Crime Report: Caller claims woman’s computer has virus; dupes her into sharing banking details

May 9

Identity theft: 1400 block of Verdugo Boulevard. A man reported that when he applied for a loan from his bank on May 8, a credit check revealed that in July 2016 someone had fraudulently opened an account with Comcast under his name, using his personal identification, and that there was an unpaid balance on that account.

Petty theft: 4500 block of Belita Lane. A man reported that someone stole the catalytic converter off his 11-year-old Toyota while it was parked in front of his home overnight, May 6-7.

May 10

Burglary: 400 block of Inverness Drive. Deputies responding to an audible daytime alarm reported that they found gates on either side of the home open and noticed that a sliding glass door leading into a bedroom had been shattered, apparently by a large rock later found inside the room. The bedroom’s closet had been ransacked. While they were at the scene, the victim arrived home and said she could not immediately identify what might have been taken during the intrusion. It was estimated that the break-in occurred sometime between 11:45 a.m. and 1:04 p.m.

May 12

Vandalism: 1800 block of Foothill Boulevard. A woman reported that sometime between 4:30 p.m. May 11 and 3:30 p.m. May 12, someone broke open her locked mailbox.

Identity theft: 100 block of Starlight Crest Drive. A man reported that on the morning of May 5 he received an email from his credit monitoring service alerting him to the fact someone had fraudulently used his name, birth date and Social Security number to open a credit card account.

May 14

Theft by false pretense: 4100 block of Hampstead Road. A woman reported being hoodwinked by a caller who claimed her computer had a virus and that he had been assigned by Microsoft to fix it. He told her he first needed her bank account information so he could help her extend her computer’s warranty, which, according to the suspect, had expired. Believing him, she gave him the necessary details.

He indicated there had been some issue with the amount due being transferred properly, so he instructed her to instead purchase a prepaid debit cards to cover the payment (amount redacted from the police report) and to give him the account numbers found on those.

After the victim complied, the suspect told her she could now use her computer, as it had been cleared of all viruses. Later in the day, while checking her bank accounts, the victim realized she had been duped and that a number of her online accounts had been compromised.