Real Life Grand Theft Auto: After a Postal Worker in Ohio is Robbed, a Crime Ring is Uncovered in Detroit

After a U.S. Postal Service (USPS) postal worker is robbed for his mailbox key, authorities find much more than just stolen mail. They find stolen cars and a crime ring in Detroit, Michigan.

Dodge Challenger
A Dodge Challenger; Photo by Haidong Liang on Unsplash

Some criminals have a need for speed and get their 5 seconds of fame burning rubber before it all comes to a screeching halt over a spike strip.

Yahoo! News published a story reported by the Associated Press (AP) that all started when investigators started looking into careless thieves in the Ohio area that have a penchant for stolen cars.

Police Investigate into a Robbery and Find Much More

Police stopped Devin Rice on 31 January 2022, on suspicion of robbing a U.S. postal worker in Shaker Heights, OH for his mailbox key. They searched Rice’s car and found stolen credit and debit cards, fake checks, stolen mail, and stolen vehicles — a Dodge with a Hellcat engine, a Ram pickup truck, and a Range Rover. (Source: Yahoo!/AP)

Along with Devin Rice, Hakim Benjamin, Jaylen Harris, and Lavelle Jones were also charged with conspiracy and interstate transport of stolen vehicles, after being indicted in federal court in June 2022. All except Benjamin are also charged with mail theft and are expected to face trial in 2023. (Source: Yahoo!/AP)

After being caught, Jaylen Harris told the FBI that he and Lavelle Jones were contacting a crime ring in Detroit to get stolen vehicles and that these auto thieves “were selling to buyers in other areas, including Chicago and Indianapolis.” (Source: Yahoo!/AP)

In February 2022, Hakim Benjamin was driving a 2022 Dodge Challenger at 120 mph on Ohio State Route 2 until spike strips were laid down to stop him. Other cars with Hellcat engines have also been spotted traveling on Ohio State Route 2 at 140–150 mph that have eluded police. (Source: Yahoo!/AP)

AP spoke to Sgt. Jerry Hanna with the Macomb Auto Theft Squad.

He said:

“Thieves in the Detroit area are primarily going after Dodge vehicles with Hellcat engines, including Chargers and Challengers — ‘the fast ones.’…In the Detroit area they are selling them for like $3,500. Once they get that money in their pockets they go out and steal another one.” -Sgt. Jerry Hanna, Macomb Auto Theft Squad (Source: Yahoo!/AP)

Investigators are finding new Chargers, Challengers, and Ram pickups ending up in places like Indianapolis, Ohio, and along the East Coast at shipping ports. These stolen cars are being sold on the streets at prices between $3,500 to $15,000 USD. (Source: Yahoo!/AP)

Cars Stolen from Detroit Dealership Include Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat

One example of auto theft took place in a dealership showroom northwest of Detroit, Michigan. A thief drove a Ram pickup truck straight through the showroom’s glass wall.

General manager Jeff Schneider of Szott Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram in Highland Township said,

“I think they were able to find some keys in a desk drawer and used them.” -Jeff Schneider, General manager of Szott Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram (Source: Yahoo!/AP)

Authorities tracked one of the stolen cars to a suburb northwest of Detroit after they crashed a $100,000 Durango SRT Hellcat into a brick wall. Police were able to recover other vehicles from the auto theft: a 2017 Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat, a 2021 Dodge Ram TRX, and a 2021 Dodge Durango GT.

Dodge Charger Hellcat
Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat; Photo by Yahya S.,CC BY 2.0

Thieves Using Handheld ‘Pro Pads’ Can Clone Key Fobs

Some thieves are using more expensive technology, such as handheld electronic ‘pro pads,’ like what a professional locksmith could use to clone a key fob by plugging it into an internal port of a vehicle. (Source: Yahoo!/AP)

CBS 12 News reported that new truck owner Danielle Danboise parked her $75K "fully loaded" Ford Platinum diesel truck in her Port St. Lucie, Florida driveway and thieves stole it quietly without breaking glass or the alarm going off.

When she called the police to report it stolen, they informed her she wasn’t the only one that day. She was the 12th call of auto theft.

She recalled to CBS 12 News:

“Literally said you’re the 12th phone call since this morning and it’s 1 o’clock in the afternoon I’m like what? It’s insane.” -Danielle Danboise, victim of truck theft. (Source: CBS 12 News)

Port. St. Lucie Assistant Police Chief Richard Del Toro spoke with CBS12 News about the speed and sophistication of these auto thieves.

