Police Beat

More converter rip-offs on Riverdale Avenue

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Two more catalytic converters were stolen from the undercarriage of vehicles left unattended on the streets of the 50th precinct last week. 

For those counting along, that makes nine such thefts since mid-March — a little more than one converter per week. 

This time thieves targeted Riverdale Avenue, first in front of yet another post office, police said, and then at West 254th Street on May 4. 

The first converter was ripped off from a U.S. Postal Service truck parked in front of the Riverdale post office at 5951 Riverdale Ave., police said, sometime around 12:30 p.m.

Later the same day, police said they received a report from a 66-year-old man, who had parked his car at the corner of Riverdale and West 254th, on May 2. When he came back, thieves had taken the catalytic converter off his Toyota Tacoma. 

 

Woman’s identity stolen, along with $$

A Van Cortlandt Village resident was the victim of identity theft last week when police said someone cleared her bank account of $1,106 — in Brooklyn of all places.

The woman, 77, received a notification May 2 that someone had made two withdrawals at the same Ridgewood Bank location in Brooklyn, according to police. But she only uses the Ridgewood location at 3899 Sedgwick Ave., and seems to have been the victim of a skimming scam.

A skimming scam is when identity thieves use small devices inside ATM machines to copy credit and debit card numbers, and then use them at other locations.

 

Tech targeted in separate burglaries

Two burglaries occurred in different parts of the area last week. Yet the loot was the same, police said: pricey technology. 

The first happened May 3 when a man came home at 8:30 a.m., after being away for a few days to find his front door had been broken in, police said. As he looked around, he saw the thieves had taken $500 in cash as well as a Shure microphone, a Canon Rebel XTi, and three lenses for that camera. 

All in all, police estimated the value of the equipment at $3,000, all taken from the home at 244 Fieldston Terrace. 

The following day, police received reports a woman returned to her 111 Marble Hill Ave. home May 4 only to discover someone had broken into her apartment through the bedroom window. 

The burglars made off with an iPad 3 and a Nintendo Switch game console, according to police. 

Police estimated the total value of those electronics at $900.

 

Car break-in in Spuyten Duyvil

A car was broken into while parked in front of 2530 Independence Ave. 

The victim, 41, said she parked her car overnight, but when she returned May 1, police said she discovered someone had broken the passenger side window of her Chrysler. 

That’s when thieves took an estimated $1,600 in property, police said, including a Lenovo ThinkPad and a Ralph Lauren handbag.