Ungreat Britain
A slimy limey ripped off a Meserole Street resident by convincing her to wire $1,872 to an English account.
The con artist found the victim by soliciting her as a “secret shopper” on Craigslist — a common online scam in which perps issue seemingly authentic checks to victims that they can use for shopping, so long as they return the change.
In this case, the English crook sent $2,358 in phony money orders to the 22-year-old victim. The notes were convincing enough to receive preliminary approval from the Bushwick resident’s bank, according to police reports.
“The fake checks are so good the tellers can’t even tell the difference,” said Thomas Brown, the community affairs officer at the 90th Precinct. “This scam comes up every six months or so until somebody gets taken.”
The victim — who lives on the block between Bushwick Avenue and Waterbury Street — ended up wiring $1,872 to a flat near the Finsbury section of London on June 27, only to discover on July 3 that the crook’s money orders were fake and she had been swindled.
Movers & shysters
A thief snatched a 25-year-old woman’s pocketbook while she moved into her new Lorimer Street apartment on July 1.
The perp grabbed the purse — which contained her phone, IDs, credit card, Metrocard, vintage sunglasses, $40, U-Haul keys, and a comic book (“Preacher, Vol. 5”) — from the victim’s bedroom while she moved furniture into the residence at around 6:30 pm.
When the crook made off with the handbag, multiple people had access to the apartment, which is between Maujer and Grand streets, cops said.
Fool’s gold
A jewelry thief snatched a chain from a Graham Avenue jewelry store on July 3.
The perp convinced an employee to allow him to examine the gold Cuban link chain — which police valued at $3,800. Once the worker handed him the costly necklace, he fled from the shop, which is between Cook and Varet streets.
The thief escaped from the 4 pm in a silver four-door sedan.
Mob beating
Police locked up four perps suspected of beating a 30-year-old with a belt buckle in a vicious July 5 assault.
The crooks jumped the 30-year-old victim as he walked home from his girlfriend’s apartment on Broadway between Marcy Avenue and the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway
The 4 am attack left the victim with two lacerations to his head, but cops arrested four suspects, ranging in age from 18 to 28.
Taxi attack
Two armed crooks shot at a taxi driver in a violent July 4 mugging.
The unlucky cabby drove the two perps to a Hess station at the corner of Bushwick and Metropolitan avenues at around 12:50 am when one of the hooligans pulled out a gun.
“Give me your money now!” said the thug, who forced the driver out of his car and struck him in the chest with his firearm.
The cabby ran away, and the crooks fired a single shot at him. The bullet missed its mark and the victim escaped with his life. But the thieves made off with his phone, ID, credit card and $145.
Tour de force
A bike-riding bandit snatched a 30-year-old woman’s phone at the corner of Meserole Street and Bushwick Avenue on July 3.
The pedal-pushing perp grabbed the victim’s iPhone as she attempted to send a text message at around 10:50 pm.
TV sinner
A burglar sneaked into a Grand Street apartment on July 1 and snatched an LCD TV and an XBox 360.
The crook got in between 11:30 am and 10 pm — while the 33-year-old victim was at work — and heisted the 46-inch television and a gaming console.
After grabbing the goods, the crook fled from the residence, which is between Bedford Avenue and Berry Street.
Bottle serviced
Cops arrested a 23-year-old suspected of hitting a Jefferson Avenue man with a glass bottle on July 4.
The perp first punched the victim in his face and then struck him with the carafe at the corner of Broadway and Hooper Street right around 11:45 pm.
The victim suffered a laceration on his forehead and a bloody thumb that required treatment at Woodhull Hospital, but police quickly nabbed a suspect.
Graham crackered
A knife-wielding thug stabbed a 25-year-old man on July 4.
The perp slashed the victim on the left side of his stomach at 11:55 pm on Graham Avenue between McKibben and Boerum streets, according to police reports.
