2 notes from West Seattle police: Scam alert; 35th SW patrol

SCAM ALERT: Just got this from Southwest Precinct Lt. Norm James (who, as we reported last Friday, has a new role, so you’ll be hearing more from him when news happens) — He says they’re investigating a case of alleged fraud involving rental properties on Craigslist; one person found a listing that described a “super deal” in West Seattle. When the would-be renter e-mailed the contact, the reply came back seeking personal information and saying that the landlord was in Africa but would send the key once the personal info was received. The would-be renter didn’t fall for it but checked around and found two similar listings. Bottom line, Lt. James says, “Just a heads up .. to be aware of this type of scam out there. They need to be aware of deals that are too good to be true and to verify the authority of people who have rental properties available.”

35TH SW PATROL: On Facebook and Twitter, there were a few mentions yesterday of major police presence on 35th SW, apparently watching for speeders. We asked SW Precinct Lt. Steve Paulsen if anything special was going on. His reply: “Traffic/Pedestrian safety is one of our precinct priorities. The Traffic Section does enforcement on 35th on a regular basis due to the sheer speed folks travel at and the number of traffic collisions. Given the recent accidents, we requested some assistance. Several drivers were stopped and cited.” (Those recent accidents include this one last Sunday in which a car flipped; no one was seriously hurt.)

coffee January 14, 2010 (1:49 pm)

Oh, good, we need MORE patrols on 35th, and Fauntleroy PLEASE! We have noticed more and more people using the turning lane as a passing lane and its really bad in the morning and in the evening, hence people going to and from the ferry.

mark January 14, 2010 (1:56 pm)

Personally I would love to see the budget deficits balanced with a combination of safety (speeding tickets, etc) and sin taxes. I drink, I will pay for that, and if I speed in a residential area I really deserve to pay.

old timer January 14, 2010 (2:15 pm)

Speed cams and tickets!
It might not change behavior much, but at least there will be money collected from someone else!

scam January 14, 2010 (2:20 pm)

That scam has been going on for at least 4 years but increasing substantially lately.

mark January 14, 2010 (2:20 pm)

No kidding Old Timer, we could balance the budget on Admiral and 35th alone!!!

maude January 14, 2010 (2:25 pm)

Heading up 35th this morning around 6:25 at Myrtle someone in a vehicle sped past me and the speed sign registered a whopping 52 mph.

sacatosh January 14, 2010 (2:34 pm)

One easy way to verify if the person asking for your information is actually the owner of the house is by looking up property records. Obviously, if you’re going through a service like Cayce & Gain this doesn’t apply. But, when we were looking at a house to rent, in between the time I answered the ad and the time we saw the house in person, I Googled the person’s name and found out where s/he worked, as well as checking property records and the King County public records database.

All of the above matched up, and there were no liens or other legal issues on record so I was reasonably sure it wasn’t in foreclosure.

Buyer/Renter beware. If you don’t do any homework, shame on you. If you do your homework and still get ripped off, then you have my utmost sympathy.

A.L. January 14, 2010 (3:30 pm)

Yeah, I came up against that scam when I was looking for an apartment 2 years ago. I kept tellnig myself “this is too good to be true” and sure enough it was. I had the listing flagged, but wasn’t sure what else could be done beyond that.

JH January 14, 2010 (4:16 pm)

Sacatosh, the scammer may do the same thing as you and answer all your questions correctly.

Veda Williams January 14, 2010 (4:41 pm)

PLEASE, more patrols on Fauntleroy during busy ferry time. I got hit crossing the street just a few weeks ago — I had a flashlight and was in the only “safe” space to cross, but it still didn’t help. I didn’t get his plate #, but he was apparently reported to the ferry terminal officer.

Velo_nut January 14, 2010 (5:58 pm)

I talked with my new neighbor (spd officer) who just moved in a bit ago. After being here a while he said he talked to his department about upping the speed enforcement on 35th Ave SW. Looks like he wasn’t kidding. I like it.

35this35mph January 14, 2010 (6:27 pm)

Well my screen name will tell you I am in support of this. Sadly,,,, (for me) I got caught driving within the speed limit but with EXPIRED TABS!!! My bad, my penalty. Very helpful and professional officer.

Michael January 14, 2010 (7:39 pm)

I’m a long time WS resident and am building a new home for my family, also in WS. I’m a high level amateur/DIY and travel between the current and new place 3 or 4 times a day. For the past week, on Holden between 35th and Delridge, there has been a City Light crew working on the power poles. I can’t tell what they’re doing. But every time I drive by there are 2 SPD officers, in full regalia, standing around with their hands in their pockets (literally), BSing, I suppose waiting to direct traffic on this not very busy side street, although I’ve never actually seen them do that, probably because they’re working in the parking area next to the curb. Who pays for this – it must run to over a grand a day with benefits, SS, L&I, pension, the list goes on? On our site, where one actually has to direct traffic, we have a very very hard working guy named Jorge, who works his a** off and never has his hands in his pockets, and always makes eye contact with drivers to make sure they understand his intention, and no doubt makes a pittance of what these cops make (and we pay him well – thank you Jorge!), and that is why we have problems like the ones mentioned above. It’s enough to make one want to become a republican.

WSB January 14, 2010 (7:45 pm)

Is it by any chance the folks who are testing the power poles for soundness, or something more intensive? I’ve been working on a little story about the former after getting a couple pix from people and then checking with City Light — this testing seems to be mostly done at street level – TR

Michael January 14, 2010 (8:24 pm)

The City Light crew looks totally on top of it. But, like I said, the cops are standing around with their hands in their pockets and have never once looked up when I drive by. They look really cold.

WTF January 14, 2010 (9:10 pm)

Chill people. They are prepping the electrical prior to changing out the poles. What the police are doing “just standing around” is a mystery.

samson January 15, 2010 (6:58 am)

I have to agree with Michael for cops doing nothing on the street as just monitoring for City of Lights. thats anothing thing, I did try to get officer’s attention for other driver using cell phone!! sheez, are these officers that BLIND? what does officer earn?? money! if an officer believes in safety then DO Something!!!

Fritz January 20, 2010 (12:03 pm)

Relax Michael. They are working off-duty and they are paid by the company/entity that hires them to be there. Many sites require that officers work there for the eventualities and when they are not needed they get to be there with their hands in their pockets.
samson, They will not respond to minor trafiic complaints such as people being on their cell phones either. Especially since most are not fast enough to run down a car on foot… They are working for the entity that hired them.

rob January 20, 2010 (5:19 pm)

Why don’t the cops patrol Delridge for speeders? I’ve already been hit there once and people speed 40-50 from Othello north every morning and night.

anonyme January 26, 2010 (6:36 pm)

Except for occasional school zone enforcement, we never see anything on 35th south of Roxbury. The speed drops to 30mph there, although average speeds are 40-50. We’ve been begging for enforcement for years with little success. The one time it looked like SPD was setting up a speed trap, it turned out to be a police escort for a gang funeral.

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