Dogman
4th June 2011, 07:30 AM
Got to admite the thief has some class. :lol
Story and video Here (http://www.komonews.com/news/local/123150753.html)
http://media.komonews.com/images/110603_debit_rose_victim.jpg
Identity theft victim gets rose, thank you note from thief
MAPLE VALLEY, Wash. -- A rose by any other name might smell as sweet.
But the rose that came to the York family household Thursday morning had the distinct stench of fraud.
"I came downstairs and noticed it on the porch," said Dave York. "It kind of bugged me, because it's not me doing it."
It wasn't York who sent the rose, nor was it the latest "Bachelorette" wooing men on television. Instead, detectives believe it was the person who stole York's debit card number, charged hundreds of dollars in purchases, and then made one final transaction: sending a flower to the man whose ID was stolen, with a simple note reading, "Thank you."
"I mean, it's like sticking their finger in their eye, adding insult to injury -- any cliché you could think about," said Sgt. John Urquhart with the King County Sheriff's Office. "Never heard of this before."
A similar case surfaced this spring when a woman in Narragansett, R.I. said she received a bouquet along with a thank you note after her Bank of America credit card was stolen.
In the Maple Valley incident, detectives believe someone used York's debit card - also with Bank of America - to make almost a dozen purchases online in the last week of May at Netflix, ESPN, and ftd.com, the online florist. It wasn't until the pink rose arrived at York's doorstep Thursday morning that deputies realized the thief had used York's own debit card to send a rose to his house.
"I think it's bad enough to steal someone's money and information. I don't think they need to thank you for it," said York's wife, Jenelle.
On Friday night, as the Yorks prepared a pasta dinner, the wilting pink rose sat in a vase on the kitchen counter, with the card tucked underneath.
A separate package from online jeweler jewelmint.com was also on the counter, having arrived earlier in the day, also addressed to Dave. Inside were three rings the Yorks think were intended for the thief; Jenelle believes, unlike the rose, they were sent to Maple Valley as an accident.
"We were joking - my husband says, "At least they're a polite thief,'" Jenelle said, laughing. "Got to find some humor somewhere."
Even though the thief used an email address to register a Netflix streaming account, deputies are skeptical they'll catch the thief.
"This type of fraud, I mean, gosh, they're a dime a dozen. They happen all the time," Urquhart said. "But to have the bad guys, have the suspect send flowers to the house? I never heard of that before. That's just mind-boggling."
Story and video Here (http://www.komonews.com/news/local/123150753.html)
http://media.komonews.com/images/110603_debit_rose_victim.jpg
Identity theft victim gets rose, thank you note from thief
MAPLE VALLEY, Wash. -- A rose by any other name might smell as sweet.
But the rose that came to the York family household Thursday morning had the distinct stench of fraud.
"I came downstairs and noticed it on the porch," said Dave York. "It kind of bugged me, because it's not me doing it."
It wasn't York who sent the rose, nor was it the latest "Bachelorette" wooing men on television. Instead, detectives believe it was the person who stole York's debit card number, charged hundreds of dollars in purchases, and then made one final transaction: sending a flower to the man whose ID was stolen, with a simple note reading, "Thank you."
"I mean, it's like sticking their finger in their eye, adding insult to injury -- any cliché you could think about," said Sgt. John Urquhart with the King County Sheriff's Office. "Never heard of this before."
A similar case surfaced this spring when a woman in Narragansett, R.I. said she received a bouquet along with a thank you note after her Bank of America credit card was stolen.
In the Maple Valley incident, detectives believe someone used York's debit card - also with Bank of America - to make almost a dozen purchases online in the last week of May at Netflix, ESPN, and ftd.com, the online florist. It wasn't until the pink rose arrived at York's doorstep Thursday morning that deputies realized the thief had used York's own debit card to send a rose to his house.
"I think it's bad enough to steal someone's money and information. I don't think they need to thank you for it," said York's wife, Jenelle.
On Friday night, as the Yorks prepared a pasta dinner, the wilting pink rose sat in a vase on the kitchen counter, with the card tucked underneath.
A separate package from online jeweler jewelmint.com was also on the counter, having arrived earlier in the day, also addressed to Dave. Inside were three rings the Yorks think were intended for the thief; Jenelle believes, unlike the rose, they were sent to Maple Valley as an accident.
"We were joking - my husband says, "At least they're a polite thief,'" Jenelle said, laughing. "Got to find some humor somewhere."
Even though the thief used an email address to register a Netflix streaming account, deputies are skeptical they'll catch the thief.
"This type of fraud, I mean, gosh, they're a dime a dozen. They happen all the time," Urquhart said. "But to have the bad guys, have the suspect send flowers to the house? I never heard of that before. That's just mind-boggling."