Wellesley Police log: Scammer tries to blackmail online dater; woman swindled out of $8K; Pine Plain Rd. break-in attempt reported

Wellesley, Mass., police log for the week of Nov. 11-14:

Arrests

On November 11, 2020 at 12:10 a.m. Officer Mankavech was on patrol on Worcester Street when he observed a Chevrolet sedan with an expired inspection sticker.  Additionally, the vehicle was making unsafe lane changes from the right travel lane, to the left travel lane and then back to the right travel lane causing vehicles to abruptly brake as there was not enough distance between them.  He stopped the vehicle and spoke with the operator, and requested her license and registration.  A query of her license her license showed it was revoked.  She was taken into custody, transported to the station, booked in the usual manner, afforded all rights and later released on $1,000 bail.

Incidents

On November 9, 2020 at 7:27 p.m. Officer Misho spoke with a male party regarding identity theft.   The reporting party stated he had received a letter in the mail regarding small business loan in the amount of $145,000 that he had not applied for.  He also indicated he had a false unemployment claim made in June using his personal information.  He had notified the appropriate agencies regarding both fraudulent claims and as of this time has not suffered any personal financial loss.

On November 10, 2020 at 10:03 a.m. Officer Kane spoke with a female reporting party who stated she was scammed out of $8,000 by a person who claimed to be from a technical support company.  She had received a renewal notice from US Tech Support regarding antivirus protection and contacted them to cancel the service.  When she contacted them she was advised there were several steps necessary to complete the process.  The male party advised her because she had never used the service they would credit her $100 and that she needed to open an account where the funds could be deposited.  She opened an account and provided the male party with the account information.  A transfer of $10,000 had occurred and the male party told the reporting party that she had made a mistake when requesting the transfer which resulted in excess funds being transferred and she could repay the funds by obtaining 4 $500 gift cards from Best Buy and then advised her to obtain gift cards from Stop and Shop, Target and CVS.  The male party advised her to tell the store employees she was purchasing these gift cards as Christmas presents for family members so they wouldn’t decline the purchases.  The additional gift card purchases were declined by her bank.  She offered to withdraw cash to repay the company at which point the male party stated they would accept $6,000 in a transfer and he provided information for a bank account in Thailand.  He advised her to tell the bank that she was planning a trip to Thailand and the payment was for a travel agency.  After the wire transfer was completed she checked the account she opened and found the deposit had not cleared.  The incident is under investigation.

On November 12, 2020 at 10:45 a.m. Officer Mankavech spoke with a female reporting party regarding a fraudulent unemployment claim.  The reporting party had filed a report with the Department of Unemployment Assistance and placed a freeze on her credit.  She requested a police report so she could obtain free credit monitoring services.

On November 12, 2020 at 11:44 a.m. Officer Mankavech was conducting traffic enforcement on Worcester Street when he observed a black Audi A5 with window tint that appeared to have a visible light reflectance of less than 35%.  A query of the vehicle’s registration showed the plates had been canceled.  Officer Mankavech stopped the vehicle and spoke with the male operator who stated he purchased a new Audi A4 and used the license plates from his old Audi A5.  A query of the vehicle’s VIN number showed that the registration was revoked for nonpayment of insurance.  The operator will be summonsed to Dedham District Court for Operating a Motor Vehicle with a Revoked Registration, Attaching Registration Plates to a Motor Vehicle, Operating an Uninsured Motor Vehicle and a Window Tint Violation.

On November 13, 2020 at 12:42 a.m. Officer Dennehy spoke with a male reporting party who fell victim of an internet dating scam where someone posed as a woman and asked for photographs of the reporting party and then later identified themselves as a male party and stated if a $2,000 fee was not paid the photographs would be published across several social media platforms.  He was advised to change all of his passwords for his financial accounts as well as social media accounts and to place a fraud alert on his personal information.

On November 13, 2020 at 9:30 a.m. Officer Scopa was conducting traffic enforcement on Worcester Street when he observed a vehicle speeding at a high rate of speed, which he confirmed to be 71 mph in a 50 mph zone.  He stopped the vehicle and spoke with the female operator and requested her license and registration.   She stated she does not have a license.  A query confirmed if she has a valid license.  She will be summonsed to Dedham District Court for Unlicensed Operation of a Motor Vehicle and Speeding.

On November 13, 2020 at 4:33 p.m. Officer Dennehy spoke with a male party who stated that sometime between 8:00 a.m. on November 12^th and 8:00 a.m. on November 13^th their license plate was lost or stolen from their vehicle.  The appropriate paperwork was completed so he can obtain a replacement license plate.

On November 13, 2020 at 8:05 p.m. Officer Dennehy was dispatched to a residence on Pine Plain Road for a report of a Breaking and Entering in Progress.  The reporting party stated an unknown individual attempted to gain access by forcing entry through the front door and then fled on foot towards a path that leads to the Boulder Brook Reservation.  Officers searched the area and were unable to find a potential suspect.  The incident remains under investigation. 

On November 14, 2020 at 9:42 a.m. Officer Hughes spoke with a reporting party stated a sign that read “Italians are People Too” was stolen from their property.  The report is incomplete at this time and no further information is available.

On November 14, 2020 at 2:01 p.m. Officer Scopa spoke with a male reporting party regarding a fraudulent unemployment claim.  The reporting party had contacted the Department of Unemployment Assistance and reported the fraudulent claim.  He was advised to review his credit reports for an unusual activity.

On November 14, 2020 at 2:56 p.m. Officer Hughes spoke with a male party regarding a stolen bicycle.  The report is incomplete at this time and no further information is available.

More: Past Wellesley Police logs