Police Log: Man Failed to Register as Sex Offender, Scammer Poses as FBI Agent

The following information was provided by the Watertown Police Department.

Arrests

None

Incidents

Jan. 11, 3:53 p.m.: A Howard Street resident reported that she was missing a package. It was supposed to have been delivered on Jan. 3, and on the 5th the resident realized it wasn’t there. The package contained protein powder worth $27.95.

Jan. 12, 2:19 a.m.: An officer saw a man in the parking lot behind the CVS parking lot who appeared to be homeless. The man was originally from Waltham and was looking for a place to stay in the Boston area. Police ran his name but were not able to do a full check at that hour of night. The next day, a detective followed up and discovered that the man was a Level 1 sex offender (the lowest level) who had not registered with the appropriate agency. Police applied for an arrest warrant for the 61-year-old man for failure to register as a sex offender.

Jan. 12, 4:13 p.m.: A Watertown woman reported a phone scam. She received a call from someone posing as an FBI agent from Texas who said that a rental vehicle had gotten into an accident in Texas and the rental information came back to her. The woman was asked to confirm the last four numbers on her Social Security number and what bank she uses, which she provided the caller with the information. Then the caller instructed her to purchase a $500 gift card to Target. She did so and provided the numbers to the person. The caller asked her to send an additional $10,000 in a cashier’s check and send it to him. At this point she got a bad feeling about the situation and believed it was fraudulent, so she hung up and called police. The two phone numbers she spoke to the suspect on appear to be spoofed, with one being for a computer forensic lab associated with the FBI in Texas.

Jan. 13, 10:49 a.m.: The general manager of the Residence Inn by Marriott reported that some windows at the hotel had been damaged. The three street level windows were located on the Arsenal Street side of the building, and appeared to have been shot with a BB gun. One was completely shattered. The cost to replace them is $3,000.

Jan. 14, 3:58 p.m.: A husband and wife from Katherine Road told Police that their computer had been hacked. They received an email from an alleged Amazon employee saying fraudulent charges had been made on their account and he could help fix the fraudulent charges. They were unaware of any suspicious activity on their account. The alleged employee said that he saw the charges and flagged it and could help them figure it out if they called him. During the phone call the employee was able to get into the computer. As he talked on the phone he said he would set up a FaceTime call. The person on the other end was a white male, age 65-70. At some point the residents realized the situation was suspicious and disconnected the call. They brought their computer to a tech service business and wiped it of any virus or malware. They changed their passwords and notified their banks and Social Security Administration. There was about $300 in charges to their account but the bank was able to stop the charges because they acted so quickly. Police investigated the number, which appeared to have been spoofed. 

Jan. 15, 10:26 p.m.: An officer driving by the Chase Bank at 550 Arsenal Street saw a window on the building had been shattered. It appeared that a BB gun or pellet gun was used to cause the damage. Police are working with the bank officials, who are not sure what time it happened. The 3 x 3 double-pane window is valued at $1,500. 

Jan. 16, 3:07 p.m.: A Watertown man brought his vehicle to AA Auto Clinic on Main Street for repairs, and the mechanic found that the catalytic converter had been cut out of the 2001 Honda Accord’s exhaust system. The man from Woodview Way said it happened sometime last week while parked near his home. The cost to replace that part is $1,500. The owner believes it was taken sometime the previous week while the car was parked near his home.