Five cases of consumer fraud and/or identity theft were reported to the Nutley P.D. during the past week, police said.
The first incident was logged on Feb. 26 when police said the victim of a credit card fraud came to headquarters to report they noted a fraudulent charge had been made to their Visa debit card from the Bissell Co. for about $181. The victim subsequently canceled the card, police said.
Three other incidents were reported on Feb. 27:
In one, a resident told police their bank contacted them about suspicious activity on their accounts involving a credit card linked between their checking and savings accounts. Police said someone who had the resident’s Social Security number and another personal identifier managed to transfer $220 from the resident’s savings to the checking account and then attempted to wire $900 through Western Union. The resident canceled all credit cards and the account link. Also, after getting a credit check, the resident learned that someone had tried to open Best Buy and Discover card accounts in their name but had been rejected. Police said the resident told them they’d used their Master card at Target and suspects that these fraud attempts may be connected to the recent credit hacking incident involving that store.
In another, police received a report of ID theft involving a Social Security number that had been compromised. Police said the victim was told by a health insurance firm that another person had obtained insurance coverage from the firm using the victim’s SS# and was currently receiving benefits and was advised to contact police.
In the other instance, police said a Prospect St. resident notified them that when they called Verizon to complain that their cellular phone wasn’t working, they were told that a man had purchased a $649 iPhone and changed the victim’s account name to his with a Bronx, N.Y., address. The victim told police there have been multiple instances in which their ID may have been compromised in connection with the recent Target, Neiman Marcus and University of Maryland security breaches.
On Feb. 24, a resident reported that someone had opened a type of online dating account in their name using personal information and a photograph.
Here are other incidents logged by Nutley PD during the past week:
Feb. 22
At 10:29 a.m., a Park Ave. resident reported that someone had broken a window on the side of their driveway.
At 4:48 p.m., an attendant at a Kingsland Ave. gas station reported a theft. The attendant told police that while they were pumping gas, a customer alerted them that someone had taken a pack of Newport Regular cigarettes valued at $8 from the booth without paying for them.
Feb. 25
At 8:49 a.m., police responded to a St. Mary’s Place location on a report of an attempted burglary in the basement of a residential building. The building’s landlord told police that as they were entering the basement, they noticed that the door had been broken open. Police said they saw signs of forced entry near the door handle and jam. Nothing was believed to be missing, police said. Detectives are investigating.
At 12:17 p.m., police said they received a report that someone had removed the front license plate of a car parked at a Hancox Ave. location.
At 1:16 p.m., police were notified of a burglary to an auto on Lloyd St. The owner told police they’d parked the car and placed groceries and medication inside. After realizing they’d forgotten something, the car owner went back to the store to get more items. Upon returning to the car, the owner noticed that some bags containing an estimated $70 worth of merchandise were missing.
Feb. 26
At 8:33 p.m., a resident called in a report of a theft. Police said a resident told them their son had gone to a Franklin Ave. business, left their book bag outside in accordance with store policy, and when the boy left the store, the bag was gone. Police said the bag was valued at $50 and the contents, about $350.
Feb. 28
At 2:02 a.m., a pursuit stemming from an altercation in Belleville resulted in the arrest of Dominick Bolella, 27, of Staten Island, N.Y., on charges of eluding officers and terroristic threats, for which bail was set at $30,000 with a 10% cash option. Police said Bolella was also ticketed on charges of DWI, speeding, failure to observe traffic control device, reckless driving, suspended license, failure to give proper signal, improper turn at traffic control signal, disregard of stop sign and maintenance of lamps. He was released pending a court date.
At 9:22 a.m., the victim of a criminal trespass/criminal mischief reported the incident to police. The victim told police they’d recently bought a house on Franklin Ave. and had new locks installed. When they returned to the house, they noticed the basement – which leads to a boiler room – had been forced open and the lock broken. Nothing appears to have been taken, police said. Detectives are investigating.
– Ron Leir
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