Police are looking for a man they believe impersonated an NYPD detective in order to gain access to a stolen cellphone.
A 29-year-old woman called 911 on the afternoon of November 19th, after realizing that her wallet and phone were missing. She was outside 121 Saint Marks Place in the East Village, near Avenue A, when she made the discovery, according to police.
The next morning an unidentified man allegedly called the woman, claiming that he was an NYPD detective. Police say the suspect told her that he had arrested the person who stole her credit cards and phone, and that he needed her phone access code in order to "review call history."
The victim complied. Soon after, she said, her phone was turned off and her credit cards racked up unauthorized purchases.
Police released video footage of the suspect entering a deli. A spokesperson could not confirm the location of the deli, nor how the footage was connected to the alleged impersonator.
Anyone with information in regards to this incident is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime stoppers website at WWW.NYPDCRIMESTOPPERS.COM or by texting their tips to 274637 (CRIMES) then enter TIP577.
