July 29, 200 Update
A complainant reported someone obtained and fraudulently used her credit card account number to make unauthorized purchases. Several occurred in Troy at stores at the Oakland and Somerset Malls for approximately $2,752.00. She also reported someone opened a fraudulent credit account in her name.
A complainant operates an on-line store. She reported two different subjects made a total of 7 purchases using 7 different credit cards that were denied payment to complainant and charged back to her by the card company, because either the cardholder denied participation or the account number was fraudulent. Total: $7,300.00
A wallet was found under the triage desk in the Troy Beaumont Emergency room. When it was forwarded to the patients room, the patient discovered the credit card was gone. One unauthorized transaction occurred at a gas station in Troy.
A complainant lost his wallet in Rochester Hills on 7/19. When he contacted his credit card company on the 21st, he discovered $1,245.82 worth of fraudulent charges at several stores at Somerset Collection was made.
A business representative reported issuing a check to a subject to purchase vehicle plates and title transfer. The check was made out to the Michigan Secretary of State, however it was cashed at a bank in Ohio. The signature on the back is similar to that on record for the subject to whom the check was given to make the plate purchase and title transfer.
A complainant received notice from a collection agency regarding an over-due phone account that he states someone fraudulently opened using his name and social security number.
At the Shell Oil at 2039 E. Big Beaver, a complainant stated a suspect presented a $100.00 bill in an attempt to purchase a pack of cigarettes. The complainant stated he suspected the bill was counterfeit, so he asked for ID. The suspect claimed he had none. The complainant asked for him to get the ID of his companion who was still in the car. The suspect then fled the store, leaving the bill behind. The suspect car was a GMC Yukon registered out of Farmington Hills. Investigations into the matter eventually lead to the suspect who is a 25-year-old male from Sterling Heights. He initially claimed he didnt know it was counterfeit. He agreed to come to the station to make a statement, however failed to appear. The Investigation continues.
At the Marathon station at 5991 Livernois, a complainant reported a customer presented a fake $20.00 bill for a purchase. The customer, a 29-year-old male from Detroit, stood by until officers arrived. The bill was counterfeit; he stated he believed he got it somewhere around his home the night before, but was not sure where. He was identified and released.
At the Comerica Bank at 4999 Crooks, a 24-year-old male from Detroit was arrested after trying to deposit a closed account check for $3,000.00 made out to him into his account. Fraud Investigator advised responding officers the same individual had attempted to deposit a check for $4,800.00 made out to him from the same closed account at a branch in Detroit on 7/20. The account was determined closed, so the transaction was denied on that date. Follow-up on the account after that attempt by fraud investigators from the bank revealed it was closed in 2003, because the account owner had died. When interviewed by responding officers on 7/21 at the Troy branch, the suspect stated that he was simply trying to deposit a check his mother had written him so he could pay his college tuition. He claimed she was in a hurry and gave him her checkbook after signing her name, with instructions not to make it out for more than $3,000.00. When asked if she could be contacted for verification, he stated sure, but explained she was at work. He couldnt provide a complete work number, but gave a home number. A call to that location confirmed the owner of the account was the suspects mother and she had died. The suspect admitted finding the checkbooks in a box at home and was only writing the checks to pay tuition bills. He represented that when he received his tuition reimbursement from work, he fully intended on paying it back. His account was overdrawn by $1,526.90.
A representative from AAA on Long Lake filed a report regarding a suspect who passed 6 no account checks at three different locations. Three were passed at the Troy branch. The total in all 6 was $2,700.00.
Two suspects, apparently a father and son, passed what turned out to be an insufficient funds/account closed check at Sidney Krandall on West Big Beaver for $1,267.70. The son had only a Michigan ID; the father had none. The son wrote the check; the father signed it. The clerk called the bank on the day the check was written and was advised the account had sufficient funds at that time.
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