Strongsville Police Blotter: Note Taped to Door May Be a Scam, or Just Strange Marketing

A strange handwritten note taped to the door of a Kingswood Court home April 23 sparked concern for the resident.

The note, written in pencil, advised the resident to call her mortgage company and gave an 800 number.

The woman did call her mortgage company and found she was in good standing. The number on the note belongs to Wells Fargo Home Mortgage. 

However, a website dedicated to 800 numbers has posts from people around the country complaining about receiving similar notes. One person said three teenagers handed him a note on yellow paper; others also found it taped to the door, and others got phone calls. Some of the notes said, "Urgent -- contact us immediately."

Some said they felt the caller was looking for personal information and feared they had been targeted for identity theft. 

In the Strongsville incident, a man driving a red car was seen leaving the note.

In other news:

• Residents on Rabbit Run Drive told police April 24 that someone drove a car into their garage door during the night. Police found three dents in the door and, coupled with the fact that there was other vandalism in the area overnight, said it appears someone may have kicked the door, not rammed it with a car.

• A Castlereagh Lane resident called police April 22 after noticing a car parked at the end of a street and a man in the ravine, digging in the dirt. Police found the man picking wild onions. He was advised to ask the property owner next time he wants to harvest.

• An anonymous caller complained about 3:30 a.m. April 24 that someone on Lenox Drive was howling at the moon -- and had been for several hours.

• Ducklings have kept the animal warden hopping this week. On April 22, two youngsters found two baby ducks standing by their dead mother, so they brought them to the police station.

The next day, a passerby saw ducklings fall into a drain on Howe Road. Police paged the animal warden, who was able to rescue the fuzzy little guys.

• A Northwood Trail woman received a threatening phone call April 23 from an area code she believes is in Guam. The caller said if she did not call back, she would suffer consequences.

• On Wellington Court, a woman could hear a cat and was afraid it had gotten stuck on her property April 23. It had -- police found a kitten had slipped in an open window and was in her basement.

• Someone pounded on the door of a house on Saratoga Trail shortly before midnight April 22. The resident asked police to check his property.

• A police officer spotted a teenager walking on Crystal Creek carrying a case of beer about 2:15 a.m. April 23. When he saw the officer, the teen dropped the beer and kept walking.

Too late. Police stopped him and found he smelled of beer. He was cited for underage consumption. Officers poured out five cans of beer at the scene.

• A vandal put a juice bottle in a mailbox on Badger Den Lane the night of April 22 and then set the bottle on fire. There was no significant damage to the mailbox.

• Police had to force their way into a Brandywine Drive home April 24 after friends and neighbors said they could not make contact with the elderly resident and were worried. Officers found the man inside and fine, although he was perturbed about police opening his door. 

He said he was not answering his phone or door because he didn't want to see or talk to anyone.

• Police got a complaint about 11:20 p.m. April 23 of people driving around Saratoga Trail, yelling obscenities. While looking for that car, officers saw someone throw a bottle from another vehicle at Falmouth and Nantucket. When the stopped the car, five people jumped out and ran into a wooded area. The driver stayed and said that while he did not throw the bottle, he would clean up the glass.

Police later found the original vehicle, but the driver and two passengers denied being on Saratoga.

• A thief broke a car window and stole a GPS while the vehicle was parked at the Plaza at SouthPark, near 5 Below, April 22.

• Kids threw eggs at a house on Sherwood Drive about 11 p.m. April 22.

• When a resident of Evelyn Court returned from vacation April 23, she found the screens removed from windows in the back of her house and believed it had been burglarized. However, police found no pry marks or other attempts to get inside.