Belmont Police Log, Oct. 19-30: Bicyclists struck, man seen overnight on Watson Road and Baker Street, Apple pop-up scam and more
The following are excerpts from the Belmont Police log as made available by the Belmont Police Department. The log is public and available for review. All persons are presumed innocent until found guilty in a court of law.
Thursday, Oct. 19
3:29 p.m.: A Tobey Road resident reported that on Oct. 18th he received an email from his American Airlines Mastercard stating that on Sept. 9th, 23,000 air miles were withdrawn from his account. They gave him the name of the person who withdrew the miles worth $855. He did not recognize the name and informed them he did not make any withdrawals. They instructed him to file a police report.
Friday, Oct. 20
9:16 a.m.: A Payson Terrace resident reported fraud. Someone duplicated his Facebook profile. He thinks it was possibly a former business acquaintance, a real estate agent, because their working relationship became negative and this person disliked him. He was advised to email Facebook about the situation by contacting. He has not experienced anything else suspicious.
5:16 p.m.: A Marion Road resident reported fraud. He said earlier this year he signed up for identity protection. On Sept. 28th and 29th, he received notifications someone attempted to open a Home Equity loan for $80,000 from Discover bank and an auto loan for $50,000 from Bank of America and a credit card from Capital One. All of these were denied. There was a data breach of the American Board of Internal Medicine, which is why he signed up for the identity protection. He notified the banks and credit bureaus of the fraud and has frozen his credit at this time.
Saturday, Oct. 21
10:49 a.m.: A Francis Street resident reported someone purchased $500 worth of clothing from his Amazon account. It was shipped to an address in Flushing, New York. He was advised to cancel the credit card used for the purchases and contact his bank. He said he will also create a new Amazon account.
Sunday, Oct. 22
6:01 a.m.: Criminal complaint against a Tyngsboro woman for making a false bomb threat.
Monday, Oct. 23
9:37 a.m.: Collision into transformer in area of Waverley and Prince Street involving a 2018 cement truck operated by a Derry, New Hampshire man. The mixer truck’s shoot was extended forward. The operator said he was working on Slade Street. He was driving to the town yard to wash out his cement shoot. As he turned from Waverley to Prince Street, his shoot hit the utility pole causing the transformer box to smash to the ground. He was issued a citation for unsecured load. Belmont Light took care of the utility pole.
4:34 p.m.: A Trowbridge Street resident reported she paid her attorney $1,500 via Zelle to fill out her immigration paperwork in September 2022. She did not hear back from him for a few months and then reached out asking for her money back. The attorney did not respond until he was asked again. She requested her money back numerous times but he did not return it. In the past she paid him a few hundred dollars and did not receive services from him. She would have reported him sooner but learned he was already in trouble and didn’t want to give him a hard time. She last attempted to contact him on Oct. 3rd and has yet to receive a response. She showed the officers the three emails containing the Zelle payment and messages between her and the attorney.
Tuesday, Oct. 24
8:04 a.m.: Collision between a 2018 Kia Uber operated by a Waltham man and a 70-year-old Belmont male bicyclist at intersection of Scott Road and Simmons Avenue. The operator of the Kia was traveling Eastbound on Scott Road. He was in the process of dropping off a passenger. He observed a bicyclist and said he safely passed him on the left side as he was crossing over Simmons Avenue. He then heard a loud thump towards the back of his vehicle. He pulled over and observed the bicyclist on the ground bleeding. He said he never saw the bicyclist after he passed him. The passenger of the Uber also said she observed the bicyclist and that the driver passed him safely. She also had no idea an accident occurred until she heard a loud thump. Officers were unable to get a statement from the bicyclist but observed blood coming from his mouth. He was wearing a helmet. A witness who was traveling behind the Kia observed the Uber pass the cyclist but said the space was narrow due to cars parked on either side of Scott Road. Neither party was operating erratically but she felt the road was too narrow for the Uber to pass the cyclist. It appeared as though the cyclist was attempting to make a left turn on Simmons Avenue. The bicyclist didn’t have a signal and the bicyclist didn’t use a hand signal. The bicyclist struck the right back side of the vehicle, immediately fell and hit his head on the roadway. The Kia sustained damage to his right quarter panel. The bicycle had damage to the handlebar, seat and left pedal. The operator of the Kia was issued a citation for passing a vulnerable user. The bicyclist was transported to a Mount Auburn Hospital. He suffered several fractures to his face, collarbone and ribs.
