Over the last two weeks, ten Islanders reported to police that their Social Security number was used to file a fraudulent federal tax return.
Two of the victims identified themselves as volunteers at St. Monica School.
Earlier this month the Catholic Archdiocese of Seattle reported that the personal information of employees and volunteers for the church had been compromised.
News reports said that the archdiocese has hired a forensic-security firm to investigate. In particular the stolen social security numbers are used to file fraudulent tax returns claiming that a refund is due.
The archdiocese is advised all employees and volunteers call the Internal Revenue Service Identify Protection Specialized Unit at 1-800-908-4490, ext. 245, as soon as possible to determine whether their tax identity has been compromised.
March 5
Fraud: A Shorewood resident reported that her debit card information was used to make three unauthorized purchases. The loss is $518. The woman still has the card in her possession.
March 12
Fraud: A man who lives on Forest Avenue reported that someone stole his personal information in an attempt to open multiple retail accounts. The effort was stopped. There was no loss.
March 13
Arrest: Police arrested a 46-year old Island man in the 3200 block of Lexington Way at 10:45 a.m. on an outstanding warrant for felony assault. The suspect was booked into King County jail. Bail was set at $20,000.
March 14
Malicious mischief: Overnight, someone broke a triple-pane stained glass window on the west side of Emmanuel Episcopal Church overnight. A rock was found at the scene.
Fender bender: At 6:30 p.m. a man driving a 1991 Acura was backing out of a parking space at Robertos in the 7900 block of S.E. 27th Street when he was hit by a man from Alaska driving a 2012 Dodge vehicle that is registered to an address in Las Vegas.
Fender bender 2: A Bellevue woman told police that she was struck by a 2009 Subaru driven by an Island woman when she was backing out of a parking space in the 2200 block of West Mercer Way at 4:30 p.m.
Malicious mischief: A 40 year-old resident of Shorewood Apartments told police that overnight, someone broke the both windows on the driver’s side doors of her Volkswagen Jetta. The loss is estimated at $400.
Mail tampering: A 24-year old Island man who lives in the 2900 block of 76th Avenue S.E. reported that his mailbox had its lock changed and he is unable to access his mail.
Shoplifting: A 58-year old Seattle woman was arrested after attempting to steal several items from Albertsons. They included six bottles of alcohol, various home-health-beauty items, and groceries. Security video recorded the attempted theft. The stolen items, worth $256.53 were returned to the store. The woman was arrested for shoplifting and was found to have an outstanding felony warrant from Seattle. The woman was turned over to Seattle Police and transported to Seattle.
March 17
Malicious mischief: At 4 p.m. a man discovered that an unknown person had damaged his vehicle in the North-end QFC. The victim reported that the damage is consistent with the vehicle being struck by a baseball bat.