He said:

“Like I said, these are professional groups coming up here. It’s not their first rodeo. Like I said, they’re using sophisticated equipment…It’s impossible to say how each truck was taken unless it’s later found. But when police busted two Miami area men last year, they found key fobs and a tablet-looking device…We caught a couple of people that happened to have this type of technology on them and that’s why really alerted us to what was going on." -Richard Del Toro, Port. St. Lucie Assistant Police Chief (Source: CBS 12 News)

"They use the software on the tablet device to plug in underneath the dashboard, which downloads all the vehicle information and then able to program these key fobs and basically clone them.” -Richard Del Toro, Port. St. Lucie Assistant Police Chief (Source: CBS 12 News)

Sounds like technology is becoming the enemy, and criminals are embracing it.

What Will Auto Dealers do to Prevent Thefts?

What are auto dealers doing to try and slow these thefts?

In the meantime, some car dealerships have resorted to using low-tech methods of preventing auto theft of their expensive cars, such as steering wheel locks and parking boots.

In this world of technology, "low tech" is now becoming the best theft deterrent for criminals engaged in real-life Grand Theft Auto.

Sources

Loftholm, Andrew. “Gone in 60 seconds: how car thieves are cloning key fobs to steal in silence.” CBS 12 News. 24 February 2022.

Williams, Corey. “Postal worker holdup leads to muscle car theft ring arrests.” Yahoo!/AP. 16 October 2022.


Oakland County Woman Wins $110K Michigan Lottery But Thought the Email Was a Scam so Ignored it

 A Michigan woman thought she was being scammed when she received an email stating that she had won $110,689 in the Michigan Lottery Connect.

Winner of Michigan Lottery
Oakland County Woman Wins Michigan Lottery; credit: Alejandro Garay

The 47-year-old woman remained anonymous after she was selected in a pool that took place on 14 December 2022. 

She told the Michigan Lottery officials about what happened.

She said:

"I knew that by playing the Monthly Jackpot game online, I was earning entries into a second chance giveaway. I never thought I would win the second chance drawing, so I was hoping for an instant win playing the games." -Michigan woman that won $110K lottery (Source: Michigan Lottery Connect)

She discovered the email randomly and thought it was a scam.

She said:

"I was checking my email one day and saw an email from the Lottery informing me that I'd won a $110,689 Monthly Jackpot prize and I thought it was a scam. I decided to wait until the next day to do anything about the email because I was certain that I hadn't actually won. When I got a call from the Lottery a few hours later confirming my prize, I was so excited! Winning is such an unbelievable feeling." -Michigan woman that won $110K lottery (Source: Michigan Lottery Connect)


 Eight Monthly Jackpot Progressive prizes have been awarded since the game began in April 2022:

  • April 2022 – $338,256 progressive jackpot prize
  • May 2022 – $178,116 progressive jackpot prize
  • June 2022 – $139,221 progressive jackpot prize
  • July 2022 – $121,668 progressive jackpot prize
  • August 2022 – $104,730 progressive jackpot prize
  • September 2022 – $99,821 progressive jackpot prize
  • October 2022 – $97,885 progressive jackpot prize
  • November 2022 – $110,689 progressive jackpot prize
(Source: Michigan Lottery Connect)

Two California Residents Become Victims of Zelle 'Reverse Transaction' Scams in Bank Scams

Anyone can be a victim of a bank scam, and criminals continue to use the latest technology to pull off their scams. In these two stories, two California residents fall victim to the Zelle 'Reverse Transaction' scam.

Man on phone
Photo by Jonas Leupe on Unsplash



ABC 7 News reported that in June 2022, a San Francisco man got the shock of his life when he discovered a scammer had just stolen money from him. It was so bad, he claims he suffered a panic attack from the ordeal.

California Man Becomes Victim in Zelle ‘Reverse Transaction’ Scam

Eduardo Carrascosa, from San Francisco, says he was busy at work when it happened. He received a call claiming to be a woman from ‘Bank of America.’

The woman posing as a Bank of America employee told Eduardo that scammers had hacked into his account and changed his Zelle account to send themselves money, which was indeed what had happened.

Eduardo said to her:

“No, that’s not me, go ahead and cancel it. Let me get back to my work.” -Eduardo Carrascosa, scam victim (Source: ABC 7 News)

The woman was insistent that if he didn’t reverse the charge himself, his money would be gone. So that’s what he did.

“So I started to, you know, red flags. So, I googled the number that was calling me.” -Eduardo Carrascosa, scam victim (Source: ABC 7 News)

His internet search results showed that it was a Bank of America number.

