After at least two incidents in the past week, Cornelius police are warning residents and businesses about a phone scam targeting the area. If you get a call about an overdue bill, an unpaid parking ticket or other suspicious request, beware.
Callers have posed as police or utility workers, among others. A police department spokeswoman said Friday that anyone receiving a call like this should not give out personal information. In addition, you can help police by writing down information about the call and trying to get the caller’s phone number.
In one case reported Monday morning, April 28, a 70-year-old Huntersville woman told police she was a victim of the scam. Someone claiming to be a police officer called her and demanded that she pay $2,500 to avoid going to jail. She said the person told her to go to the nearest Rite-Aid and buy 5 GreenDot MoneyPak cards for $500 each. She purchased the items and gave the suspect the card numbers over the phone. The total amount of her loss was $2,524.75.
On Wednesday, a 60-year-old Cornelius woman reported a similar incident. She told police someone called her posing as a Duke Power employee, and demanding that she pay $500 to avoid having her electricity disconnected at her business in Charlotte. The person told her to go to the nearest Walgreen’s and buy 1 GreenDot MoneyPak card for $500. She did so, and as in the previous case, gave the card numbers to the suspect over the phone. Her loss totaled $504.95.
Here’s the alert issued Friday:
Cornelius Police Warn of Phone Scam
The Cornelius Police Department is warning residents and business owners of a recent phone scam in the area. Numerous victims have reported receiving phone calls from representatives from a government agency, law enforcement agency, or utility company making claims about past due tickets, warrants, or past due balances. The caller then tells the victim to purchase a pre-paid debit card with the amount due and read the number off the back of the card to avoid being arrested or losing utility service. Once the money is taken from the victim’s bank account, the bank will not refund the money since the money was voluntarily given away. This is a scam and the suspect’s claims are fraudulent.
If you are contacted by anyone claiming to be affiliated with a municipality, government agency, law enforcement agency, or utility company telling you to pay with a specific pre-paid debit card, do not give them any information or comply with the caller’s request. If possible, write down the caller’s phone number and alert the Cornelius Police Department at 704-892-7773 or your local law enforcement agency.
POLICE INCIDENT REPORTS
MONDAY, APRIL 28, 10:50am, Ron Shue Imports, 19401 Statesville Road – An employee told place that between April 25 at 5pm and Monday at 10:42am, someone spray painted graffiti on the wall of a storage building, causing $200.00 damage.
TUESDAY, APRIL 29, 11am, policed department – A 41-year-old resident reported that between Feb. 28 and April 28, 2014, someone used her personal information to open a
Credit One Visa Bank Card. The suspect also used her State Employees Credit Union Card to make various purchases on Apple iTunes ($64.05), Red Box ($6.43), Allure Magazine ($16.09) and Roadmaster Tire Pros ($900). The fraudulent purchases totaled $986.57.
TUESDAY, APRIL 29, 11:08am, Food Lion, 20125 N. Main St. – An employee reported that around 11:03am, a white male suspect stole $75 worth of Rib Eye Steaks, $100 worth of T Bone Steaks and $100 worth of NY Strip Steaks. Total value from the shoplifting was $275.
TUESDAY, APRIL 29, 1:50pm, 18600 block of John Connor Rd. – A resident reported that someone struck his custom mailbox between Monday at 10pm and Tuesday at 1:46pm. The mailbox is valued at $1,500.
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 30, 4:220pm, Food Lion, 20125 N. Main St. – A manager told police that she watched a known suspect walk out of the store with unpaid merchandise in his jacket. Stolen were three bags of cooked shrimp valued at $13.99 each and a bag of raw shrimp valued at $11.99. The items were recovered and a 56-year-old Davidson man was named as the suspect. Police are investigating.
THURSDAY, MAY 1, 8:50am, W.A. Hough High School, 12420 Bailey Rd. – A 17-year-old student from Huntersville was charged with injury to personal property and possession of a weapon on campus. Police were called after a student became angry and threw a medium-sized bookshelf across the hallway in front of the media center. A search turned up a pocket knife. The total value of the damaged bookshelf is approximately $250.
THURSDAY, MAY 1, 1:12pm, W.A. Hough High School, 12420 Bailey Rd. – In a separate incident, a student reported to police that another student had brought a knife to school. Police charged a 16-year-old Cornelius students with possession of a weapon on the school campus.
THURSDAY, MAY 1, 5:20am, – 19900 block of Madison Village Drive – A resident reported that someone broke into his 2001 Toyota while it was parked at his home, taking an Apple MacBook Air (valued at $1,000) and a brown custom guitar, valued at $300. Police are investigating.
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