CHESAPEAKE, Va. — There's a crime alert out of Chesapeake where police are investigating a series of thefts at shopping centers.
Officers are warning residents to not lend your phone to a stranger asking to make a phone call.
Chesapeake police officials posted on social media that an unknown man is going around shopping centers asking people if he can use a phone to call and text his mother. Police said once he has a phone, he opens up Cash App and transfers your money to another account and walks away.
Some Chesapeake residents said it's sad knowing they have to think twice about helping someone in need.
“I try to help people, but it's kind of like if you want to help somebody and they take advantage of you, you're like, “Oh man, I can't help anybody anymore,'" said Chesapeake resident Tiffany Trimm.
Trimm said she has Cash App and is aware of the scam going on in the Greenbrier area. She said one of her family members lost hundreds of dollars from the same scheme last year.
“She didn't notice it because a lot of us don't check our Cash App and hers is attached to her bank account, and she didn't have security on it, and they took about $700 out of her account," said Trimm.
Trimm said she's making sure no one can get into her app.
“I have it so that they have to have my thumbprint. So, it would have been really obvious if they tried to do it," said Trimm.
Other residents were unaware of the scam, but have concerns about someone hacking into other apps on the phone.
“I don't have that app, but I do have my banking on my phone, and I'm sure if they see that, they can somehow get into it, and I think that's terrible," said Chesapeake resident Nancy Morgan.
Police have not yet said how much money has been taken in the reports filed. They said they are currently investigating nine cases.