Fake Grandson, Water Repairmen Scam Northbrook Residents: Blotter

NORTHBROOK, IL — The following information comes from the Northbrook Police Department as a record of incidents reported to the police and those arrested on criminal charges, which merely represent accusations by the state and are often dropped or reduced. Just because someone is arrested does not mean they are necessarily guilty of anything.

INCIDENTS

'GRANDSON SCAM'
A Rudolph Road resident reported on April 12 that that had received a phone call from someone purporting to be their grandson. The caller claimed they had been involved in a car accident in Chicago and asked for $2,000 to cover bail and an attorney and asked the resident to go to a Highland Park drug store to buy eBay gift cards. At first, the resident went along with it, but the next day, the "grandson" called again demanding another payment. The resident decided to check on their grandson before making another payment. After learning the actual grandson was fine, the resident decided not to buy any more gift cards.

CHURCH VANDALISM
Someone defaced a picture and other display items in front of a church in the 1800 block of Walters Avenue, police were told on the evening of April 13.

RUSE BURGLARY
A resident in the 100 block of Wellington Road reported at 7:32 p.m. on April 13 that someone showed up to their family member's home and claimed to need to "check the water pressure." Jewelry was later found missing.

FORGERY
A Carol Court resident reported on April 14 that someone had issued and cashed a personal check, without their permission, sometime after April 3.

RUSE BURGLARY ATTEMPT
A resident in the 2200 block of Cedar Court reported around 5 p.m. on April 14 that someone had come to their door and asked them to come to the backyard to talk about "work that needed to be done." The resident refuse and left the area in a vehicle with another person.

IDENTITY THEFT
A Chapel Court resident reported at 6:46 p.m. on April 16 that someone had opened up a credit account using their personal information.

SCAM ATTEMPT
A resident of the 1300 block of 1st Street reported on the evening of April 17 that they had placed an item for sale online. A buyer contacted them and sent a check over the asking price to buy the item, telling the resident to send a check refunding the difference. The resident did not send anything after being told by the bank that it was probably a scam. The resident later received several calls from apparent scammer.

SCAM ATTEMPT?
A Rudolph Road resident reported on April 17 that they had gotten a phone call from an unknown person asking if they were "interested in receiving their money back" after they got a fraud alert from their bank. The resident called their bank to verify and report the incident, and no loss was reported.

CREDIT CARD FRAUD
An employee at a restaurant in the 1500 block of Lake Cook Road reported on the afternoon of April 18 that they had gotten a message from their bank about insufficient funds in their account. They checked the records and discovered that someone had made several unauthorized purchases.

IDENTITY THEFT
A Stratford Place resident reported receiving four unauthorized credit applications in the mail between March 28 and April 14.

ARRESTS/CITATIONS

A 39-year-old Chicago man was arrested at 11:39 p.m. on April 15 near the intersection of Dundee Road and Fair Lane and charged with driving with a suspended license. He was also cited for illegal transportation of alcohol and improper lane usage.

A 61-year-old Morton Grove man was arrested at 3:25 p.m. on April 17 near the intersection of Dundee and Pfingsten roads and charged with driving with a suspended license. Police were called to a report that a car was broken down in traffic. When an officer arrived to assist, they learned the driver's license was suspended.

A 51-year-old Chicago man was arrested at 9:25 a.m. on April 18 in the 2400 block of Walters Avenue and charged with driving with a suspended license following a traffic stop. He was also cited for no proof of insurance and running a stop sign.

A 61-year-old Northfield man was arrested at 7:16 p.m. on April 18 near the intersection of Willow Road and Founders Drive and charged with driving with a suspended license. He was also cited for not having insurance and disobeying a traffic signal.

Last week: Shoplifter With Warrant Batters Supermarket Staffer: Northbrook Police Blotter, April 6 - April 12

Stay Patched In!

• Like our Crime page on Facebook
• Check out the Events Calendar for what’s going on in Northbrook
• Get Patch real-time email alerts for the latest Northbrook news
• Like Northbrook Patch on Facebook
• Patch Mobile: Get app for iPhone and Android

_{Top photo via Northbrook PD}