The Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office received several complaints from Fountain Hills residents over the past week related to incidents of fraudulent behavior.

*On Thursday, Jan. 16, a resident of the 16600 block of Avenue of the Fountains notified MCSO of potential fraud when she received a phone call from a person claiming to be a lieutenant with MCSO. She reported they used the name of an actual MCSO employee. The victim believed the phone call was fraudulent and this was verified by MCSO. No financial or property loss occurred.

*On Thursday, Jan. 16, a resident of the 16600 block of Fairfax Drive reported that she was selling a dirt bike on Craig’s List and received a check from a potential buyer for more than the amount of the sale price. As requested by the buyer, the seller deposited the overage amount into an account with information provided by the buyer. The victim later learned that the initial check was fraudulent and her account was negative for the value of the check. MCSO Capt. Larry Kratzer advises that when selling items online, one should never accept a check for more than the amount of the purchase with direction to deposit the difference in a separate account.

*On Tuesday, Jan. 21, a resident of the 17300 block of Teal Drive reported being scammed out of $1,400 in Target gift cards. The victim said his computer froze and he received a pop-up saying his computer had a virus and to contact Apple support. When he spoke to the representative at the reference number he was instructed to purchase gift cards in the amount of $1,400 for the cost of purchasing needed software for the repair and send photos of the back of the gift cards. The victim realized the issues had not been fixed and contacted the real Apple support company and found that he had been scammed.

*On Wednesday, Jan. 22, a resident of the 16600 block of Avenue of the Fountains reported he was walking his dog near the post office when he believed a driver attempted to intentionally hit him with his vehicle as he was crossing the street. The pedestrian contacted MCSO to report the incident. He was not struck by the vehicle or injured in the incident.

*On Thursday, Jan. 16, a motorist reported that while traveling on Shea Blvd. near Palisades Blvd. another motorist began to flip him off and then approached his vehicle when both were stopped at a traffic light. The other driver told the victim he was going to kill him. The victim did not know why the other motorist was upset and called MCSO to report the incident. Deputies were unable to locate the other party involved.

*On Thursday, Jan. 16, deputies responded to the area of Tower Drive and Saguaro Blvd. for a report of two men engaged in a physical fight at Desert Vista Park. One of the parties stated the other subject gave him a dirty look and the other subject indicated the fight started over the fact that the other individual mumbled comments about him. Both subjects were issued citations for disorderly conduct, fighting.

*On Sunday, Jan. 19, deputies responded to the 16800 block of El Lago Blvd. They arrested an intoxicated female subject for disorderly conduct outside of a residence when she began punching a truck belonging to her husband.

*On Thursday, Jan. 16, a resident of the 15800 block of Palomino Blvd. reported that an unknown suspect entered two vehicles parked at the residence overnight and stole a firearm and a pair of sunglasses from the vehicles. The owner believed that the vehicles were locked, however no signs of forced entry were observed.

*On Thursday, Jan. 16, deputies received a report that a smartphone was stolen from a student’s backpack at Fountain Hills Middle School.

*On Thursday, Jan. 16, a resident of the 16400 block of Avenue of the Fountains reported that a $20 bill was missing from their room and it is unknown if the money was stolen or misplaced.

*On Wednesday, Jan. 22, a resident of a long-term care facility in the 16400 block of Avenue of the Fountains reported several thousand dollars in jewelry was missing from her room. She believes this occurred sometime before Christmas and does not know who would have taken the jewelry.

*On Wednesday, Jan. 22, a resident of the 16900 block of Alamosa Ave. reported that her front residential window was broken by what she believes was a BB gun.

*On Thursday, Jan. 16, a resident of the 15900 block of Venetian Lane reported that while a rental car was parked on the street in front of his home overnight, another vehicle struck the car causing damage and did not leave any information.

*On Thursday, Jan. 16, a caller reported that her vehicle was struck by another vehicle in a parking lot in the 16000 block of Palisades Blvd. and the other driver failed to remain at the scene or leave any of their information. The vehicle suffered minor damage to the rear passenger side of the vehicle.

*On Sunday, Jan. 19, deputies responded to Glenbrook and Fountain Hills boulevards where a driver pulling from a private drive struck another vehicle that was traveling eastbound on the roadway. There were no injuries as a result of the accident.

*On Sunday, Jan. 19, deputies received a report from a man that his vehicle was parked in the parking lot at Fountain Hills and Palisades boulevards while he was working, and when he got off he noticed that another vehicle had hit his vehicle and failed to remain at the scene or leave their information.

*On Tuesday, Jan. 21, deputies responded to Shea Blvd. and Arista Lane where a woman reported that she had been travelling behind several vehicles and noticed other vehicles abruptly change lanes. She then observed one vehicle strike some debris in the roadway, which then struck her vehicle and caused damage.

*On Tuesday, Jan. 21, deputies responded to a minor collision at Avenue of the Fountains and Palisades Blvd. Two vehicles were stopped at the stoplight when one of the vehicles struck the back of the vehicle in front of him. The driver stated his foot had slipped off the brake pedal.

*On Tuesday, Jan. 21, a man reported that his vehicle was parked in the 12900 block of Saguaro Blvd. when someone caused damage to the truck by an unknown means, leaving a dent. The victim was not aware of who caused the damage.

*On Tuesday, Jan. 22, two vehicles collided in the intersection at Palisades Blvd. and La Montana Drive. One driver turned in front of the other vehicle. There were no injuries reported in the collision, which caused considerable damage to one of the vehicles.