A crime ring operating in Miami-Dade is believed to be following women, waiting for them to park their cars, and breaking into the vehicles to steal banking and identification information that is then used to defraud victims of thousands of dollars.
"Literally, a female will park her car, go for a run, by the time she comes back she notices that the window of her car has been smashed and her purse is gone," MDPD's Det. Roy Rutland tells WSVN.
Police say women who park at day cares, parks, and gyms are particularly vulnerable.
The ring, believed to be based in Broward County, takes a stolen checkbook from one victim and writes a check to the name of a stolen ID from another victim. The ring then recruits a female accomplice who looks like the woman pictured in the ID to go to a bank to cash the check.
The accomplice usually does so using a bank's drive-thru and intentionally uses the lane farthest from the teller window to avoid close scrutiny and security cameras. The ring sometimes hits up several banks in the same day using the same checkbook.
According to NBC Miami, in some cases the crooks are able to get away with up to $2,000 in cash.
The latest confirmed case occurred July 12 at Westwood Lakes Park on SW 152nd Avenue.
Police warn women not to leave valuables and identifying information in their cars.
Anyone with information on the crimes or who can identify the suspects above is asked to call Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-TIPS.
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