Then, a man got on the phone, claiming to be the woman’s supervisor. Carrascosa questioned the man to find out if they were really from Bank of America.

“I thought I was outsmarting them.I usually don’t make customer service reps answer all those questions but I was suspicious.” -Eduardo Carrascosa, scam victim (Source: ABC 7 News)

Yet the man answered his questions correctly, except the question about how long he had been a customer of Bank of America.

“He knew my debit card number, my checking account number, cellphone number, address.” -Eduardo Carrascosa, scam victim (Source: ABC 7 News)

Next, the man told Eduardo that a scammer had linked his cellphone number to their Zelle account, and to fix the problem, Eduardo just needed to go in and change the number back. It seemed simple enough.

“I was really suspicious and nervous. But at that point, I was already trapped…I was gonna do what they told me, you know.” -Eduardo Carrascosa, scam victim (Source: ABC 7 News)

Eduardo followed the instructions, entering his own name and cellphone number as a recipient in his own Zelle account, so he could then send the $3,500 back to himself.

Eduardo followed the directions of the scammer, first sending $2,500 to himself, and then another $1,000 to himself. The funds left his bank account.

He later learned that the scammer had changed their account name and phone number to his. He was not actually reversing a scam transaction as they explained to him. He was actually sending his money to a scammer that took his identity on their account in order to steal his money.

Eduardo Carrascosa filed a claim with Bank of America about his lost $3,500, which he needs for daily living expenses in San Francisco, but it is unlikely his money will be recovered.

(Source: ABC 7 News)

In the next story, a California woman receives a text and call pretending to be from her bank notifying her of a $3,500 Zelle transaction. It was not her bank. It was a Zelle scammer ready to steal her money, and the story is very similar to what happened to Eduardo Carrascosa.

California Woman Receives a Text from 'Wells Fargo'

KSBW 8 News reported that on 25 February 2022, Melissa Anderson received a text message from an unrecognized number claiming to be “Wells Fargo” while on vacation. She had no idea she was being scammed.

Shortly after receiving the text message, she then received a phone call, and her caller ID read “Wells Fargo.”

“They asked if I authorized that charge, I immediately responded and said no. When I was on the phone with them, I Googled the number and it said it was a financial institute in Florida and with the amount of people working remotely, internationally, I assumed they are a financial institute so they are affiliated with the bank.” -Melissa Anderson, scam victim (Source: KSBW 8 News)

After she performing an internet search on the number, and learning it was a financial institute in Florida, she didn’t suspect anything strange. It seemed like her bank was being proactive to keep her safe.

“I’ve never been scammed in the past, I’ve been able to catch most of the things but this one, so many things added up to be real and legit.” -Melissa Anderson, scam victim (Source: KSBW 8 News)

The scammer explained to Melissa that there was a fraudulent transaction of $3,500 on her account through Zelle, and the only way to reverse that “pending” transaction, was to send $3,500 back to herself in Zelle.

Melissa told KSBW 8 News she “was in panic mode and did what was asked immediately.” In reality, she was handing her money over to the scammer with this action. What is even scarier, is that she didnt give the scammer any personal information.

She only entered her name, and that was it. The scammer had what they needed to complete the transaction.

“After I did that they immediately hung up on me 20:01:20 I called Wells Fargo right away and that’s when I realized it was indeed fraud.” -Melissa Anderson, scam victim (Source: KSBW 8 News)

Melissa Anderson is a little disappointed with the outcome of this situation. Wells Fargo did not cover or replace her lost money.

“Money’s tight for people right now. Inflation’s up. It’s just more of a reason your bank should have your back. it’s just more important to feel like your bank has your back and you’re protected right now because there they are getting really good at it, it’s really scary.” -Melissa Anderson, scam victim (Source: KSBW 8 News)

At the date of publication, Melissa Anderson had not recovered her $3,500 she lost in the Zelle scam.

(Source: KSBW 8 News)

Tip: With Fraud Alerts, Always Call Your Bank Directly

As a reminder, if you ever get a security alert text or call from anyone claiming to be from your bank, always call the publicly listed number for your bank and confirm that what you are seeing is correct.

They will verify if a fraud charge really posted to your account. Never assume that the person contacting you is a legitimate employee of your bank.

Sources

Ariana, Jaso. “Carmel woman scammed out of thousands of dollars.” KSBW 8 News. Updated: 11 March 2022.

Finney, Michael. “Bank of America customer loses thousands after being tricked by Zelle scammers with personal info.” ABC 7 News. 28 July 2022.

Email Phishing from Bedroom

Email Phishing from Bedroom