Story posted Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Suspect Claims To Be Neighbor In Two Scams
Two more Park Ridge residents fell victim to a scammer who claims to be a neighbor locked out of his home.
A woman in the 100 block of Merrill reported being a victim of the man at about 5 a.m. Oct. 14.
He came to her home, claimed his name was Sean O'Malley, and told her he locked himself out of his residence at 217 N. Merrill without keys or a wallet. The victim let him use her telephone to call a locksmith, but he said he was unable to reach one.
He then asked for $40 for a taxi, which the woman gave him. The victim offered to call a taxi for him, but he told her it would be easier to get one at the train station and left. The victim later determined there was no such address as the one he gave.
A couple in the 400 block of North Leonard Street was scammed out of $40 at about 7:45 p.m. Oct. 22. A man came to their home, called himself Sean O'Malley, and told the victims he was doing laundry and locked himself out of his home. He asked if he could use their phone to call his wife and then asked if he could borrow $35 for a taxi to get to his wife. The victims gave him $40 and he promised to come back and return the money, but never did.
An earlier scam was reported in this paper on Wednesday, Oct. 21. A man on Merrill Avenue reported being scammed out of $60 at about 9 a.m. Oct. 14. He said a man rang his doorbell, identified himself as Tag O'Malley, and entered his home uninvited. The suspect spoke with an Irish accent and told the victim he was locked out of his home in the 7200 block of Ozark Avenue. The victim let him use a telephone book to call a locksmith and the suspect then told him the locksmith required a $200 deposit.
He asked the victim for $60 and said he would return with the money. After taking the money, he left the home and did not return.
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