CLEVELAND, Ohio — For the first time, we're hearing from the Cleveland woman who found herself in a new scary scam police want you to know about.
I'm so glad she was willing to share her experience, because it's a situation any of us could find ourselves in.
We are not identifying her or showing her face to help keep her safe.
"I heard a loud noise hit my car, like a rock or brick or something," she said.
The woman didn't give it much thought and kept driving.
It wasn't until she was getting ready for bed after the fireworks on the Fourth of July that she noticed something unusual.
“I heard a car pull up in front of my driveway, I looked out and it was a female and male approaching my porch," she said.
After seeing two additional cars in front of her home, the woman called her brother, who is a Kirtland police officer.
"She opened the bedroom window from the second floor and asked them what was going on, you know, and they began to tell her that she had my sister had her cell phone. My sister told him, I don't know who you are. I don't have your cell phone," said Joseph Gibson.
But the pair was persistent.
"The couple told her, well, we called the police. The police are enroute. You need to give us the cell phone,” said Gibson.
Gibson said their tune changed when his sister grabbed her phone to call 911.
"The couple didn't put up an argument about the phone. They weren't really concerned anymore. They just said, let's just go. And they got in the car. All three vehicles left, left the house," said Gibson.
The next morning, the woman went outside to inspect her car in daylight.
“There was a cell phone attached," she said.
Police said this latest scheme involves criminals attaching a cell phone to the roof of newer model vehicles with a magnet. They use the device's location tracker to find their target's home.
"Before you know it they're trying to come in and do a home invasion or they try to carjack you and take your car," she said.
Currently, Cleveland Police are continuing their investigation.
The woman turned over the Ring doorbell video to possibly identify the individuals.
Meantime, police are encouraging all of us to be vigilant when leaving events, restaurants, and parties.
Of course, do not open your door to strangers and call 911.
