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April 7, 2008

Digest 445 (4 Messages)

1.
Home Repair Scam In Ward 3 From: kathysmithindc
2.
New Credit Card Scam From: kathysmithindc
3.
Credit Card Scam - Beware From: kathysmithindc
4a.
Re: Lovely Rita, a local menace From: Richard L. Paul
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1.

Home Repair Scam In Ward 3

Posted by: "kathysmithindc" ksmith1804@starpower.net   kathysmithindc

Sun Apr 6, 2008 11:35 am (PDT)

From:
MEMEEM1234@aol.com

WARNING – HOME REPAIR SCAMMERS IN NEIGHBORHOOD

A group of con men have recently been operating in the American
University Park area. Earlier this month, two men scammed an elderly
Ward 3 resident out of thousands of dollars, by overcharging them
large sums of money for unnecessary home repairs.

The men identified themselves to the victim as "Chris Clore" and
"David Morris Jr." These names match those found in a recent news
report from the Charlottesville Observer of similar crimes in Virginia:

"Police Arrest Suspects In Home Repair Frauds
October 8, 2007
Charlottesville Police have charged five men in connection to a series
of home repair frauds in Charlottesville and Albemarle County.
One of the five men are still at large. The four other suspects have
been released on bond. Police started investigating several weeks ago
after receiving a report of men going door to door telling homeowners
that they needed home repairs. In all of the cases the victims were
elderly. Police say the suspects convinced home owners to allow them
to do repair work that was uneccessary and would then charge the
victims an excessive amount of money.

In one case the bill exceeded $12,000. In another case the victim had
several items stolen from their house.

26-year-old David Harold Morris Jr., 23-year-old Christopher Wade
Clore, 23-year-old Jason Scott Worley, 25-year-old Joseph Sprinkle,
and Charles Brooks, who's still at large, face multiple charges in
Charlottesville and Albemarle County."

Source: http://www.charlottesvillenewsplex.tv/news/headlines/10318642.html

If you have encountered a similar incident, please contact the 2nd
District, Metropolitan Police Department at 202-282-0043.

Meme Melbourne

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2.

New Credit Card Scam

Posted by: "kathysmithindc" ksmith1804@starpower.net   kathysmithindc

Sun Apr 6, 2008 2:20 pm (PDT)

Remember -- there is nothing about your credit card
that the credit card company does not already know.
If they call you, they should not be asking anything
about the card itself.

From: edw3qc@comcast.net

> This is worth taking a few seconds to read!

> Snopes.com <http://snopes.com/> says this is true.
>See this site - http://www.snopes.com/crime/warnings/creditcard.asp
><http://www.snopes.com/crime/warnings/creditcard.asp>
>
>This one is pretty slick since they provide YOU with
>all the information, except the one piece they want.
>
> Note, the callers do not ask for your card number;
>they already have it. This information is worth reading. By understanding
>how the VISA & MasterCard Telephone Credit Card Scam works, you'll be
>better
>prepared to protect yourself.
>
>! ; One of our employees was called on Wednesday from
>'VISA', and I was called on Thursday from 'Master Card'. The scam works
>like
>this: Caller: 'This is (name), and I'm calling from the Security and
Fraud
>Department at VISA. My Badge number is 12460. Your card has been flagged
>for
>an unusual purchase pattern, and I'm calling to verify. This would be on
>your VISA card which was issued by (name of bank). Did you purchase an
>Anti-Telemarketing Device for $497.99 from a Marketing company based in
>Arizona ?'
>
> When you say 'No', the caller continues with, 'Then
>we will be issuing a credit to your account. This is a company we
have been
>watching and the charges range from $297 to $497, just under the $500
>purchase pattern that flags most cards. Before your next statement, the
>credit will be sent to (gives you your address), is that correct?'
>
> You say 'yes'. The caller ! conti nues - 'I will be
>starting a Fraud investigation. If you have any questions, you should
call
>the 1- 800 number listed on the back of your card (1-800-VISA) and
ask for
>Security.'
>
> You will need to refer to this Control Number. The
>caller then gives you a 6 digit number. 'Do you need me to read it
again?'
>
> Here's the IMPORTANT part on how the scam works. The
>caller then says, 'I need to verify you are in possession of your card'.
>He'll ask you to 'turn your card over and look for some numbers'.
There are
>7 numbers; the first 4 are part of your card number, the next 3 are the
>security Numbers that verify you are the possessor of the card. These are
>the numbers you sometimes use to make Internet purchases to prove you
have
>the card. The caller will ask you to read the 3 numbers to him. After you
>tell the caller the 3 numbers, he'll say, 'That is correct, I just needed
&g! t;to< BR>>verify that the card has not been lost or stolen, and
that you still have
>your card. Do you have any other questions?' After you say No, the caller
>then thanks you and states, 'Don't hesitate to call back if you do, and
>hangs up.
>
> You actually say very little, and they never ask for
>or tell you the Card number. But after we were called on Wednesday, we
>called back within 20 minutes to ask a question. Are we glad we did! The
>REAL VISA Security Department told us it was a scam and in the last 15
>minutes a new purchase of $497.99 was charged to our card.
>
> Long story - short - we made a real fraud report and
>closed the VISA account. VISA is reissuing us a new number. What the
>scammers want is the 3-digit PIN number on the back of the card Don't
give
>it to them. Instead, tell them you'll call VISA or Master card
directly for
>verification of their conversation. The real ! VISA told us that they
will
>never ask for anything on the card as they already know the information
>since they issued the card! If you give the scammers your 3 Digit PIN
>Number, you think you're receiving a credit. However, by the time you get
>your statement you'll see charges for purchases you didn't make, and by
>then
>it's almost too late and/or more difficult to actually file a fraud
report.
>
> What makes this more remarkable is that on Thursday,
>I got a call from a 'Jason Richardson of Master Card' with a
word-for-word
>repeat of the VISA scam. This time I didn't let him finish. I hung up! We
>filed a police report, as instructed by VISA. The police said they are
>taking several of these reports daily! They also urged us to tell
everybody
>we know that this scam is happening.
>
>

