Crime Watch

BY JERRY DANZIG

Murray WorriesSometime between Oct. 18 and Dec. 4, a Murray Street resident had about $10,000 worth of jewelry taken from her home, police said. The victim told police that various people including a babysitter and cleaning lady were authorized to be in her apartment without supervision. The items stolen included a diamond-and-platinum engagement ring valued at $5,000, a 24-karat-gold-filigree wedding band priced at $2,000, two other rings, pendants, chains, necklaces and earrings, along with $225 in cash, police said.

Climate CrisisAt 8:10 a.m. on Dec. 13, the owner of a Bronx HVAC installation business was notified by an employee that the side window on their work van had been broken and some items appeared to be missing from inside the vehicle. The van was parked in front of 156 Chambers St. The items stolen were a Ridgid band saw valued at $400, Ridgid threaded dice priced at $2,300, and another item priced at $130, making a total of $2,830.

Grift CardsPolice remind the public that neither the FBI nor the IRS will call you about taxes owed, nor will they accept compensation in the form of gift cards. At 10:58 a.m. on Dec. 13, a 27-year-old woman received a call on her cell phone from an unknown female caller identifying herself as an FBI agent and citing charges against the woman because she had improperly filed her tax information owed the agency $6,000. The caller told the victim that to avoid being arrested and losing her job she had to pay up immediately. The caller then instructed the victim to purchase gift cards and provide the necessary card information. The victim complied and went to a Rite Aid store to purchase gift cards. Only after completing the transaction did the victim contact the IRS and discover that she had been scammed.

Restorin’ LaurenA store employee managed to get some shoplifters to give back stolen items. At 1:30 p.m. on Dec. 12, an employee in the Ralph Lauren store at 109 Prince St. saw three men taking items from display tables and place them in duffel bags. The employee confronted the shoplifters, who removed the items from the bags and gave them back before fleeing the location. The items of merchandise stolen and recovered included jeans valued at $198, three scarves worth $275 apiece, and a pair of gloves valued at $60..

Diverted and DivestedOne sneaky thief managed to snatch a woman’s credit card out of a card reader. At 10:35 p.m. on Dec. 13, a 34-year-old woman was paying for merchandise at a downtown Target store. As she placed her Chase Sapphire card in the credit card reader, an unknown man distracted her. While she wasn’t looking, the man grabbed her credit card out of the reader. When she realized the card was gone, she canceled it immediately and, at the time of the police report, said that she hadn’t seen any unauthorized charges.