PSA

Scam Alert: “he tells me that I need to pull over, my tire is about to fall off”

By Prince Of Petworth

shady
Photo by PoPville flickr user Mark Andre

“Dear PoPville,

I recently had an experience that left me shaken. I posted this to my FB page and it seems that it’s happened to one other person, too, and perhaps even more who I may not be associated with in social media.

Below is that FB post:

So I’ve been debating if this information was relevant to share, but it’s left me a little shaken up so…here goes. (Consider it a PSA for single women who drive around by themselves)

On Sunday I was driving in DC – @ 11:30am. I was on Rhode Island Ave NE. A guy pulls up next to me an starts to frantically get my attention. I roll down my passenger side window and he tells me that I need to pull over, my tire is about to fall off, it’s really shaking. I immediately vier over into the right hand lane and pull into a BofA parking lot. The guy pulls off with me. He’s in a beat up red van and gets out. I get out, too. He proceeds to try and budge my tire. At this point I’m standing outside of my car on the passenger side. A second vehicle pulls up to my driver’s side – two guys in a truck. They seem to know each other. One starts to get out of the truck as the red van guy tries to get me to “get down on the ground” to see this “ball joint” that’s supposedly loose. I immediately circle my car, get back in, lock the doors and roll down the window to tell the red van guy that I’m going to head to friend’s place and call AAA, thanks. He get’s upset, rolls his eyes and tells me that I can’t drive with my wheel like this. The truck of two guys pulls off.

I take my car to VW yesterday and there’s NOTHING wrong with my car.

Just in case this ever happens, here are a few tips to know if you have a loose tire: (more…)

“H Street NE neighbors–hide your plants and remain vigilant!”

By Prince Of Petworth

Our poor plant!

“Dear PoPville,

It appears we have an H Street NE garden thief on our hands! Much to my surprise, as I left my home the other morning, I noticed that someone came along and cut the entire top off the dracaena plant in my front yard. This was not a simple assault either, clearly the horticultural pillager knew how to surgically remove the top of the plant in one cut. Why did this horror occur? Was someone just that envious of it’s beautiful green leaves, or was someone with a greener thumb than me sympathetic to its languishing? This plant had been with us for quite some time, so I’m very saddened by this!

I would chalk it up to kids, but the plant was not pulled out of the pot or broken. Clearly, as the picture indicates, someone precisely cut the top off. Has anyone else ever had this happen to them before? This is certainly bizarre. H Street NE neighbors–hide your plants and remain vigilant!”

“Spice of Bukhara, the food is fantastic”

By Prince Of Petworth

spice
204 Michigan Avenue, NE

Thanks to a reader for sending word:

“Spice of Bukhara (Best taste of Indian, Pakistani, Afghani and Irani foods) is getting all the buzz over in our neighborhood. Have you checked it out?
The food is fantastic.”

Check out their menu here.

Anyone else take a taste?

“Zika Virus is on the rise, and it’s only a matter of time before it comes to DC”

By Prince Of Petworth

zika
“Fight the Bite” Kit distributed by the DC Department of Health

From an email:

“As you may be aware, the Zika Virus is on the rise, and it’s only a matter of time before it comes to DC. Here is a map of the areas projected to be affected: http://www.cdc.gov/zika/pdfs/zika-mosquito-maps.pdf.

Here is a list of recommendations from the CDC on mosquito control, http://www.cdc.gov/zika/prevention/controlling-mosquitoes-at-home.html, which includes the following:

(more…)

“Please tell people to lock their doors, especially if they live in a group home and have roommates with varying schedules.”

By Prince Of Petworth

logan
Photo by PoPville flickr user Kevin Wolf

“Dear PoPville,

I was upstairs in my room last night on the third floor of my Logan Circle townhouse, which I share with 3 other people, when a homeless man walked in. I left the door unlocked because my roommate couldn’t find her key and was planning to come home shortly. When my roommate came home, she went upstairs to the third floor and saw a homeless man, African American and middle aged, with a hoody, hiding behind a bookshelf. We hid in my room and called the cops who promptly came. The guy had walked out before the cops got there though so he’s still on the loose.

Please tell people to lock their doors, especially if they live in a group home and have roommates with varying schedules. Thankfully the guy didn’t take anything or attack me, but it could’ve been a very bad situation.”

“After calling Comcast to confirm – we can officially say this is a total scam!”

By Prince Of Petworth

scam or not

“Dear PoPville,

Came home yesterday to a note left in the crack of my door. Upon getting this, I immediately messaged my upstairs roommate (who handles our cable) to find out what was up. The copy/paste Comcast label was an immediate red flag for me. After calling Comcast to confirm – we can officially say this is a total scam! The scammer left this in our mailbox on the front of our house, but to leave it at my door they had to get super creepy. They unlocked our back gate, came into our backyard, and walked down to my rear-entry basement apartment in a desperate attempt to see if someone was home – and most likely try to get inside. Luckily, we were all at work. Who knows what would have happened! We suspect if you call the number, they’ll try to extort you not to “turn off your cable.” Scary, and super creeps! This all sounds very much like the fake “Verizon techs” who were wandering around a few month ago. NoMa residents – beware!!”

“Two of the spaces are frequently given tickets (as in over 10 per day) and appear to be targeted by the parking enforcement employees.”

By Prince Of Petworth

parking psa
Photo by PoPville flickr user Elvert Barnes

“Dear PoPville,

There is metered parking outside my office (corner of 10th and G Streets, NW). It also falls in the variable rate parking zone that the city is experimenting with.

Two of the spaces (parkmobile zone 22651, spaces 0616 and 0617) are frequently given tickets (as in over 10 per day) and appear to be targeted by the parking enforcement employees.

The spaces have dual-zones: 2 hour parking and commercial zone parking within a subset of time. Difficult to quickly read the signs.

Basically, people think they can park there and when they go to the kiosk and enter the space number, it lets them pay for parking even though it is illegal for them to park there. Typically, the parkmobile app and kiosks will not allow you to pay for parking in a space when it is illegal to park there.

Just want to try to rectify it so folks don’t have their days ruined by getting a ticket!”

7th Sign of Spring: If You See a Bee Swarm Don’t Panic, It’s a Good Thing – Call the DC Beekeepers

By Prince Of Petworth

IMG_7022

Our annual reminder from the DC Beekeepers:

“Spring is here and honeybees sometimes go searching for new homes. They (and we) could really use your help. If you see a swarm of bees, please call or text (202) 255-4318 or email [email protected] and and a team of DC beekeepers will spring into action to give house-searching honeybees the home they are looking for! Insecticides will not take care of your situation, but we can.”

bee_swarm

“Both my wife and I have had our Debit/Visa cards compromised in this week.”

By Prince Of Petworth

atm-fraud
Stock photo by PoPville flickr user Elliot Mitchell

Ed. Note: A couple weeks ago we spoke about potential ATM fraud in Logan Circle.

“Dear PoPville,

Both my wife and I have had our Debit/Visa cards compromised in this week. The cards are linked to separate accounts, and the dodgy charges appeared on consecutive days.

My wife incurred two charges in Canada, and I incurred three: 2 in Canada (Mac’s Convenience Store, and Edinburgh Liquors) and one that I have not been able to trace successfully, but it is likely a Hookah store in Canada.

I have just been into our local branch of TD Bank (P street, NW) to get a new card and spoke with the Manager (who is consistently excellent). He told me that TD Bank has had no data breach, but said that he has had a number of customers from the area come into the Bank this week to dispute charges and obtain new cards. As a consequence he suspects there is a store, or stores, in the Columbia Heights/U Street area that has/have been skimming cards. (more…)

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