Since May, Raleigh police say, a man has gone to a number of homes claiming that he's a neighbor. He explains that he's locked his keys in his car and needs to use a phone to call a locksmith. His girlfriend is a flight attendant, he has told some, and she's not home to help.
Some residents have believed the story and let him in to make the call. No one answers the number he dials. He then asks the residents for money for the locksmith because his wallet is in his locked car. Some have given him money.
The man came to Wayne Truax's townhouse in south Raleigh about 8 p.m. May 19. He is in his 30s and was nicely dressed, Truax said.
The man told his story, and even knew Truax's and his wife's names. He swore he'd seen them walking their dog in the neighborhood. (It turns out the guy had gone to a couple of other homes and, though turned away, had managed to get the neighbors to divulge the Truaxes' names.)
The Truaxes let him in, and the man used their phone, supposedly to call a locksmith. When no one answered, he asked to borrow $50 for the locksmith.
Truax didn't have the cash on him either, so "like a dummy," Truax says, he drove the man to Truax's credit union. While at the ATM, Truax, a retired SBI agent, came to his senses.
"I didn't feel unsafe until I got to the credit union," he said.
Truax gave him $60. Then the man asked to be dropped off near Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Garner Road -- nowhere near Truax's neighborhood, where this guy claimed to live. Truax sped home and called the police.
Truax considers himself lucky and doesn't think about the money.
"I was embarrassed," he said.
The Truaxes Googled the number the man called on their phone -- 966-4800 -- and found an online message board with numerous comments from folks around the Triangle saying they'd been had by a man with the same story. (You can read it at http:// 800notes. com/ Phone .aspx/ 1 -919 -966 -4800 ). Then they called police.
A man with a similar story came to Rebecca Necessary's home in Mordecai about 8 a.m. May 27. He said he was a neighbor and lived with his girlfriend, Jennifer, a flight attendant for Delta. He wanted to borrow the phone to call her.
"I knew I'd never seen him," Necessary said, but she likes to give people the benefit of the doubt.
Luckily she had brought her cordless phone with her to the door. He made a call; no one answered. His girlfriend must already be in the air, he said. Necessary asked whether there was anything else she could do.
He asked for $16. Necessary now knew it was a scam and said she didn't have cash. She closed the door and, minutes later, saw him drive by.
Then she hit the redial button, and the phone just rang and rang, she said. She Googled the number and found the same online message board. She called police and sent e-mail to warn her neighbors.
This week, Raleigh police announced that they have charged Kevin Edward Ross, 41, with one count of obtaining property by false pretense. An official with the Wake County jail said he has been charged also with a similar incident in Durham. Arrest information shows two recent addresses for Ross: 2224 Lynhurst Drive in Raleigh and 2511 Janet Drive in Durham.
Troubleshooter sent his mug shot to Truax and Necessary, and both said he looks like the guy who came to their homes.
Even though an arrest has been made in this case, Troubleshooter wants this to be a lesson to us all: Don't let a stranger in your home, even if he swears he knows you or your neighbors.
Raleigh Police Capt. J.C. Perry said the man is very smooth and does his homework, usually getting names off mailboxes so his claim of being a neighbor sounds legitimate.
The man, Perry said, also plays on residents' sympathies with his tale of locking his keys in the car.
Some of us have been there and know how frustrating it can be, so we want to help.
"Unfortunately we live during a time when we have to be extremely careful," Perry said, adding that a similar scam artist was in the area two years ago. "It's better to be safe than sorry."
So if you feel compelled to help, Perry said, here's how: Offer to call 911, give the man's location to the police, and then close the door and lock it.
Troubleshooter wants to add: It's a good reason to get to know your neighbors.
