“Dear PoPville,
Doug the Scammer was out and about on 3rd Street NE last night. This time he was a doctor neighbor who needed to use my phone to call the police. I told him I couldn’t help him and was grateful, for once, that our dog barks at folks who knock.”
Photo by PoPville flickr user Erin
“Dear PoPville
Just wanted to give readers a heads up about a scam we encountered while driving home on Valentine’s Day. We were stopped at a red light, and the man in the car next to us honked at us several times and signaled to us to roll down our window. I did, and he said my front right tire was “wobblying really bad” and I needed to pull over ASAP. (more…)
Photo by PoPville flickr user Eric P.
From DC Water yesterday:
“DC Water this afternoon issued a new reminder for all customers to be aware of and alert to possible scams involving callers or visitors who claim to be from the water authority.
The new warning came after a water customer was convinced to share her credit card information with someone pretending to be from the authority.
In the past, scams involving utility customers have involved visits or in some cases trying to sell water filters or solicit social security numbers. Customers should be aware of the following information: (more…)
From the Office of the Attorney General:
“District residents should be on the lookout for scammers making telephone calls claiming to be with Pepco. These fraudulent callers threaten to shut off residents’ electric service within hours unless the residents pay amounts they supposedly owe to Pepco. The callers request that the payments be made by prepaid card, money order or wire transfer – making it almost impossible for residents to recover their money after discovering they were scammed. (more…)
Photo by PoPville flickr user Ted Eytan
“Dear PoPville,
I’m leaving the area(sadly!) and am trying to think of a bar to have a going away happy hour gathering in Adams Morgan/Dupont /U Street or Shaw. It could be a private room or private area though that’s not a requirement. Mostly, I’m trying to think of a spot with plenty of room that I could invite around 30 people to.”
“Dear PoPville,
Doug has crossed the River! I run a restaurant in the Courthouse area of Arlington and my host told me some Doctor asked to speak with me. Almost immediately I felt I recognized him, and it took about 30 seconds into his story about being a neighbor and a former “regular” of ours, that his assistant had his car and he left his wallet, phone and keys in there and was having trouble getting in touch with him. He said the host was nice enough to let him use the phone but he had no luck. My first response was to just say “Doug?”, to which he said, “huh?”. I asked how I could help him and he asked for some free beer, to which my response was, “that’s not going to happen, Doug”. (more…)
Lesson not learned “Doug”.
“Dear PoPville,
Thought you might enjoy this video of Doug attempting his scam again near 17th and D St. NE. I probably should have let him give his story before calling him out. Oh well.”
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…)
From OAG’s Shopping for a rental property? Beware of fake listings!
“Scammers primarily rely on two types of rental scams:
Both types of these scams lure renters with extremely low rental prices and lavish amenities. Once they have your attention, they request money (such as an application fee) or financial information for the property they cannot deliver. Victims sometimes don’t even realize they have been cheated until they show up to the property and find that it does not exist or is not for rent.
Tips to Avoid Rental Scams
Good deals on rentals do exist, but make sure you do your research to make an informed decision. Here are some tips to avoid being scammed: (more…)
Most recent previous sighting on July 20th at Bakers Lounge
“Dear PoPville,
Doug the Scammer came into 18th & U Duplex Diner where I work. I totally fell for his sob story and gave him $20……his story is below.
He is now claiming to be a doctor & Director of Communications at Whitman Walker. (more…)