Crime & Safety
Downers Woman Loses $2,500 in Phone Scam: Police Blotter
Downers Grove police reports, June 21-26
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 26
Woman Loses $2,500 in Phone Scam
A woman on Lyman Avenue reported a phone scam that involved wiring money to Haiti. At about 8:30 a.m. she received a call from a male that claimed to be her grandson, according to a police report. He told her he had been in an accident with some people from Haiti and needed money. Then he put someone on the phone that claimed to be her grandson's attorney, who asked her to wire $2,500 so he could get her grandson out of jail, the report said.The attorney told her to go to a Walmart to wire the money, which she did at about 11 a.m. Then at about 3 p.m. the man called her back again and said he needed an additional $2,700 for the settlement wired through Western Union. When Western Union put a stop on the wire due to suspicious of fraudulent activity, she told the attorney what happened in another phone call.
"She advised at this time she told the offender that she did not feel comfortable doing this and that he would need to contact his parents for the money," the report said. "The complainant advised at this time the phone went dead."
The woman contacted her daughter, who told her the grandson was fine and wasn't in an accident. Complaints will be signed if an offender is located.
Mailbox Found 5 Blocks Away
A woman at 7 a.m. on the 800 block of Valleyview Drive walked out to her driveway to get the morning paper and found a mailbox on the parkway. Police made contact with the mailbox's owner, who was from the 800 block of Claremont Drive. The owner had no idea what had happened to his mailbox. He inspected it and said that it was only slightly damaged.
TUESDAY, JUNE 25
Find out what's happening in Downers Grovewith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Mailbox Baseball
A resident at 9:55 p.m. reported teens in a large white SUV playing mailbox baseball on the 1300 block of Hawkins. The anonymous caller told a dispatcher the SUV already left the area northbound on Bateman, according to a police report. Officer found one dented mailbox and two more laying in the street. The mailbox owners were contacted and will sign complaints if the offender is located. Each mailbox was valued at $120.
FRIDAY, JUNE 21
Find out what's happening in Downers Grovewith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Sony Recorder, Nikon Camera Taken From Lexus
An $850 Sony video recorder and a $320 Nikon camera were taken from a 1999 Lexus on the 5300 block of Washington Street. The incident occurred sometime between June 10 and June 21, according to a police report.
Looking for more Downers Grove police news?
- IDOT Assisting in Annual Crackdown on Drunk Drivers for Fourth of July
- DUI, Car Crash Arrests: Police Blotter
- 7 Indicted, 30 Kilos of Drugs Seized in Multi-County Bust
- Man Caught Stealing Lil Wayne CD: Police Blotter
- Off-Duty Downers Grove Cop Busts Joliet House Burglar
- - - - - - - - - - - - - -
There are plenty of ways to keep up on Downers Grove news:
Police Blotter information is provided by local law enforcement agencies. Charges are not evidence of guilt. They are a record of police actions taken on a given day, and persons charged with a crime are presumed innocent until proven guilty in court. If you or a family member are charged or cited and the case is subsequently adjudicated, we encourage you to notify the editor. We will verify and report the outcome.
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.