Wednesday, Oct. 25
1:01 a.m.: A Baker Street resident reported seeing an individual walking through their backyard on the Ring camera. Officers searched the yard and surrounding homes and were unable to find anyone. The homeowner said motion was picked up twice on his Ring camera at 12:54 a.m. The individual is seen walking down the driveway cautiously in one video and another one shows the individual in the backyard and walking away once the spotlights were activated. His motor vehicle was locked and no entry was gained. The individual was wearing black pants, a black and gray long sleeve shirt, a blue hood and black hat with an orange brim and a black ski mask. Officers remained in the area until 1:30 a.m. but did not locate him. Then, at 1:37 a.m., they received a call from a Watson Road resident reporting a hooded male waking through cars in the driveway. Officers searched the area and were unable to locate anyone. The video showed the same male as Baker Street going through the property. The homeowner on Watson Road said their vehicles were not entered. Officers obtained footage of the suspect form both home owners.
8:41 a.m.: A Horace Road resident reported fraud. On Oct. 24th, he received a letter from Verizon Wireless saying he owed $22.90. He does not have a Verizon Wireless account. He reported it as fraud to Verizon. In May, he dealt with unemployment fraud. It appears nothing else was compromised and he was advised to continue monitoring his accounts.
1:20 p.m.: A three car collision in area of 486 Common St. between a 2013 Ford operated by a Malden woman and a 2005 Toyota operated by a Roslindale man and a 2020 Toyota operated by a Dorchester woman. The operator of the Ford was complaining of head and neck pain. Belmont Fire responded. The operator of the 2005 Toyota was traveling Southbound on Common Street heading towards Watertown. A Ford was attempting to pull out of a parking space when it struck his vehicle. The operator of the Ford said she was attempting to pull out of her parking spot when she was struck, causing her to hit the vehicle parked in front of her. Both operators were transported to Mount Auburn Hospital for an evaluation. The Ford and 2005 Toyota were towed from the scene. The Ford sustained heavy damage. The 2020 Toyota had damage to its rear but could be driven from the scene. The operator of the Ford was issued a citation for failure to yield right of way.
Thursday, Oct. 26
11:47 a.m.: A Larch Circle resident reported a break-in to a 2017 Chevy. He noticed his Chase credit card and $50 cash were missing from the center console. He contacted Chase bank to cancel the card. The vehicle was not locked overnight. The owner was advised to lock his vehicle overnight.
12:13 p.m.: A Somerville resident reported fraud. Her son was in contact with someone on Facebook Marketplace about purchasing a pair of Airpod Max headphones. The contact was Bruno Baggers. Her son agreed to meet Bruno in front of CVS on Leonard Street to purchase the headphones. He was driven by a friend to the CVS. He gave Bruno, $200 and returned to the car. Bruno was 5-foot-five inches with long dark hair, Caucasian, appeared to be 12 years old. Once the son got home, he realized the headphones were fake. He brought them to an Apple store who also confirmed they were fake. Screen shots of the original conversation and Bruno were sent to the police.
Thursday, Oct 26
3:27 p.m.: A 2010 Ford operated by a Cambridge man collided into a 64-year-old male bicyclist in area of 1010 Pleasant St., rear parking lot of Star Market. Belmont Fire arrived on the scene to treat the cyclist. The operator of the Ford was waiting to turn into the parking lot. While turning in, a bicyclist came around the bend on the right side of the car. He attempted to speed up to get away but the bicyclist struck the passenger side door of the vehicle and fell off. There was significant glare from the sun, which made it hard to see the cyclist at the time. The cyclist was having trouble remembering things. He had several scrapes and contusions on his body including his head. He could not remember his address or phone number and was transported to Beth Israel Hospital. He was wearing a helmet that was damaged in the crash. The operator of the Ford was issued a citation for failure to use care while turning.
Friday, Oct. 27
2:58 p.m. A Trapelo resident said he received a call in November of 2022 from someone identifying himself as Frank from Xfinity. This call led him to purchase an Iphone14 from Xfinity in December 2022. Over the course of the next few months, Frank convinced him to purchase two separate Iphones totaling $4,000 using various gift cards from Target and CVS. He made the purchases using his Capital One credit card. He reported the fraudulent activity to Capital One and Xfinity.
