Rip-off artist targeting Hispanics

New Garden Township police want to remind residents of two ongoing crimes: thefts from vehicles and thefts by a  scam artist posing as an electric company representative.

Police are investigating an incident of multiple thefts from vehicles from a business parking lot in the unit block of Hartefeld Drive on Feb. 17. Several vehicles were broken into, and the items stolen included electronic equipment, a purse containing credit cards, and a briefcase containing checkbooks. The public is reminded to not leave any valuables in their vehicles, whether in plain sight or hidden.

The second warning stems from a recurrence of thefts by a male claiming to be an employee of Peco Energy. The male calls the mostly Hispanic victims and advises them to send payment via MoneyPak cards to avoid having their service shut off. Victims have sent the payment and later learned from Peco that they were scammed. The police urge residents to contact Peco directly about payments and not to send money to someone who contacts them by phone.