Thief Used Venmo To Steal $2500 From Woman Near Montclair Parking Deck: Police

MONTCLAIR, NJ — A tech-savvy thief scammed a woman out of $2,500 near a parking deck in Montclair earlier this week, authorities said Wednesday.

According to the Montclair Police Department, the victim said the encounter took place on July 2 as she was walking to her car in the small lot next to The Crescent Parking Deck.

The victim said a 19 or 20-year-old male approached her and said he was raising money for his basketball team. He showed her a website and she agreed to donate a couple of dollars through Venmo. But when she started the process of sending the money, he grabbed the phone and held it for about 60 seconds – transferring $2,500 into another account.

He then gave the phone back and ran away, she said.

Police said the suspect had twists or dreadlocks in his hair. He was wearing black shorts and a black shirt.

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