Harassing Calls to Forest Hills Medical Office Are International Scam

An employee of 2140 Ardmore Blvd. called Forest Hills police on Dec. 12 to report that the office has received more than 50 phone calls from foreign males claiming that a specific staff member owes them money.

The calls always come from the same phone number. The officer advised the employee that it was likely a scam and promised to investigate upon returning to the station.

The officer discovered that this was indeed an international scam and was not successful making contact with anyone at the phone number where the calls originated. Those affected by the scam are being directed to file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission.

Dec. 12

• An Elmore Road resident called police to report he heard someone banging on the side door of his house about 7:31 p.m. He told police he saw someone walking down Elmore Road not long after he heard the banging. Officers were unable to find anyone in the area.

• Police called Wilkinsburg-Penn Joint Water Authority to report a water main break on Watt Lane about 3:30 p.m.

• The tenant of an apartment on Sumner Avenue called police to report the odor of natural gas. The tenant said she had furnace-related problems that she thought had been resolved. The fire chief called the gas company for a further evaluation.

Dec. 10

• Police responded to a report of someone driving erratically on Ardmore Boulevard about 10:37 a.m. Officers located the vehicle in question in the Taco Bell lot. The driver told police he was having car troubles.

Dec. 9

• Police responded to a call of a suspicious man with cuts on his hands walking around wearing a bath robe in the vicinity of Lenox Avenue at about 8:12 p.m. The man was located near the intersection of Marion and Pacific avenues. The officer detected a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage on the man's breath and observed cuts to his right and left forearm. The man told police he and his girlfriend had fought and he received the cuts from punching out the glass in the door of his apartment. Police found no damage at the apartment. He was issued two non-traffic citations for disorderly conduct and public drunkenness via mail.

Dec. 8

• A tan SUV in the drive-through at Taco Bell on Ardmore Boulevard backed up into a pole at about 9:40 p.m. and then fled the scene. A witness was unable to get a license plate number. A store manager was to check the security tapes for police to see if any more information was available.

• While on patrol about 9:55 p.m., an officer spotted three males skateboarding at Parkway Center, 2040 Ardmore Blvd. The three were advised not to skateboard there and sent on their way.

Dec. 7

• Forest Hills police responded to a hit-and-run accident on Ardmore Boulevard about 6:45 p.m. The victim told police he was driving in front of the second vehicle, which came from behind and sideswiped the passenger side of his truck. He told police he pulled over but the driver of the other vehicle fled toward the Parkway. He provided a license plate number to the suspect vehicle. Police contacted the owner of that vehicle, who denied being in Forest Hills that evening. After meeting with that driver at 5:15 p.m. on Dec. 8 and inspecting his vehicle, the officer found no detectable damage.

• A woman walking to her car at the Avenue B Park and Ride lot stopped an officer on patrol to report there have been a number of vehicles not stopping for the red light at Ardmore Boulevard and Avenue B as people are attempting to cross the street to get to their cars. She told police she just wanted to make them aware of the situation.