Lottery scam lures Hallandale woman
on Feb. 15 a 74-year-old woman received a phone call from a “Mr. Robinson” at her apartment in the 400 block of Diplomat Parkway of Hallandale Beach telling her she had won $4.5 million.
She told police that she was told the sum would eventually grow to $11.5 million and received at least seven other calls.
Believing the callers represented Publisher’s Clearing House she forwarded a postal money order for $900 to a man in Toledo, Ohio, and made MoneyGram transfers of $2,500 to a man in Minneapolis, $1,500 to a man in Jamaica and $500 and $420 payments to men in Cincinnati.
on Feb. 20 — the day the day UPS was supposed to deliver her winnings to her home — she called the police because she was “afraid someone would show up.”
While the officer was in her home more phone calls came in asking for more money. as she ended a call another came in until the officer had to take the call and identify himself. The caller hung up and eventually the calls stopped.
at least four calls recorded on the victim’s cellphone came from 876 Jamaican area code numbers.
according to a consumer Internet site scammers prefer the 876 numbers because victims who file FTC complaints often do not wish to go to Jamaica to pursue them.
FORT LAUDERDALE
Wardrobe change: a woman told police she accidentally left her trunk open and someone stole a bag containing $680 worth of clothing from her 2005 Mercedes-Benz in the 1200 block of Northwest 18th Street between 10:15 a.m. Feb. 12 and 1:50 a.m. Feb. 17. The bag contained two pairs of jeans, two dress shirts, five T-shirts, a pair of shorts, a pair of sandals and two bathing suits.
Stereo switch: about midnight Feb. 12 a man parked his truck in the 600 block of Southwest 13th Avenue. about 11 a.m. Feb. 15 he turned on his radio but it didn’t work. He changed a fuse and it still didn’t work so he took it to a dealership where he learned the lock had been punched on the driver’s door and the radio had been switched. The replacement radio had all its wires cut and the screws that connect it to the dashboard were gone. The factory stereo was valued at $500.
Home stripped: Her ex-tenants didn’t take eviction easily according to a landlord who told police she evicted a family from a home in the 300 block of Southwest 30th Terrace. She said she last saw her furniture in the middle of January. at 1:30 p.m. Feb. 17 she discovered a Kenmore refrigerator, LG washer and dryer, two couches, a dining room set, Kenmore freezer and two twin and one full bed were missing. The loss was reported at $4,100.
HALLANDALE BEACH
Stolen gas: about 7 p.m. Feb. 22 a man parked his 2008 Chevrolet truck with a half full gas tank in the firefighter slot at the Beach Club, 2801 E. Hallandale Beach Blvd. when he returned from work at 7:30 a.m. Feb. 24 the needle was on empty and the gas tank cover was open. The lost gas was valued at $40.
Electronics stolen: a burglar crushed a window screen, ripped Venetian blinds away from a wall and entered a home in the 200 block of Southwest 10th Street between 4 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Feb. 24. The burglar ransacked two bedrooms and stole a 42-inch Samsung flat-screen TV, a 27-inch Oleva flat-screen TV, a Hewlett-Packard laptop and a Dell laptop valued at a total of $4,000. The victim told police he had advised his landlord that the window would not shut completely. Officers said a very thin burglar may have pried the window and crawled in.