8:29 p.m.: A Temple Street resident reported a woman who tripped on the sidewalk. Officers spoke to the resident who appeared to have a swollen lip. She tripped at approximately 5:30 p.m. and declined medical treatment. She showed officers the raised sidewalk behind the tree in front of her residence. She believes she might have injured her ribs and may have chipped her tooth. She tripped on the same sidewalk two years ago and broke her knee cap. She was advised to contact the office of Community Development regarding the sidewalk.
Saturday, Oct. 28
3:22 p.m.: A Broad Street resident reported fraud. On Oct. 25th at 12:10 p.m., a pop-up window appeared on his Apple MacBook stating there was an Apple security alert and his computer was hacked. He was instructed to call 833-697-5212. He called the number and spoke to someone he believed was an Apple rep. identifying himself a Raj Kundra. He said someone hacked into his bank account and made large amounts of charges. He said a Trojan horse infected his computer and had him Google information about how Trojan horses affect computers. He had him download and install a software called Anydesk onto his computer. Then, Raj was able to remotely access his computer. He said the bank affected was Ally Bank. Raj googled the phone number for Ally Bank and gave it to the resident who called it. The person he spoke to, named Gary, said he would create a new account for him to transfer all his money to while they fix the problem. He was informed there was $20,000 merchandise purchased from a Russian porn site. Ally Bank put the victim on hold, claiming to contact government agencies to work on fixing the problem. He claimed to be working with the Federal Trade Commision to create a temporary account to transfer $23,000 to safeguard them from additional hacks. They gave him an account number to transfer the funds to and was advised to contact Ally Bank and put the transfer in right away. The victim used his wife’s phone which was not connected to his laptop and spoke to the real Ally Bank who said it was something that could not be done quickly and was confused about the other person from Ally bank instructing him to set up a new account. Gary told him he shouldn’t have called the actual Ally bank rep. because they may have been in on the fraud. He asked him to provide a photo of his license to continue the investigation with the FTC. He then terminated the call and researched online and discovered this was a scam and there were several scams involving pop-ups on Apple computers. He immediately deleted the Anydesk app from his computer and 10 minutes later, he received two more calls from Gary, which he did not answer. He called the real rep. of Ally Bank who assisted him in stopping the transaction from his account. He updated his computer to increase security at all his financial institutions and changed all his passwords. He also put a credit freeze on his personal info through all three credit bureaus, cancelled all his credit cards and changed all his Ally bank account information.
7:28 p.m.: A resident said a man was chasing children and yelling at them in the area of the Chenery Middle School. When officers arrived, they said a man reported his 2017 GMC being hit by eggs. He was driving when he heard two loud pops on the side of his car. He thought they were rocks and noticed a group of young males biking away. He followed the group to the Chenery and chased them on foot. They ran away. He described one of the males who was wearing a white hoody with a gray backpack and dark shorts. Officers located the youth meeting that description. He said he did not throw eggs and would not identify his friends who were with him. Officers had the young man’s mother pick him up and take him home for the evening.
Sunday, Oct. 29
9:12 a.m.: A Cambridge man reported missing property. On Oct. 28th, he left Rancatore’s and a half hour later he realized he forgot his silver money clip containing his driver’s license, credit card and $50 cash. The employees said they did not see his money clip. He will order a new driver’s license and cancelled his credit card.
5:43 p.m. A Trapelo Road resident reported fraud. He received an email from Best Buy saying his order of a MacBook valued at $899 and Best Buy Plus yearly membership valued at $44.99 and a charging cable valued at $7.99 were ready for curbside pick up at Best Buy in Houston, Texas, totaling $1,031.81. He did not order these items and contacted his credit card company to inform them of the fraudulent charges.
Monday, Oct 30
8:26 a.m.: A Fieldmont Road resident reported fraudulent activity. She and her husband’s Fidelity accounts were fraudulently manipulated since Sept. 2020. One account belonging to her husband was changed to a joint account with a person named Lakivia Monique Devore. She and her husband have no idea who Lakivia was. They were able to use Biometrics to gain access to their accounts. Fidelity Investment Cybercrime looked into the matter and resolved all the fraudulent activity and locked all their accounts. They did not lose any money during this time period.
Between Oct. 19 and Oct. 29, Belmont Police responded to nine domestics including one arrest for assault and battery and nine mental health calls.