Fraudsters employ deceptive tactics designed to create a sense of urgency in their victims and lower their protective instincts, according to the National Crime Prevention Council.
The next time someone calls, e-mails, or texts you and claims to be a customer service representative or authority figure, remember that a scammer may:
Be impatient, abrasive, pushy, or even rude
Be overly complimentary, gain your trust, or make extra effort to relate to you
Evade your questions
Gain your trust by having you verify some personal information, before asking you for more information
Try to rush you into a decision
Offer a deal that seems “too good to be true”
Alert you about a recent purchase, charge, or attempted charge to your account while directing you to speak to a customer service representative that doesn’t connect to a real support team, but the scammer.
Trick you to provide access to your computer when you reply or call back.
One recent fraud involved the scammer sending a phishing e-mail alerting the victim that the account may have been compromised. Next, the scammer called the victim pretending to be from the same company as a follow-up to the e-mail, even providing some confidential information about the victim and making the caller ID match the legitimate institution to seem authentic. To transfer money from the victim’s bank account, the scammer would trigger a one-time PIN for the victim to read back, which allowed the scammer to steal money from the victim’s account.
Remember:
Be skeptical and don’t engage with the caller when you’re busy or distractedAND
Verifythe legitimacy of any unsolicited call for information by hanging up and contacting the institution directly with numbers you know are authentic.
7/28/26, a male, age 24, was arrested on an outstanding bench warrant in the 100 Blk. S. Washington Street.
7/28/26, a female, age 38, was arrested on an outstanding warrant for possession of CDS in the Unit Blk. W. Montgomery Avenue.
7/29/26, a female, age 35, was arrested for disorderly conduct in the 400 Blk. Monroe Street.
7/29/26, a male and a female, ages 34 and 29, were arrested for shoplifting in the 400 Blk. Redland Boulevard.
7/30/26, a female, age 31, was arrested for assault, malicious destruction of property, disorderly conduct, making a false statement to a police officer, and obstructing and hindering in the 600 Blk. Hungerford Drive.
8/2/26, a male, age 16, was arrested for burglary in the 1400 Blk. W. Montgomery Avenue.
Incidents
800 Blk. First Street, an unknown subject acted in a disorderly manner on several occasions in July at a city park. Incident reported on 7/28/26.
100 Blk. Calvert Road, an unknown subject stole personal property from an unsecured vehicle during the afternoon hours of 7/27/26. Incident reported on 7/28/26.
1000 Blk. Seven Locks Road, an unknown subject defrauded the victim of personal funds by instructing her to purchase gift cards and make deposits into a Bitcoin machine on 7/28/26.
400 Blk. Blandford Street, an unknown subject unlawfully entered the victim’s residence by unknown means via a secured rear door at 1:57 a.m. on 7/29/26.
100 Blk. Moore Drive, an unknown subject stole the license plates from a vehicle between 7/15/26 and 7/28/26. Incident reported on 7/29/26.
400 Blk. King Farm Boulevard, an unknown subject fraudulently claimed to represent a law enforcement agency and directed the victim to deposit personal funds into a Bitcoin account to cancel the victim’s two warrants, which were fictitious at 1:45 p.m. on 7/28/26. Incident reported on 7/29/26.
300 Blk. Martins Lane, a known male made inappropriate contact with another person while swimming in a pool at 8:00 p.m. on 7/29/26.
12400 Blk. Twinbrook Parkway, an unknown subject stole merchandise from a business by unknown means which was discovered during an inventory on 7/28/26. Incident reported on 7/30/26.
1000 Blk. Maple Avenue, three unknown subjects stole personal property from an unsecured vehicle at 3:12 a.m. on 7/30/26.
100 Blk. S. Adams Street, an unknown subject unlawfully entered two secured vehicles by unknown means and stole personal property between 11:00 p.m. on 7/30/26 and 5:30 a.m. on 7/31/26.
600 Blk. Rockville Pike, a known subject deposited a fraudulent check for deposit on 7/7/26. Incident reported on 7/31/26.
100 Blk. Talbott Street, an unknwon subject was discovered inside of a vacant apartment on 7/31/26 after entering through an unlocked window. The subject fled before police arrival.
5900 Blk. Lemay Road, an unknown subject stole the catalytic converter from a Honda Accord between 7:00 p.m. on 7/31/26 and 6:50 a.m. on 8/1/26.
Unit Blk. Nelson Street, an unknown subject stole personal property from an unsecured vehicle between 6:00 p.m. on 7/31/26 and 6:00 a.m. on 8/1/26.
Colonial Court and Mount Vernon Place, an unknown subject attempted to steal a secured silver 2009 Toyota RAV4 between 7/31/26 and 8/1/26.
5900 Crawford Drive, an unknown subject stole the catalytic converter from a Toyota Prius between 6:30 p.m. on 7/31/26 and 3:20 p.m. on 8/1/26.
1200 Blk. Simmons Drive, an unknown subject stole the catalytic converter from a Toyota Prius between 5:00 p.m. on 7/31/26 and 8/2/26.
1200 Blk. Thornden Road, an unknown subject stole the catalytic converter from a Honda Odyssey between 5:30 a.m. on 7/31/26 and 6:40 a.m. on 8/1/26.
300 Blk. Twinbrook Parkway, an unknown subject stole a 2018 Dodge Charger between 9:00 p.m. on 8/1/26 and 4:00 a.m. on 8/2/26 before abandoning the vehicle at a nearby intersection.
200 Blk. Adclare Court, an unknown subject attempted to enter a secured vehicle at 1:09 a.m. on 8/2/26.
100 Blk. Gibbs Street, two unknown subjects assaulted the victim when the victim intervened in an argument at 4:43 p.m. on 8/2/26.
5900 Blk. Vandegrift Avenue, an unknown subject stole the catalytic converter from a Honda Civic between 10:00 p.m. on 7/30/26 and 10:00 a.m. on 8/1/26. Incident reported on 8/2/26.
1300 Blk. Grandin Avenue, an unknown subject stole a brown 2002 Toyota Camry between 7:00 p.m. on 8/2/26 and 4:30 a.m. on 8/3/26.
Unit Blk. Crothers Court, an unknown subject stole a white 2019 Volvo XC6 between 10:30 p.m. on 8/2/26 and 7:00 a.m. on 8/3/26.
1100 Blk. Elmcroft Boulevard, an unknown male robbed a postal worker of mailbox key’s to the residential building before fleeing in a blue four-door sedan parked nearby at 3:45 p.m. on 8/3/26. The subject was described as: a black male, skinny, approx. 5’10”, light complexion, wearing dark blue clothing.
100 Blk. Halpine Road, a known male assaulted the victim after an argument escalated at 5:10 p.m. on 8/3/26. The victim was referred for obtaining a protective order. Charges are forthcoming.
