Wellesley, Mass., police log (we’re working with the police department to get caught up on more current incidents…):
On March 3, 2025, at 3:13 p.m. an officer spoke with a male reporting party who wished to report a letter he received in the mail from the Bianlian Group indicating they had gained access to his business’ computer files, and they wanted $350,000 in bitcoin or they would publish the data on their TOR darknet websites. The reporting party stated he was able to confirm that there was a data breach at his company, and he was not going to pay the ransom, but wanted to document the incident in case there were further threats received.
On March 4, 2025, at 4:20 p.m. an officer spoke with a male reporting party who stated an employee at his company received a letter from the Bianlian Group demanding $350,000 in Bitcoin. The reporting party stated the company he works for has been under cyber-attacks for the past few weeks from groups in both China and Russia. He was advised to file an IC3 (internet Crime Complaint Center) report with the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
On March 5, 2025, at 4:15 p.m. an officer spoke with a female reporting party at the police station regarding a wallet that was possibly stolen. The reporting party stated the wallet had been missing since Friday and believed it was either taken while she was at the library at Wellesley High School or it was misplaced. She stated she wanted to file a police report in case someone attempted to use her identification or personal information in the future.
On March 6, 2025, at 2:30 p.m. an officer spoke with a male reporting party regarding identity fraud. He stated he had owned a residence in western Massachusetts over 25 years previously and he recently received a utility bill from National Grid totaling $1,696.25. He stated he contacted National Grid to dispute the charges, and they advised him a police report would be required to dispute the charges.
On March 6, 2025, at 3:03 p.m. an officer spoke with a female reporting party regarding fraudulent use of a credit card. The reporting party stated between March 2nd and March 6th there were two fraudulent charges on her credit card totaling more than $1,500. She stated she went to the bank and notified the bank of both charges, and they put a fraud claim on the charges. The 2nd purchase was to be shipped to an address in Prior Lake, MN. She removed this card from her Amazon account, cancelled her card and was issued a new card. She was advised to closely monitor her credit for any other fraudulent activity.
On March 6, 2025, at 3:07 p.m. and officer spoke to a male reporting party who stated her received a call from an unknown individual posing as an employee of a bank stating that there were fraudulent charges on his credit card. The unknown caller requested the reporting party’s cell phone number and then texted him a website to use to transfer his funds to a new account. The reporting party asked about the fraudulent charges again and the caller requested the last 4 digits of his credit card number and then began listing off the allegedly fraudulent charges. The reporting party became suspicious at this point and ended the call. The reporting party later went to the bank and was advised this was a scam. He was advised to monitor his accounts for any suspicious activity.
On March 6, 2025, at 5:00 p.m. an officer spoke with a male reporting party who stated he believed he had been paid by his new employer with a fraudulent check. He stated he found a job listing on Indeed.com for a remote personal assistant job. The reporting party accepted a job offer and was advised he would receive a check for his 1st week’s pay and was provided with a list of tasks to perform with the remaining funds. The individual he was texting with advised him to deposit the check in person with a teller so there would not be a long hold on the check. The reporting party deposited the check through the ATM and advised his new employer that he would have to wait for the check to clear before he could carry out the tasks. He did not hear from his new employer for several days and he decided to text him to tell him that the job wasn’t working out and he would return all the funds once the check is cleared. He never heard back and later learned that the bank closed his account because the check he deposited was fraudulent. He did not suffer any financial loss and was advised to monitor his credit as he had provided some personal information to the unknown individual who was pretending to be an employer.
On March 8, 2025, at 11:45 a.m. an officer spoke with a male reporting party regarding a dog bite that had occurred earlier in the day at a business on Washington Street. The male party stated his child was bitten in the face by a dog and started crying. While he was tending to his child the individual with the dog left the business. He took his child to his pediatrician and was advised without knowing the vaccination history his child would have to undergo a series of shots to protect again rabies. The officer went to the business and spoke with employees and was able to obtain some information that led to the identification of the individual who had the dog. Later in the day officers were able to speak with the dog owner at their residence and were advised the dog was up to date with all vaccinations. On Monday, March 10th the Animal Control Officer placed the dog under quarantine for 10 days per state law.
On March 9, 2025, at 10:25 a.m. an officer was dispatched to the area of Pierce Road for a report of water being pumped into the roadway. The reporting party was concerned that it would turn to ice due to the cold conditions. The officer located a property that was pumping water from a small pond near the driveway. There did not appear to be anyone home in the residence. The officer was able to contact the homeowner by phone and have the pump shut off.
On March 9, 2025, at 4:40 p.m. an officer spoke with a female reporting party who stated she believed she was the victim of cryptocurrency fraud. The reporting party stated she met someone on LinkedIn a few months prior, and the individual was assisting the reporting party with investing monies into a Coinbase wallet. The reporting party stated that she had deposited approximately 1.2 million dollars into the Coinbase wallet, and she was now not able to access the funds. She stated when she attempted to withdraw funds the unknown party advised her, she would need to deposit an additional $800,000 to withdraw her funds. She became suspicious and completed an IC3 form. The officer conducted a search of the IP address associated with individual she was in contact with and was able to confirm the IP address originated in Thailand. She was advised to immediately cease all communication with the individual.
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Wow! What a police report that is! I don’t ever recall any Wellesley police reports with issues of this magnitude before. YIKES!