MONROE, CT — A middle-aged White woman attempted to cash a forged $1,850 check at Newtown Savings Bank, 535 Monroe Turnpike, late Tuesday morning. But when she provided a U.S. passport as identification, the teller told her it was an unacceptable form of I.D. and asked for her Social Security Number.
Police said the woman gave the teller a number, then told bank officials she had to make a phone call and walked out. The bank manager told police she never came back and had left the passport behind.
Officers took the passport into evidence and surveillance footage was provided by the bank. Police are investigating the case in an effort to identify the woman.
Stolen car recovered, not the plates
A brown 2018 Honda Accord Hybrid reported stolen from a Purdy Hill Road resident on Aug. 20 was recovered by Bridgeport police officers in the Park City on Aug. 26. But on Monday the owner realized the license plates were different, according to police.
Police said a search of the license plates did not come back to the Honda, so the original plates were entered into the criminal justice system as lost or stolen.
When Bridgeport officers recovered the stolen vehicle, police said a prescription drug medication, a pair of brass knuckles and a key to a Land Rover were found inside. Officers confirmed the items do not belong to the victim, a 63-year-old Monroe woman.
The Honda was processed for evidence by the Monroe Detective Division and the case is still under investigation.
The Honda Accord Hybrid was reported stolen on Sunday, Aug. 20. The victim told officers she noticed a vehicle parked in front of her property with the headlights on at 3:15 a.m., but was unable to get a description of it. Then she saw her Honda back out of the driveway and head toward Monroe Turnpike 15 minutes later, police said.
She told officers she thought it may have been one of her kids at first, then saw both were home and called the police.
She reportedly told officers the Honda was locked and the keys were not inside. However, a second vehicle, also parked in the driveway, was left unlocked and the keys to the Honda were taken from inside and used to steal it, she told police.
The thieves also stole the victim’s son’s wallet from the other vehicle, police said, adding the wallet contained a small amount of cash and an Apple AirTag.
The Apple AirTag helped track the Honda to an area of Bridgeport, but city officers were unable to find it at the time. A thief reportedly tried to use a debit card in the son’s wallet at a gas station on North Avenue at 3:55 a.m., but it was declined.
It’s not Microsoft
An 88-year-old Monroe man reported a computer scam Wednesday, after receiving a pop up message telling him he had been hacked and needed to contact Microsoft for repairs.
The man told police he called the phone number in the message and spoke to someone posing as a representative. The victim reportedly let the man remotely access his computer and provided his name, telephone number, address and what banks he uses.
However, police said he did not give out bank account information nor his Social Security Number.
The victim later spoke to his son and learned it was probably a scam, according to the report.
He went to the three banks he uses to file fraud claims and police said there had been no fraudulent activity on his accounts at the time and he suffered no financial loss.
The resident was advised to close his accounts and open new ones, and to contact the three major credit bureaus to have his credit monitored. He was also told to have his computer checked by a professional or to have it wiped, cleaned and checked for malware.
A hotel in Colorado
A 45-year-old Monroe man told police someone used his identification and email address to fraudulently make a reservation at a Colorado hotel in his name, according to a complaint filed Monday.
A hotel chain reward service had emailed him to confirm the reservation, so he called to tell them he did not reserve a room there. Then he received another email stating the reservation was canceled.
Police said he checked with his financial institutions and found no financial loss, adding there was no charge for the hotel reservation on his credit card. The victim was advised to contact the three major credit bureaus to report the fraud.
Doing donuts
A Jockey Hollow Middle School employee filed a vandalism report after finding lawn damage on the field across from the Chalk Hill school building Tuesday morning. Police said tire impressions were consistent with a vehicle doing donuts.
The employee told officers he did not observe any damage to the field when he left work on Friday, then discovered the vandalism on Tuesday.
Police have no estimate on the cost to repair the damage.
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