POLICE BEAT

Displays are for looking, not taking

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T-Mobile says its motto is “Are you with us?” Ironically, one thief misinterpreted this, taking a phone from a local phone store on West 237th Street and skipping on the monthly bill.

The robbery took place after dinner April 17 at the store just off Broadway. The perp walked into the store, police said, and pulled out an unidentified “special tool” to remove a Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus from a display. 

When an employee tried to intervene, the thief threatened them with a knife. That was enough to let them get away with the phone, valued at $1,000.

Police described the person as a white Hispanic, 40, around 5-foot-7 and 210 pounds. Whether it was a man or woman, however, police still aren’t sure. But they continue to investigate.

A little Bitcoin of a real scam

Is ConEdison accepting payments through Bitcoin now? 

The answer to that question? No. But someone was bamboozled into making a cryptocurrency payment on March 15 to what he thought was the power utility.

The call was picked up by an employee of a North Riverdale store on Broadway around 11 a.m., from who they thought was a ConEd customer service representative. 

Their boss called the toll-free number the supposed ConEd employee provided, went through a series of prompts, and was ultimately told the business owes $3,000. The voice on the other line reportedly threatened to cut the shop’s electricity if the owner didn’t pay.

Following instructions from the call, the shop owner made that payment in full using a Bitcoin kiosk.

Later on, the owner checked his company’s ConEd account through more traditional means, and saw no payment was credited to the account. Someone who was actually from ConEd told him they don’t accept cryptocurrency payments, police said.

There’s not a lot to go on, but the 50th Precinct is looking into it.

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Police Beat, Crime, Ethan Stark-Miller