The following incidents were selected from the Lexington Police Department log during the week leading up to August 26, 2024. The Lexington Observer does not independently verify this information.
Suspicious Activity and “Breaking” and Entering a motor vehicle
Saturday, August 24 at 2:25 p.m., a call from the desk at the Element hotel reported that a man repeatedly approached and asked for a key to a room to which he was not registered. The staff asked him to leave, so he went to the parking lot where he remained leaning against a tree. The responding officer spoke with this man who agreed to take an Uber to a friend’s house in Marlboro for the night. The driver said he’d care for his passenger during the ride.
Saturday, August 24 at 10:45 a.m., a Hancock St. resident reported that his 2 unlocked vehicles in his driveway had been entered during the night. The only item taken was an iPhone charger. Both cars had since been driven, so there was nothing to process. *Reminder: Breaking into a locked car is less likely to occur than opening a car door.
Noise Complaint
Saturday, August 24 at 6:20 a.m., a Stedman Rd. resident reported her neighbors yelling at 4:00 a.m. and then at 6:00 a.m. They repeatedly banged on the wall separating their apartments. The responding officer could not speak with the offending neighbor as there was no answer at the door. This is an ongoing issue, and the caller plans to pursue this in court. The responding officer advised her to call again if there were any further issues.
Town Bylaw: Leaf Blower/Landscaping Maintenance Equipment
There were multiple complaints regarding leaf blowers and excessive noise from other landscaping equipment used outside the town bylaws. Please note: Residents: Weekdays, 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Weekends and legal holidays, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Landscapers: Weekdays, 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Weekends Saturday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Animal Control
This Week’s Toll: 1 sick skunk and 1 sick raccoon on Bertwell Rd., and 1 sick fox on Pine Knoll Rd.
Friday, August 23 at 3:50 p.m., a Hanscom Air Force Base resident found a loose Golden Shih Tzu at the intersection of Loring Rd. and Outlook Dr. The dog had a Lexington dog tag on a red harness – oops, no leash.
Saturday, August 24 at 5:30 p.m., an Earl St. resident reported two large “dark-colored” dogs in her backyard. Leashes? The responding officer checked the area but did not locate the loose canines.
Fraud
Tuesday, August 20 at 12:25 p.m., a resident called regarding his company, Minuteman Women Home Care, which had been exposed in a data breach through a phishing e-mail. This resident stated that 218 employees’ personal information had been exposed on July 9. The breach involved a third-party payroll company used by his business. There is no monetary loss to the business or the employees.
Wednesday, August 21 at 2:40 p.m., a Robbins Rd. resident reported she received a letter from the Massachusetts Unemployment Department regarding a claim. She had not applied for benefits, but an unknown person had utilized her personal information in an attempt to collect benefits. This scam is well known and their fraud department will handle this case.
Thursday, August 22 at 7:00 p.m., a Banks Rd. resident reported she had been “swindled over the phone” into withdrawing $3,500 and depositing the cash into a Bitcoin machine. The individual posed as a US Customs and Border Protection agent who stated someone had stolen her identity. A detective spoke with this resident and advised her to submit a claim to Bitcoin.
Friday, August 23 at 11:20 a.m., a Summit Road resident reported one of his checks had been altered and cashed for $5,000. Fidelity is actively working to reverse the transaction and return the funds.
*Do not leave outgoing mail in your home mailbox for carrier pickup. The flag you raise on the box for your carrier is a signal to all. If you use a USPS mailbox, be sure it is not after the last pickup time. It’s best to use the mail slot inside the Post Office.
Excerpted from AARP Fraud Alert: Check Cooking Scam
Last year, the big thing was check washing, where thieves stole paper checks from postal boxes, mailboxes or even carriers and then washed the checks with chemicals, keeping the signature but erasing the amount and the payee so they could fill in a new name and amount. But now, they’ve discovered a less messy way to steal. In check cooking, thieves take a digital picture of a stolen check and then use commercially available software to alter it.
“It looks very real, even with the watermarks and all,” explains Michael Bruemmer, vice president of data breach resolution and consumer protection at Experian, a global credit verification and financial services firm. Criminals can print a new phony check or else just deposit the altered image using a bank’s mobile app, he notes.
How to stay safe: Consider using a safer payment method, such as a credit card. But if you choose to write paper checks, scammers still need to steal a physical copy. Make it harder for them. Instead of putting the check in a mailbox, drop it off directly at the nearest post office. And continually monitor your checking account and watch for any suspicious transactions.”
The Bylaw states that gas-powered leaf blower use by any user is limited to the following designated fall and spring cleanup periods:
Spring: March 15 to May 31
Fall: September 15 to December 30
Does the police department have any knowledge of the laws it is being asked to enforce?
I don’t see why leaf blowers need to be allowed for three and a half months in the fall. Two months should easily suffice. Their noise is incredibly annoying.