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4a.

Re: Lovely Rita, a local menace

Posted by: "Richard L. Paul" rlpaulproductions@starpower.net   rlpaulproductions

Mon Apr 7, 2008 6:41 am (PDT)

Several years ago I did a long story for WAMU where I spent the day with a
Parking Control Aide (as she said in the piece, "I don't think we can
emphasize that enough -- we hate that name 'Meter maids.' We no longer use
that term.")

Here's an exchange from the story:

ERICA WOODHOUSE: A lotta people prob'ly say that we are nasty. That we are
cold hearted. That we don't care (radio squawks). A lotta people'll holler
"get a real job." You know "The District needs the money, is that why all
you are writin' all these tickets?" No it's (door slams) we required to do.
It's a job.
RICHARD PAUL: Yeah, what is the purpose of parking enforcement -- 'Cause
there are a lotta people who say it's just here to get the city more money.
WOODHOUSE: To regulate curb space. To regulate traffic, so it will NOT be
congested during rush hour. If we can control the curb space, that means
there won't be as many accidents -- you can see when you come the
intersections -- you don't have to lean up to see if anything's comin' If a
person is parking in a cross walk, that's dangerous to a pedestrian. Bus
stops. You can't park in the bus zone. Why (chuckles)? Because the bus
zone has to be clear so when the bus pulls over it can load and unload the
passengers without a problem. That's pretty cut-and-dry. All the red
signs -- any kind of red sign that states "Tow Away", that means you cannot
park there. At all.
PAUL: You know, you're right. It IS cut-and-dried. And yet,
WOODHOUSE: Cut-and-dry
PAUL: And yet, everyday you're out here and there are just people that don't
pay any attention to the red signs -- park in the wrong places. Why?
WOODHOUSE: I don't even know why. I mean people -- people really just think
that we're wrong. But we're not wrong. It's just that you have to park
correctly.
PAUL: The one time I went to traffic court, the thing that I noticed that
people said, more than anything else as the excuse was "Everyone else was
doing it."
WOODHOUSE: Right. And there's an instance where you don't DO what everybody
else do -- does -- you DO what you're SUPPOSED to do. If you see five
people parked in rush hour and the sign clearly says "No Parking 7-9:30" --
it clearly states that -- if you see people parked there at 9 o'clock, don't
park there because you see other people parked there -- still 30 minutes
left for that lane to be clear. They teach you that when you get your
license.
PAUL: Right.
WOODHOUSE: You have to read. You have to read.

----- Original Message -----
> 2. Lovely Rita, a local menace
> Posted by: "mmcdonald97" mmcdonald97@yahoo.com mmcdonald97
> Date: Sat Apr 5, 2008 6:25 pm ((PDT))

> In one of my periodic (and as always, fully justified) rants (at least
> in my opinion), I'd like to warn everyone in this neighborhood about a
> traffic warden I will refer to (since I am from Liverpool, home of The
> Beatles) as "Lovely Rita". (Lovely Rita, meter maid.....etc).
>
> She appears to specialize in praying on legitimate and devoted
> nannies, vital tradespeople responding quickly to emergencies,
> gardeners, and visiting family members in the Veazey Street neighborhood.
>
> She is especially active seconds after 9.00am (in other words, exactly
> 2 hours after the 7 a.m. start kicks in for green-bay parking zones).
> She is particularly zealous if you have an old parking permit badge
> displayed in addition to the current one (I got a $15 fine for showing
> an old one in addition to the new one outside my house because I could
> not remove the adhesive and neither could the guy at the inspection
> station.)
>
> Later, a nanny with Maryland plates who stayed overnight to look after
> our kids was fined one minute after the 2-hour deadline - a clear case
> of DC City opportunism.
>
> "Lovely Rita" is from Dept. 15, her Badge is 00186.
>
> I understand these city employees have jobs to do, but sometimes the
> non-discretionary and opportunist way they do them is a reason why so
> many decent and law-abiding people give up on the district and move to
> the suburbs. The people in my life feel persecuted for parking on my
> street. Something ain't right.
>

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