Police Reports: Northfield residents targeted in series of gift card scams, more

These reports were pulled from police summaries provided by departments in our coverage area (Wilmette, Winnetka, Northfield, Kenilworth and Glencoe) during the week of Sunday-Saturday, May 30-June 5.

Wilmette

June 3

• There were several reports of criminal damage reported June 2-3. Those incidents included: a damaged bike in the 1200 block of Green Bay Road; a broken window at the Metra train station platform; and a littered lobby and damaged flower pot in the 1200 block of Washington Avenue.

June 2

• Items were reported stolen from a garden in the 1100 block of Greenwood.

May 31

• Miscellaneous personal items were reported missing from a home in the 1300 block of Gregory Avenue.

Winnetka

May 26

• Various methods reportedly were used to deface a transformer between March 1-May 26 in the 500 block of Lincoln Avenue. The damages are worth $50. A vehicle tire was also reported damaged in this week’s reports on May 30 in the 1000 block of Tower Road.

May 25

• It was reported an unknown offender used a resident’s personal information to open a Wells Fargo account without authorization at 9 a.m. April 27. There is no reported loss.

Northfield

May 28

• A resident reported receiving what they believed to be a legitimate e-mail from Amazon asking the resident to call regarding delivery of an order. They called the provided number and the resident was told their account was hacked. In order to fix it, the subject told them they needed to buy three $200 Google gift cards. The alleged victim purchased the gift cards, called the subject back, and the subject told the resident to purchase additional gift cards, at which time the victim became suspicious and contacted police.

May 27

• A resident reportedly dialed a number they thought was Enterprise Car Rental to reserve a vehicle; however, they were told by the subject they spoke with they would need to purchase $480 in American Express gift cards and call back to finish the transaction. After the victim purchased the gift cards and called back, the subject said to purchase a prepaid American Express card, at which time the victim became suspicious and contacted police.

May 25

• A resident received a call from a person purporting to be from PayPal, requesting they call customer service regarding fraudulent activity. Once the resident called, they spoke with someone who advised a $2,000 credit was incorrectly added to their account. The subject then asked the resident to provide bank account information and to purchase $2,000 in Target gift cards. No gift cards were purchased and no funds were removed from the account.

• A contractor was reportedly bitten by a dog at a residence in the 300 block of Maple Row. The victim sustained minor injuries. Officers issued the dog owner a non-appearance citation with a $100 fine.

The Record’s police reports are taken from police-activity summaries prepared by local police departments. Police Reports contain public information from preliminary reports and are not a complete listing of all police activity. All arrestees are innocent until proven guilty.