Crime Report: Residents Burglarized, Scammed

Burglary Residence
March 29, between 6:30 a.m. and 3:26 p.m.
9800 block of North 53rd Street
Someone forced open a front window of the residence, according to Community Service Officer Tracy Mishler. Nothing has been reported stolen.

Burglary Residence
March 31, between 11 a.m. and 4:04 p.m.
9850 block of North 52nd Street
Police responded to an alarm and found the rear sliding glass door of the townhome open, Mishler said. The door had been left unlocked, and someone had taken a video game and a notebook computer.

A K-9 tracked the person to the Oak Manor Apartments, Mishler said. A neighbor saw a suspicious person at the same time.

No arrest was made.

Fraud: 'Secret Shopper' Scam
April 4, 8:13 a.m.
7500 block of Sanibel Circle
A woman received an email from a company called SS Network asking her to become a mystery shopper, Mishler said. The company sent her two traveler’s checks on March 26, and instructed her to deposit the checks, spend some of the money on products from area stores, and return the leftover amount to an address in the Philippines via Western Union. The woman did as she was instructed.

The woman received another traveler’s check from the company on April 3, and followed the same instructions again, Mishler said.

“The victim then learned from her bank that the traveler’s checks were ‘fake’ and that she owes the bank the money that she deposited and later withdrew,” he said. “So the victim is out a lot of money and, of course, the leads in this case are going to be few.”

Mishler said legitimate secret shopper companies exist, but none of them ask shoppers to send in money.

Grand Theft
April 6, between 5 and 5:15 p.m.
9800 block of Morris Glen Way
A man placed his cell phone on the hood of his vehicle while he was doing yard work, Mishler said. When he came back to it, it was gone.

The man tracked the phone to the area in the 8900 block of Old Temple Terrace Highway, Mishler said. Police searched the area but didn’t find the phone.

Burglary Auto
April 10, overnight
11500 block of Norval Place
Money and a credit card and currency were taken from an unlocked vehicle, Mishler said. 

Those with any related information pertaining to any of these cases can call the Temple Terrace Police Department at 813-989-7110.