Police: Craigslist Scam Targeted Troy Man

The following information was obtained from the Troy Police Department on Wednesday. Where arrests or charges are mentioned, it does not indicate a conviction.

Credit, Check, Identity Theft, Other Fraud

• A Troy man was not fooled by a Craigslist scam in response to his "room for rent" advertisement. The man filed a police report Monday after receiving fake money orders from someone claiming to be moving to the United States from the United Kingdom. The person who responded to his advertisement had asked for him to cash the money orders and send a portion of the money to her. He did not attempt to cash them, nor did he send the woman any money.
• A Troy man filed a police report Monday after he received a letter from the Internal Revenue Service informing him that his 2012 tax return was under review, when he had not filed his return in the first place. The man learned that his Social Security number had been used to file the return.

Drugs/Narcotics

• A Berkley man was arrested in the early morning hours Saturday for carrying a concealed weapon and later charged with possession of a controlled substance after police said they found prescription amphetamine pills in his pants which did not belong to him. Troy police originally stopped the man's car at Coolidge and Maple around 12:40 a.m. for a traffic violation, but discovered that the driver had a handgun, in a case, on the back floorboard of his car. They learned that he did not have a concealed pistol license and officers said that the driver did not tell them that he was in possession of the gun. When the 27-year-old man was arrested and searched, officers said that they found two pills in his pocket.

Larcenies From Autos

• Two reports of vehicles being left propped up on bricks overnight on Sunday and Monday after having items taken from them were made to police. In both cases, all four tires, wheels and rims were taken from their respective vehicles, a Cadillac DTS on the 1000 block of Somerset and a 2008 Buick Lucerne on the 1000 block of Kirts.
• Another report of four wheels, tires, and rims being stolen from a car was made at Suburban Subaru (1820 Maplelawn). The car, a Subaru Crosstrek, was left on cinder blocks after the incident, believed to have occurred between Saturday and Monday. 
• A Ford Fusion parked at Elder Ford (777 John R, Troy) had its four tires stolen sometime between Friday and Monday, police said.

Miscellaneous

• Troy police said that a 23-year-old Detroit man was arrested on Tuesday after a traffic stop revealed possession of stolen goods. Police said that prior to the stop, on Maple and John R at about 10:25 p.m., the man had been cruising in an area that has recently experienced several auto thefts and larceny from auto incidents. After pulling the man over for having an improper license plate, officers said that an investigation revealed the driver had nine outstanding misdemeanor warrants and was in possession of a GPS unit that had been stolen out of a minivan in Roseville. He was also charged with possession of stolen property and driving while license suspended.

Retail Fraud

• A 26-year-old Troy man was arrested for retail fraud Monday after police said that he shoplifted 11 articles of clothing from Macy's (500 W. 14 Mile Rd., Troy) worth more than $400 at about 1:39 that afternoon. 
• A 17-year-old girl from Troy was issued a citation for retail fraud Monday after police said that she shoplifted five articles of clothing from Kohl's (500 John R Rd., Troy) worth $80 at about 7:53 that evening.

Call Troy Police at 248-524-3447 if you have any information about these incidents. For questions about this report, email local editor Tim Rath at tim.rath@patch.com.