WVU warns community of ongoing cell phone thefts and fraud in Morgantown
MORGANTOWN, W. Va. (KDKA) - Police in Morgantown, West Virginia are warning students and residents to be cautious after reports thieves are asking to borrow cell phones to steal money.
"People are taking advantage of people and their goodness and asking to either borrow their phone to make a phone call, or asking to input their information, something of that nature, gaining access to unlocked cell phones to then be able to utilize payment devices and applications on there to make fraudulent transactions," said Brandon Viola, Detective Division Supervisor for the Morgantown police department.
Viola said suspects use an app on the victims' phone, like Venmo, Zelle, PayPal and others, to send payments to outside accounts.
Viola said they have had several theft reports just this month and said unfortunately, it is not the first time.
"A few months ago, we had a rash of 10-to-15 of these cases where phones were either outright taken or transactions were done right in front of the victim without their knowledge," Viola said.
A WVU student told KDKA his friend was targeted last semester, saying he was approached by a man who asked to borrow his phone to make a call.
"One of our friends was at the bar and he got $500 taken off CashApp by a guy in the bar," said Matt Stachitas, a student.
Another student said she's been asked for her phone as well.
"The fact they did it so easily too, like they really quickly send themselves money, I was like, honestly, swift hands," said Georgia Hensley, a WVU student.
UPD Chief Sherry St. Clair said students should avoid sharing their phones with strangers and to be aware of their surroundings.
"If someone asks to use your phone to make a call, for example, if they lost their phone, perhaps offer to make this call for them or direct them to the nearest police station or something of that nature where they can get assistance," Viola said.
Viola said one man was arrested when cases started popping up a few months ago. Police charged Deante B. Hurt with three felony counts of fraudulent use of an access device, one felony count of fraudulent use of a credit card, one felony count of conspiracy to commit a felony and one felony count of grand larceny.
Of the recent cases reported, police said so far, no arrests have been made.