Intervention from an Anacortes Police officer apparently helped a cyber fraud victim avoid losing funds.
Dispatch advised of a fraud complaint in the APD lobby on May 7. The reporting party reported that he was trying to access a check on an account and could not recall which link he clicked when he had navigated to the account website. He said the link generated a security message to contact. He called it and the representative said they need to have control of his computer because it had been compromised remotely. They then transferred him to the fraud department with two charges of $11,000 pending on his Visa credit card. The representative eventually said he needed to pay the outstanding balance via $3,000 worth of gift cards, ordering him to go to the grocery store and purchase two $500 gift cards and read him the numbers. The manager at the Anacortes grocery store explained to the man that this was a method scammers use to exploit people. During officers’ interview with the reporting party, the representative called back and explained the gift card process. The reporting party handed the phone to the officer, who identified himself as the Anacortes Police Department. The officer asked who the man represented, to which he replied, “It is none of your business.” The officer asked a further question, and the other party hung up. The reporting party had purchased the gift cards but had not given the numbers to the scammer. The officer suggested getting his computer and phone wiped clean, along with changing his account information. The officer provided the reporting party with the FBI’s identify theft website and provided an APD case number.
Friday, May 3, 2024
The APD was contacted by Port of Anacortes security with concerns for a male sleeping in the gravel parking lot adjacent to port property. Officers contacted the man, who had ignored port security. The man left without incident.
Sunday, May 5, 2024
An employee at an Anacortes business reported having received a counterfeit $100 bill the previous night. Officers responded and spoke to the business owner, who said the bill felt funny. Officers examined the bill and determined it had a good serial number, watermark and security thread, and recommended having a local bank take a look at it for further determination.
The reporting party was stranded in Anacortes by his cousin while they were on a trip. The reporting party was trying to get back to Port Townsend. An APD officer made arrangements with Washington State Patrol to meet at the Oak Harbor Police Department, where a trooper would transport the man the rest of the way to the Coupeville ferry. An officer provided the reporting party with a courtesy transport.
Monday, May 6, 2024
Officers were dispatched to a theft report in which the reporting party reported that someone had stolen his pack-out toolbox containing more than $4,300 worth of tools days before. He said he left an employee with the toolbox and agreed upon a place to leave it where it would be safe. The employee stated that when he returned, he noticed the toolbox was gone. The officers documented the theft.
Wednesday, May 8, 2024
A security guard located in Anacortes called and advised of a threatening incident in the 1000 block of Q Avenue. He reported that a subject had told him to go back to his own country and then driven his vehicle toward him and tried to run him over. The reporting party said he approached the man’s car when it was stopped in the lane of travel and offered help. The man said something about payment, and the security guard said there were no payment options at this location. The guard said the man then changed his tone and made racist and vulgar remarks to the guard before backing his vehicle up, pointing it at the guard and driving toward him. The guard ran to the side of some nearby dumpsters to get out of the way. The man then drove away. A witness provided the man’s license plate number. The responding officer reviewed video footage of the incident. The witness confirmed the racist comments made by the man and that he had driven toward the guard. The security guard elected to pursue charges, and the New York man was taken into custody. Charging paperwork was submitted to the Skagit County Prosecuting Attorney’s office for attempted vehicular assault and for a hate crime.
Thursday, May 9, 2024
Officers responded to a disorderly detail at an Anacortes grocery store. The manager reported that a man had been yelling at employees and had made a threat. Officers arrived and completed trespass paperwork for the man, as the threatened employee declined to pursue charges, as the man appeared to be suffering from some mental health issues.