Lewisboro Police Blotter: Phone Fraud, Threatening Email, Impounded Cars

LEWISBORO, N.Y. - Motor vehicle infractions continued to dominate Lewisboro Police activity in late August and early September with a few noteworthy exceptions.

Police received several complaints from people who narrowly avoided becoming victims of telephone fraud. 

On Aug. 30, police were dispatched to the home of a Katonah resident who reported receiving a call from an unfamiliar phone number and area code. The caller identified himself as a representative from Amazon and advised the resident that her account had been hacked, then transferred her to the fraud department at Chase Bank. 

A second individual informed the resident that somebody had opened five accounts in her name. Upon request, the resident texted this individual a copy of her driver’s license. He further instructed her to visit a local Chase branch to begin transferring money to a different account—a request that made the resident skeptical, whereupon she disconnected the call. A call to Chase connected her with a representative who advised her to file fraud alerts on her three credit accounts. She was also told she could file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission. She suffered no monetary loss and no further police action was requested.

On Sept. 3, a South Salem resident visited Lewisboro Police headquarters to report a threatening email. The complainant said the caller demanded $2,000 from her and provided a QR code to forward the funds. If she failed to send the money, the caller would steal her information as well as disclose embarrassing information. The caller also included a photo of her old residence with a different car in the driveway.

Police supplied the complainant with a contact form for the Federal Trade Commission and advised her to file a “credit report watch” with FTC.gov. The contact form was the only email the complainant received and she blocked the sender.

On Sept. 12, a South Salem resident also filed a fraud complaint also involving a caller impersonating Amazon. The caller in this case told the resident that there was an attempt of a fraudulent purchase of an iPod and an iPad on her Amazon account. The caller also stated that there were attempts to open several bank accounts in her name and had personal information such as phone and Social Security numbers for both her and her husband.

The resident became suspicious and hung up after the caller asked for $48,000 to be placed in an envelope for pickup at her home. Ultimately, no fraudulent transactions occurred, and the matter was closed.

One of the most unusual incidents of the recent period took place on Sunday, Sept. 8, when police responded to a report of chickens wandering Main Street in South Salem. The caller had deduced that the chickens belonged to the resident of a particular Main Street address, but nobody was home. The caller was attempting to corral the chickens into a coop at the rear of the property with the assistance of two passersby. After being rebuffed by the immediate neighbors, the caller sought to obtain a name and phone number for the homeowner by opening mail from the mailbox.  

The officer immediately advised her of her poor decision and gave her a stern warning while educating her on the offense of opening another person’s mail. The officer then spoke with the two people next door, who said the chickens always wander outdoors and that they did not provide the complainant with the homeowner’s number. 

One of the neighbors then called the homeowner and put the officer on the phone, who advised the officer that she and her son owned the chickens, are frequently not home, and that they didn’t need to be corralled. The officer advised the complainant to leave, advising her that regardless of her intentions, she should refrain from trespassing on another homeowner’s property.

Lewisboro Police responded to the following traffic incidents:

• On Monday, Aug. 26, an officer was performing traffic duty on the corner of Route 35 and Old Shop Road when he observed a pickup truck with non-transparent tinting on its driver-side window. After stopping the driver, the officer discovered his license had been suspended. The man received tickets for driving with a suspended license and for non-transparent windows, with a mandatory court appearance, and Sal’s Towing impounded the vehicle. 

• On Wednesday, Aug. 28, an officer stopped a vehicle for turning left onto Ridgefield Avenue from westbound Route 35 without heeding the “no left turn” sign at the intersection. After the driver produced a Connecticut license and registration, the officer discovered that the registration had been suspended since June 2021. Moreover, the driver’s New York operating privileges had also been suspended. The driver received three tickets and a mandatory court date, and his vehicle was impounded by East Towing. 

• The next day, an officer stopped a driver in South Salem for a faulty brake light. A license check revealed that the driver had no license and no proof that he owned the vehicle, nor that the vehicle was insured. The driver received four tickets, and East Towing impounded the vehicle.

• An expired inspection sticker led an officer to stop an eastbound driver on Sept. 3 on Route 35 in South Salem. A check revealed that the registration expired in November 2022 and had been suspended because of multiple parking violations. Sal’s Towing impounded the vehicle. 

• On Wednesday, Sept. 4, an officer stopped a vehicle on Route 22 in Goldens Bridge after his license plate reader alerted him that the car’s registration was suspended. A DMV check revealed that the registration had been suspended for lack of insurance. The driver nonetheless had a valid New York license. Sal’s Towing impounded the vehicle and the driver received two tickets: driving an unregistered motor vehicle and operating without insurance.

• An accident involving minor property damage occurred in South Salem later that day. While on patrol, the officer noted two vehicles on the side of the roadway on Route 35. The drivers had exchanged details already, and one driver said she thought she wasn’t allowed to leave the scene without filing an accident report with the police. The officer explained an accident report wasn’t required because there were no injuries and no towing was necessary. The two drivers’ licenses, registrations and insurance were up to date and the drivers agreed to each file a report with their insurers. The matter was closed.

• On Wednesday, Sept. 11, an officer stopped a vehicle with Texas plates in Cross River when he noticed that one of the car’s rear brake lights was inoperable. A DMV check revealed that the car’s registration had expired in September 2021. The driver received two tickets and Sal’s Towing impounded the vehicle.

• An accident involving a motorcycle and a bicycle took place Sept. 15 in Golden’s Bridge. The motorcycle driver was passing the bicyclist on Waccabuc Road, when the bicyclist made a sharp turn causing the collision. A nearby resident corroborated the motorcyclist’s account, and the bicyclist refused medical attention.