Greenacres woman outsmarts scam
The following police reports were compiled from press releases from the Spokane Valley Police Department:
A 78-year-old Greenacres woman foiled a phone scam Nov. 10 by refusing to play along with a “Publisher’s Clearing House”-style prize scheme.
Police say the woman received a call from a scam artist pretending to be with a company called “Border” which the scam artist said had a check in the woman’s name for $8,600.
Border was a company affiliated with Fed Ex, the scam artist told the woman. All she needed to claim the check was send the man $3,956 to cover the taxes on the prize.
The Greenacres woman said she didn’t have that kind of money, at which point he said, “Oh, you’re elderly, in that case it’s only $1,978.”
The woman told the man she wasn’t going to pay him because the prize sounded like a scam. She was right.
Police warn people to always be careful of offers requiring that the person pay taxes, border or transfer fees to collect a prize. A legitimate company should be willing to send the contest information through the mail upon request.
Suspect steals money
Police are looking for a man suspected of ripping $100 from a woman’s hand as they drove down a Spokane Valley street.
The man allegedly plucked the money from the woman’s hand as they rode through the 12300 block of E. Sprague Ave. The woman told police Lawrence E. Grant, 55, got out of the car and ran away after stealing the money, which she intended to break into smaller bills for bus money.
Earlier in the evening, Grant was cited for an outstanding misdemeanor traffic warrant. Police are asking for anyone who has seen Grant to call 242-TIPS or 243-8477.
Grant is 5-feet, 11-inches tall and weighs 200 pounds. He is African American.
Starbucks bomb scare
A bomb scare at a Sprague Avenue Starbucks brought the Spokane/Spokane County bomb squad to Spokane Valley Nov. 11.
No bomb was found. Baristas at the coffee shop called police after spotting a Brinks Home Security Box left behind by a customer. Starbucks employees considered the customer suspicious because on several occasions he had spent several hours at the store sipping a single cup of coffee.
Starbucks closed the store early and evacuated.