On March 19 the Hardwick Police Department received a fraud complaint from a resident who advised someone they believed had been an employee of their online bank had convinced them to transfer money from one of their accounts into two separate accounts as directed by the caller.
The victim advised they had been called the previous night by a male who told her he was an employee of an online financial services company the victim had an account with. The victim said the number they were called from matched that of a public number for this company. The male caller told the victim there was an issue with the account and he guided them through a process they (the victim) believed would fix the issue. The victim allowed the male to access the account and then allow a series of small dollar transfers (numerous $50.00 transfers and several $250.00 transfers) to two other accounts until all the money from their account was gone. The victim said the person they had spoken to was calling from Florida.
The officer looked up the financial service company to find out if they insured deposits. They were not a bank; however, they partner with banks and deposits are insured to $250,000.00. The officer told the victim to call them and speak to a representative so they could attempt to claw the money back from the accounts the transfers had been made to. They tried calling and this call was terminated by this banking company after contacting an operator. A second call attempt was successful and with this second call the victim, with the officer standing by, were put through to a Fraud Representative who saw the pattern of transfers in the account history.
Though this representative said they would extend a line of credit in the amount of the loss and said the balance should be restored, the officer was subsequently advised the claim had been denied by this online “bank.” The victim was encouraged to report this event to the State of Vermont Attorney General’s Office Consumer Fraud Division as well as the United States Attorney General’s office.
Banks and Financial Institutions do not operate in this manner. Any issues with an account will result in warnings or alerts via email or through the U.S. Mail. If you are called by someone who says they work for your bank and tells you that you need to give access to your accounts and/or transfer funds for any reason, end the call, log into your account to check for suspicious activity, and call your bank using numbers you have used before and know are valid. If you have a bank branch close by, you can always make a personal visit and check your account activity with a trusted member of the professional bank staff.
On March 28 at 4:17 p.m. the Hardwick Police Department was dispatched to the car wash next to Lamoille Valley Ford for what had been called in as a possible medical emergency. Investigation revealed that Mathew A. Costa, of Barnet, had operated a motor vehicle while under the influence of intoxicating liquor. He was issued a citation to appear in Caledonia Superior Court to be arraigned on the charge of DUI, Test Refusal.
On Saturday, March 29 at approximately 6:50 a.m., Lamoille County Dispatch Center received a report of a single vehicle crash into a utility pole on Slapp Hill Road in the town of Hardwick. The caller advised there were injuries involved. The Hardwick Fire, Rescue Squad and Police Departments responded to the scene. The investigation revealed that Odetta Joseph of Greensboro and Florida was traveling west on Slapp Hill Road in her 2024 Hyundai Palisade. She lost control of her vehicle on the slippery road surface, traveled off the right side of roadway and struck a utility pole. The force of the impact sheared the utility pole off. Hardwick Rescue Squad transported Joseph to the Copley Hospital for non-life threatening injuries.
Slapp Hill Road was shut down for several hours while the Hardwick Electric Department installed a new utility pole.
