The latest Wellesley Police Department arrest and incident logs:
Arrests
On December 16, 2023 Officer Scopa was conducting traffic enforcement on Worcester Street near Washington Street when he observed an Acura SUV pass his location with what appeared to be a paper license plate that he was unable to clearly read. He stopped the vehicle and spoke with the operator, and requested his license and the registration information. A query of his information showed that his license was suspended, and that the temporary registration tag was issued to a different vehicle. He was taken into custody, transported to the station, booked in the usual manner, afforded all rights and later bailed.
On December 26, 2023 at 7:51 a.m. for a report of a female party who was ringing doorbells in the area and appeared disheveled. Officers located the female party, later identified, on Washington Street and began speaking with her. A query of her information showed there was an active warrant for her arrest issued by a court in Boston for a failure to appear in court. She was taken into custody, transported to the station, booked in the usual manner, afforded all rights and later transported to the Dedham District Court.
Incidents
On December 6, 2023 at 12:30 p.m. and officer spoke to a reporting party regarding cyber fraud. The reporting party stated they utilize an online cryptocurrency exchange platform (Coinbase). They shared that they had approximately $12,000 in their account that was dispersed among different investments. The reporting party did not regularly monitor their account. In October the reporting party received two notifications from different financial institutions regarding fraudulent activity. They checked the accounts and did not notice any suspicious activity. The reporting party then attempted to log in into their Coinbase account and learned it had been compromised and they were no longer able to access it. On December 6, 2023 the reporting party was able to access their account and found there was $0.79 cents balance in the account. The reporting party had filed a claim with Coinbase. There are no suspects.
On December 11, 2023 at 12:00 p.m. an officer spoke with a reporting party regarding a cryptocurrency fishing scam though their Coinbase account. The reporting party received several text messages and phone calls regarding their Coinbase account. One of the text messages stated that the account had been compromised and to respond “yes” or “no” if it was their account. The account holder responded “no” and then received a phone call from a 888 number regarding the account requesting that the account password be reset. At the time the account holder did not realize the 888 number was not the actual 888 number for Coinbase due to it being a similar number. The reporting party stated as a result of this scam a large amount of Bitcoin was taken from his account and Ethereum and STX were sold. They indicated the approximate market value of the cryptocurrency was $30,000. The reporting party had filed a report with the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
On January 1, 2024 at 1:38 a.m. officers were dispatched to Washington Street in the area of Wellesley Hills for a report of a pedestrian struck by a motor vehicle. Officers who responded learned that the pedestrian had exited a ride share vehicle that had stopped on Washington Street in a westerly direction to let the occupants out of the vehicle. One of the passengers was struck by a vehicle traveling in an easterly direction while crossing the street. That individual suffered significant non-life threatening injuries and was transported to a hospital for treatment. The incident is under investigation.
On January 2, 2024 at 11:12 a.m. an officer spoke to a reporting party who stated two unauthorized transactions were made from their account on December 26, 2024. These withdrawals were made in New York. The individual who made the withdrawals filled out two withdrawal slips and had an ID with the reporting party’s information on it. On December 27 th the reporting party received a call from a bank employee at a local Wellesley branch who confirmed that these fraudulent transactions had occurred. The officer spoke with the bank employee who stated the New York branch is investigating the incident.
On January 2, 2024 at 5:39 p.m. an officer spoke with a reporting party regarding identity fraud. The reporting party stated that he had received a letter from two banks on December 27 th regarding a request for new credit cards. The reporting party denied both requests. He also received a letter from Walmart regarding a new credit card account he had opened. The reporting party contacted Walmart and cancelled the credit card. On January 2, 2024 the reporting party received a letter from Target indicating that a credit card was opened with their information and there was an attempted charge of $10,000. The reporting party contacted Target and advised them a credit card had not been opened with their company. The reporting party indicated that they had been a victim of a data breach and had recently used the self-check out at Roche Bros. The officer advised the reporting party to requested a freeze of their credit lines, which had already been done. The officer is investigating the fraud.
On January 2, 2024 an officer accompanied an officer from the Massachusetts Society of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (MSPCA) who was investigating a case that had been referred to her by a local veterinarian. The dog in question had been treated by the veterinarian and was concerned about the dog and its lack of consistent medical attention for some existing medical issues. The officers spoke with one of the homeowners who admitted they were unable to properly provide care and medical resources for the dog. The dog owner had been researching veterinary clinics that offered financial aid to pet owners who qualified and was provided with information on what additional care was needed. The dog owner did not have the resources needed to provide the level of care and treatment needed and agreed to surrender ownership of the dog.
On January 6, 2024 at 12:17 p.m. an officer spoke with a reporting party regarding identity theft. An unknown individual had attempted to open four different credit card accounts and one bank account using the reporting party’s information. All of these attempts were flagged as fraudulent and were denied. The reporting party had requested information from the respective financial institutions regarding the information used on the applications to open the accounts. On January 7 th the reporting party contacted the officer and shared that there had been another attempt to open an account using his personal information. The incident is under investigation.
Note: We’re working to revive more regular police log reports.
Please support your local news source, The Swellesley Report
