Darien police are urging residents to lock vehicles parked in their driveways or elsewhere near their homes after burglars struck during the overnight hours recently.
Police Chief Ernest Brown said an unspecified number of unlocked vehicles were burglarized in an area bounded by 73rd Street to the north, 77th Street to the south, Cass Avenue to the west and Richmond Avenue to the east.
“All of the vehicles that were entered had been left unlocked,” Brown said. “There was no vandalism reported to gain entry.”
The police chief said he did not know exactly what items were taken, but noted some vehicle owners reported nothing missing. They were aware that someone had been inside their cars or trucks because the contents of glove boxes and center consoles had been rifled through and tossed about.
“The key here is for residents to lock their cars,” Brown said.
Brown also reported to city officials that an elderly resident avoided falling prey to a telephone scam May 18, and instead immediately contacted police with the scammer’s phone number obtained through Caller ID. In these cases, the caller purports to be an IRS agent, government prosecutor, or a similar public official and makes a demand for an immediate cash payment to settle back taxes, an arrest warrant or some other debt.
In this case, the caller’s area code was 609, which is in New Jersey, but the offender himself was located outside the U.S., Brown said.
“I spoke with this offender earlier today,” Brown said. “He was offshore, and he knew I could not lay hands on him, and as a result he was very arrogant.”
Brown said one reason seniors are targeted is that when contacted by phone, older people tend to pay a higher level of respect to authority figures than younger individuals, who are often much more skeptical.
“The key is vigilance,” Brown said. “Prosecutors, banks and the IRS will never call you and demand money in this fashion.”
Harry Gamble is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
