BELLEVUE, Pa. — Christopher Crochet told Channel 11 his car was parked along Sumner Street on Sunday night. He looked outside, expecting to see snow, but he didn’t expect to see a man with a shovel rummaging through his car.
“It’s not the first time I’ve accidentally left my car unlocked; it was definitely the last time,” Crochet said.
It’s a mistake, Crochet said, he’ll never make again after he confronted the would-be thief during the height of Sunday’s snowfall.
“This guy just, like, pops his head up and is like, ‘Oh, hey.’ I was like, ‘Is that my car?’ He said, ‘No, it’s my car.’”
Crochet said the man ran off without taking any of his possessions but he did leave with what Crochet believes was a prop.
“He had a snow shovel with him, so I was assuming, as a ruse to walk around, look like he’s shoveling the sidewalks but is like pulling on door handles to see which one was unlocked,” Crochet said.
Crochet said he immediately called Bellevue police, who came out to investigate the attempted theft. He decided to share what happened to him on a community Facebook page to give his neighbors a heads up, especially those who are elderly.
“There have been a lot of offers in that group page of people offering to shovel snow,” Crochet said. “If anyone, suspiciously, is just walking around with a snow shovel not doing anything – just kind of keep an eye out.”
The Attorney General’s Office said scammers are on the prowl, following major storms and other disaster-type events. Officials offered these tips for Pennsylvanians trying to dig themselves out:
-Verify contractors are legitimate before hiring them to do work.
-Watch for potential scammers claiming to be from your utility companies.
-Watch the way you pay the people you do hire. The AG’s Office advises against using cash apps, like Venmo or Zelle and says to use a credit card if you can.
-Avoid deals on social media that seem too good to be true.
-Never rush into a payment.
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