Police Log: Man Scammed Out of Nearly $250K, Shoplifter Caught in Home Depot Parking Lot

The following information was provided by the Watertown Police Department.

Arrests

None

Incidents

April 21, 8:31 a.m.: An Oliver Street resident reported someone had opened a Sprint cell phone account in 2015 in his name, but he did not know about it until his credit was impacted in 2020. Someone got access to his personal information, including his Social Security Number, in order open the account. There was a balance of $376 on it. The account has been closed, and the resident is working with Sprint to sort out the issues.

April 21, 2 p.m.: A 67-year-old Watertown resident reported he was the victim of a lengthy scheme, in which he was scammed out of nearly a quarter million dollars. He got in contact with someone on a dating website who he thought was a single mother from Texas. Over the course of multiple conversations, the woman explained she was having financial problems and asked him for money. The man sent her $4,200 which she said would be used on a lawyer to deal with her father’s estate. Later, the man received multiple calls from someone claiming to be an agent from the U.S. Justice Department who said the man was being investigated for sending money to a known terrorist organization. Over the next few weeks, he kept getting calls from people, and was told he could send money to avoid being arrested on a Federal terrorist charge. He also thought he was paying taxes on winning the Guayana lottery. In total, he sent $244,200. Watertown Police are working with the Massachusetts Attorney General’s office and the FBI on the investigation.

April 22, 1:22 p.m.: A shoplifter left Home Depot with several items, and security called Police. When officers arrived they spotted the man putting the items in his trunk, including Sawzall blades, lawn bags, a vector power station, Armor All leather protection, drip oil pans and a booster cable. In total, the items cost $300.29. The suspect said he was sorry he had taken the items, and the items were recovered. The 59-year-old Boston man was summonsed to Waltham District Court on a charge of shoplifting over $250.

April 23, 12:37 p.m.: A woman who had moved from Watertown to Cambridge in March had her laptop stolen sometime during the move. On April 23, she was alerted by Apple that someone had turned on the computer in New Bedford. She contacted police. The laptop is worth $1,300, and the woman connected with New Bedford Police to work on the case.

April 24, 4:23 p.m.: An Arlington man locked his bike in the parking lot of Dunkin’ Donuts at 49 Mt. Auburn St. at 6:30 a.m. and when he came back at 4:10 p.m. he found the lock had been cut and the bike was gone. A witness reported seeing a white male, 5-foot-10 inches tall with a slim build, short dark hair and wearing a baggy black T-shirt and baggy black shorts with the NBA logo on them. He was last seen riding toward Watertown Square. The Cannondale-brand bike is worth $900.

April 24, 5:21 p.m.: A Watertown woman had ordered a mattress to be delivered to her Arlington Street home. According to FedEx, delivery had been made on April 23 between 1 p.m. and 1:30 p.m., but the woman said she was home all day and never saw the mattress. The resident does not know if it was stolen from her porch or if it was never delivered.

April 25, 10:30 a.m.: A resident of the 55 Waverley Ave. apartment building reported a package was missing. She ordered two bracelets, valued at $26 each. The package was delivered on April 23, and a neighbor received the package for the resident because she was away. The person put it in front of her apartment door, but when the resident came back it was gone, along with her doormat.