MIDDLEBURY — Police in Middlebury are warning area residents to be wary of scammers calling this week.
On the afternoon of Wednesday, April 11, the Middlebury Police Department received numerous reports of Addison County residents receiving automated phone calls that said their debit cards were “locked,” according to Middlebury Police Sgt. Jason Covey. In each case the messages prompted the potential victims to enter their account number to “unlock” the debit cards.
Fortunately, none of the callers did so, but this underscores a scam that is being perpetrated statewide, and authorities are warning people not to share their personal banking information over the phone. The Vermont Attorney General’s Office is investigating the case and can be reached at 1-800-649-2424.
All of the calls have originated from either 813-381-5251 or 303-557-0153. The recordings for each call identified the bank as one of the following: Vermont Federal Credit Union, New England Federal Credit Union or Key Bank. In several of the cases the potential victims did in fact have accounts with the bank specified in the message.
All of the involved banks have been contacted and verified these calls are fraudulent, Covey said.
In other action last week, Middlebury police:
•  Removed an uncooperative, unruly student from Middlebury Union Middle School on April 10. Police turned over the student to his mother.
•  Responded to a report of a woman being physically restrained by two males on South Street on April 10. Police spoke to Porter Medical Center officials who said the woman had just left the hospital, was pre-disposed to seizures, and was likely being assisted by two relatives.
•  Were informed that someone had stolen a child’s scooter from in front of Mary Hogan Elementary School on April 11. The metal scooter is silver and gray with small blue wheels and blue foam grips.
•  Received a report of someone vandalizing a vehicle parked off Bakery Lane on April 11. Police said someone damaged the hood of the vehicle and unscrewed the tire valve stems.
•  Agreed on April 10 to pursue charges against a Vergennes man who had allegedly passed bad checks at Noonie Deli, Two Brothers Tavern and the Storm Café in recent weeks.
•  Were informed someone had driven away from the Middlebury Village Depot on April 10 without paying for $10 in gas.
•  Investigated an anonymous caller’s complaint of a “very strong skunk smell” emanating from the first floor of a North Pleasant Street apartment building on April 12.
•  Received a report that $140 in cash had been stolen from the MUHS boys’ locker room on April 12.
•  Responded to a reported fist fight between two male students at Middlebury Union High School on April 12.
•  Cited Jasmine Lambert, 32, of Weybridge for driving under the influence, following a stop on College Street on April 13. Police said they measured Lambert’s blood-alcohol content at 0.191 percent. The legal limit for driving is 0.08 percent.
•  Received a wallet that had been found — minus $23 — on Exchange Street on April 13. Police returned the wallet to its owner.
•  Seized into evidence three inflammatory notes found on a bulletin board at Middlebury College’s Sunderland Hall on April 13. Police said the notes refer to “Obscura,” an annual walking tour of sites of historical importance in Nazi Germany. Police are not sure who posted the notes and have informed state authorities about the case.
•  Received a report of a rock being thrown through a window of a vehicle parked in the Rosie’s Restaurant lot on April 13.
•  Investigated an accident involving a motorcyclist in front of the Courtyard by Marriott Hotel on Route 7 South. Police said the driver sustained minor injuries and refused treatment.
•  Responded to a report of cows loose from a Foote Street farm on April 13.
•  Responded to a noise complaint in the South Main Street neighborhood on April 14.
•  Received a report of a cow wandering along Route 7 North near the intersection of Exchange Street on April 14.
•  Took into protective custody a drunken man who had been walking on Main Street on April 14.
•  Investigated a report of an unruly patient at the Porter Hospital emergency room on April 14.
•  Responded to a noise complaint at a Park Street apartment building on April 15.