PSA

“She then proceeded to tell me that drugs were found in the car and that the addresses were already under investigation for drug trafficking.”

By Prince Of Petworth


Photo by PoPville flickr user Rich Renomeron

Ed. Note: At this point I assume every single phone call is a scam. When my mom calls, I’m like “Oh yeah mom, what’d you buy me for my 12th birthday? Faster, faster. SCAMMER.” Click. But that’s just me.

“Dear PoPville,

I just wanted to submit a warning to fellow DCers. Today, I received a phone call from a legitimate 202 number (I didn’t know the number and normally wouldn’t answer, but did in case it was a work call). When I answered, they asked me to verify my name (I did), told me that I was under criminal investigation, and asked if I knew anything about it. I said no.

I will preface the rest of the story by saying that I have a very common name and am a bit paranoid about identity theft (it’s happened to several of my family members). I only stayed on the phone as long as I did (12 minutes!) so that I could confirm that my identity was not actually stolen.

Anyway, the woman on the phone told me that they found an abandoned car that was registered under my name. She described the car, gave me two addresses that were associated with it, and asked if I was familiar with any of these. I said no. She then proceeded to tell me that drugs were found in the car and that the addresses were already under investigation for drug trafficking. (more…)

Coming to your phone at 2:18pm “THIS IS A TEST of the National Wireless Emergency Alert System. No action is needed.”

By Prince Of Petworth


via FEMA

From FEMA:

“PAWS National Test of the Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) and Emergency Alert System (EAS)

The National EAS and WEA test will be held on the backup date of October 3, 2018, beginning at 2:18 p.m. EDT.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), in coordination with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), will conduct a nationwide test of the Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) and Emergency Alert System (EAS) on the backup date of October 3, 2018 due to ongoing response efforts to Hurricane Florence. The WEA portion of the test commences at 2:18 p.m. EDT, and the EAS portion follows at 2:20 p.m. EDT. The test will assess the operational readiness of the infrastructure for distribution of a national message and determine whether improvements are needed. (more…)

You’re Still Doing It Wrong

By Prince Of Petworth

My PSA from almost exactly a year ago has failed miserably.

This dockable bikeshare bike was chilling on a random side street in Forest Hills. So what happens. The last person to ride it checks their bill at the end of the month and are like WTF? Does it keep racking up charges until someone is kind enough to dock it for them? So many questions.

Heads Up Dog Walkers and Residents – “Make-shift Rat Poison” eaten by a puppy in Mount Pleasant.

By Prince Of Petworth


Photo by PoPville flickr user brunofish

“Dear PoPville,

My dog, who is a 6 month old golden retriever 25 pound puppy, stuck his head through a fence where someone had made a make-shift rat poison station in a yard in Mount Pleasant (close to the intersection of Irving and Mount Pleasant Street but it was in someone’s yard.) This consisted of blue cylinders of rat poison out in the open on a piece of newspaper with a bait of half a corn on the Cobb. Being a puppy who eats everything really quickly my dog ate it (both the rat poison and the Cobb)and now is in the hospital under a 24 hour watch. (more…)

Heads Up – Auto Tech Service is moving from Adams Morgan

By Prince Of Petworth


Photo by PoPville flickr user StreetsofWashington

“Dear PoPville,

I dropped of my car today at Auto Tech Service in Adams Morgan only to learn that they were abruptly closing down today and moving to another location in NE near Ivy City. They are an amazing auto repair shop and I’m sad to see them leave. I thought it would be worth sharing since many locals use their service.”

Ed. Note: Let’s take this opportunity to make a best mechanics in town list? Thanks!

Apartment Rental Scam PSA

By Prince Of Petworth

“Dear PoPville,

Just wanted to give a heads up that there is a fairly active apartment scammer on the DC Craigslist. They seem to be borderline psychopathic in their approach. They list an actual local property as a local real estate agent. Both the property and the real estate agent exist. They even go so far as to look up the real estate agent’s local license ID and the property owner information.

The red flags are pretty apparent, like them requesting a “deposit” upfront to lock in the lease before viewing. I spent the last few weeks toying with the scammer a bit before they ghosted me (understandable).

I just saw the same ad I originally responded to go back up, and figured your readers might benefit from being aware of this scam and spread the word.

I’ve attached a screenshot of the CL ad as well as the huge red flag in the “lease”:

“ARTICLE V: DEPOSIT AGREEMENT: I NANCY XXXXXXXXXXXX TRUSTEE & AARON XXXXXXXX (Landlord), MARY XXXXXXX (PROPERTY MANAGER) agrees with _______________ (Tenant) that the first month’s rent of $2800 and the security deposit of $2800 was paid prior to viewing, if for any reason tenant does not like or find the apartment not in perfect condition as advertised after viewing, tenant can terminate this agreement and the full deposit payment of $5600 will be refunded immediately on the spot.””

PSA “if you’re being harassed, distracted, someone else might be stealing your wallet behind you.”

By Prince Of Petworth


14th and V Street, NW

Watch your wallet! Thanks to Geri for sharing the heads up:

“if you’re being harassed, distracted, someone else might be stealing your wallet behind you. This happened to me in a busy Busboys and Poets yesterday, caught on tape. Also if you see this happening, say something (lady drinking wine next to me).

It was at 14 and V. The staff has seen them before. It was two guys working together. The man who was harassing me was prob 50, bald, 5,9, called himself Michael. I couldn’t watch the video I was so angry but the manager saw the guy behind me. I did not.”

Shawn notes: “Yup! Happened to me at Whole Foods.”

Beware of Fake Uber Driver

By Prince Of Petworth


Photo by PoPville flickr user Ted Eytan

“Dear PoPville,

I’m writing as a PSA. Thursday night I left a club downtown and got into what I thought was my Uber. He had rolled down his window and asked “Uber?” I stated my name and he said “yes, get in.” I was headed somewhere in Virginia about 20 minutes away and didn’t realize he headed towards Maryland. Admittedly I had been drinking and I would have noticed I was going in the wrong direction had I been sober but was looking down at my phone and wasn’t paying attention. He said he needed to pull over to get gas which I immediately thought was strange so I looked up my location, saw I wasn’t in Virginia and bolted out of the car booking it 10 blocks or so until I saw a security guard parked outside an apartment building. We called the cops so I could file a report and thankfully made it home safely. I can’t remember what the car or the driver looked like so unfortunately he’ll get away with it. It could have ended a lot worse and I’m thankful I made it out okay but want to remind everyone, especially women at night, to check the license plate and ask your driver for your name.”

Someone is cutting locks at the Washington Sports Club in Columbia Heights

By Prince Of Petworth


14th and Irving St, NW

Columbia Heights Washington Sports Club cannot catch a break lately.

“Dear PoPville,

I wanted to let people know what happened to me at the Washington Sports Club in Columbia Heights so they can take extra precautions. Someone is cutting locks and stealing the content of the locker, at least in the men’s locker room. This just happened to me. (more…)

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