Incident Insider
EVE MARX’s tasty roundup of law & order drama in the ‘Dale.
BY EVE MARX
Hats off to our police They help us with problems large and small.
Scammers, solicitors and trash pickers
Scammed
A woman came to headquarters Aug. 19 to say a company posing as a secret shopper business told her to purchase a gift card for $500 and provide them with the details. Soon after, she was mailed a check for her commission/reimbursement but didn’t deposit it as it looked fake. She said she shared personal information she wished she hadn’t, and is out $500.
Husband missing
A Scarsdale woman came to police headquarters Aug. 19 to report her elderly husband, who has Alzheimers, left their home four hours earlier and had not returned. Police found him safe at home and no further action was required.
Also scammed
A Mamaroneck Road caller Aug. 19 told police she thought she was on the phone with Apple to solve a problem but actually gave personal identity information to a probable scammer. She was advised to cancel her credit cards and freeze her bank account. She was also advised to contact the IRS and Social Security. The incident happened after she received a pop-up notice on her computer telling her that her laptop was infected with a virus, which it wasn’t.
Farewell, sad squirrel
A caller Aug. 19 reported an injured black squirrel on East Parkway. Police saw the squirrel was unable to walk. It was moved to a safe location and dispatched for humane purposes.
Doorbell ringers
Suspicious behavior was reported Aug. 20 on Ferncliff Road. A man wearing a baseball cap backwards and a sweatshirt was reported ringing doorbells. Police looked for the man without result.
Van on fire
A caller Aug. 20 on Potter Road reported his van was on fire. Police and firefighters arrived and the fire was extinguished. Police blocked off the street for safety purposes. The van was towed by a private company and the public works department notified.
Stove fire
A stove fire was reported Aug. 20 on Rock Creek Lane. Firefighters arrived but the fire was extinguished. The stove and kitchen were checked. Nothing appeared to be a hazard.
Man with a clipboard
An Olmstead Road caller Aug. 20 reported a man holding a clipboard was in his backyard earlier that day. He stayed for less than a minute and then was gone. The caller doesn’t have cameras in that area. A report was made for documentation only and the caller was advised to call back if the man returned. Later the same day, a Ferncliff Road resident reported the same thing. This person said the man might have been wearing some form of ID.
Forged bank withdrawal slips and checks
Forgery and identity theft were reported at the Chateaux Apartments on Chateaux Circle Aug. 20 by a resident who said that whatever happened had occurred months earlier. A bank withdrawal slip was forged or counterfeited and $400 cash was stolen.
Forgery and grand larceny were reported Aug. 23 at a Cooper Road address; the reporting party said a check she wrote for a different amount was altered and cashed, resulting in a loss of $22,276.
Identity theft
A Myrtledale Road resident Aug. 20 also reported identity theft that happened in July. Their checking account was accessed and $2,745 was stolen. Paperwork was issued to the resident to pursue the matter with his bank.
Trash pickers
A caller Aug. 21 in the vicinity of Dickel and Fairview Roads reported people going through garbage bins located in the area. Police looked for the trash pickers without result.
Car illegally entered, cash stolen
A caller Aug. 21 on Ridgecrest North reported her daughter’s car was illegally entered; a considerable amount of cash was taken from inside the vehicle and a package was removed from the caller’s doorstep. She was advised to keep her car doors locked and a report was made of the incidents.
Shattered window
A caller Aug. 21 told police his car window was broken while he was doing work at a home on Deerfield Lane. He said it happened while he was getting lunch. He said nothing was stolen and believes the window was shattered by a landscaping crew working nearby. It looked to police like a rock was kicked up by a lawnmower or a weed whacker. The owner of the landscaping company was contacted and the two men said they would work it out and didn’t need police assistance.
Dead cat
A dead cat was reported Aug. 21 in the roadway near Heathcote Road and Morris Lane. An officer moved it out of the way of traffic and the highway department was notified for removal.
Soliciting without a permit
Multiple callers reported Aug. 22 being solicited by a man selling pest control services. Soliciting was reported on Carstensen Road, Claremont Road, Overhill Road, Kensington Road, Cohawney Road, Meadow Road, and Walworth Avenue. The described individual was located by police and said he would stop his door-to-door solicitation.
More identity theft
A Kingston Road resident Aug. 23 told police an unknown person in Florida opened two credit cards using the reporting party’s identity. They said they were able to close the accounts and weren’t out any money.
Oops
A Saxon Woods Road resident Aug. 23 told police he placed his Nikon camera on the back of his wife’s car; unaware of the camera, she drove away and the camera fell off. He said he looked for it but didn’t find it. A report was made to document his loss.
Pest control solicitor makes a pest of himself
A caller on Paddington Road Aug. 23 reported an entirely different man soliciting pest control products. Police looked for this man without result.
Don’t pee here
A caller Aug. 23 on Palmer Avenue reported a man urinating in bushes and behaving in a threatening manner. Police arrived and the man was belligerent, saying he deliberately relieved himself in the bushes to be out of view from the public. It was soon learned he was wanted by Eastchester police who came and got him.
Masked marauder a raccoon got stuck near a resident's trash cans.
Stuck raccoon released
A caller on Brite Avenue Aug. 24 reported a raccoon by his trash cans that he thought might be sick. Police arrived and saw the raccoon was stuck but not in distress. The officer released it from the can and it ran off into a wooded area.
Fraudulent transactions
A caller on Brewster Road Aug. 24 reported the loss of about $20,000 from a bank account he shares with his daughter. He reported five fraudulent transactions that took place over several months. Police advised him of steps to take to prevent further thefts from occurring.
Bad driving
A Lancaster, PA man, 26, was arrested Aug. 24, charged with aggravated unlicensed operation of a vehicle. He also received summonses for illegal U-turn and failure to obey a traffic device and speeding. Around 8 p.m. multiple police vehicles observed a black Nissan Altima making an illegal U-turn at Fenimore and Post Road in order to evade a safety and sobriety check. The Nissan was stopped at Post Road and Wayside Lane. Five traffic violations were issued and the driver taken into police custody for active warrants issued by White Plains and Albany police. He was released on his own recognizance and is scheduled to appear in court Sept. 11.
Asking for money
A caller Aug. 25 complained about a man wearing shorts and a sweatshirt in Depot Plaza asking for money. The caller expressed concern for his welfare but also mentioned he was asking kids for money. Police looked for this person but didn’t find him.
This report was made from official reports provided by the Scarsdale Police Department.