handed.
According to the police report, officers spoke with a Marti Road resident who explained that her family had hired Mountainside Stables to run a 2-year-old’s birthday party petting zoo on their property.
As the company was packing it in for the day, the sheep broke loose and gave staffers the slip. The company rode off, leaving the sheep to its own devices.
Sightings were reported on the west side in the area of Colony Pool. The animal was seen on the dead end of Mountain Avenue near a large statue of a cow and in home surveillance video.
Police said, “We were unable to gain possession of the sheep and departed the area. No further police action taken.”
A related police report that night involved a Second Street resident called in as a suspicious person in the area of Forest Street and Colony Avenue.
Police found a man in the woods with boots, a flashlight, and a leash. He explained that his wife, a member of Park Ridge Moms on Facebook, had asked him to go look for the missing sheep.
This report adds, “The missing sheep became significant news to the surrounding area as you could hear the sheep calling and was traveling through backyards all over the west side of town.”
The officer says he explained to the would-be wrangler that “it was not a smart idea to try and catch a farm animal in the middle of the night,” particularly as his action could be seen as trespassing.
The husband said he understood, then left the area. (One imagines he’s nevertheless a hero on the moms’ board.)
When the sheep finally was safely caught on Sunday afternoon, the capture made the network news.
Mountainside Stables did not reply to a request for comment. The company’s website says the animals in its traveling petting zoo “are extremely kid-friendly and always clean. We guarantee to have the cleanest and friendliest petting zoo animals around.”
Pascack Press requests neighborhood police reports every week and shares certain items in the interest of public safety. The following are mere allegations. Defendants are innocent until and unless they’re found guilty in court.