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Fender not bent, failed scam
Note this: Don't try to bilk bucks from no-BS Prius drivers
On March 29 at 11:00 a.m. Tess Donaldson was driving to Fashion Valley when she spotted a note on the window of her 2008 Prius.
“I stopped off on Frazee Road to remove it,” said Donaldson. “When I read the note I knew it was BS since I had ample space behind the car in front of me when I parked the day before. I knew I hadn't hit the car in front of me. Also, I have a Prius with a super flimsy plastic-like bumper. If I dinged anyone’s car, it'd be a miracle, or a huge bump that couldn't possibly go unnoticed.”
The day before, March 28 at around 11:00 a.m., Donaldson had parked her car by her Ocean Beach home. She described the car she parked behind as an older dark car that wasn’t there the day the note was found.
On March 30 at 1:30 p.m., Donaldson called the number on the note. “She didn't answer, but her voicemail said her name was something like Jolie and that she worked Wednesdays at a salon [in Hillcrest].” Donaldson called again at 2:00 p.m. and left a voicemail asking for a call-back regarding the note.
To date, Donaldson has not received a call-back. On April 1, she talked to the police.
“They took down the phone number, but until Jolie makes threats or comes to confront me in person, there is nothing more they can do than record the phone number. They told me that I could notify my insurance and if the person filed a false police report, it could be addressed at that point as well.”
On April 1, I spoke with police officer Travis Easter. When asked about this type of scam, Easter said, “I haven’t heard of this one, but it doesn’t sound much different than those phone calls when someone poses as an IRS agent and demands money....
"If someone finds a suspicious note, don’t immediately respond to the note. Take an extra second. There’s no reason for someone to leave a note; they should call the police or their insurance company instead. We respond to collisions, but if no injuries, the insurance companies handle it.”
Both the county’s district attorney’s office and the DMV have alerts for scams.