Crime

Even if the Christmas spirit calls for it, don’t lend your phone to strangers, TPD warns

'Tis the season for not letting your guard down.

By Heather Alterisio

December 23, 2022

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Transit police are investigating after a simple kindness resulted in a Red Line passenger losing $100 to a quick thief this week.

At about 1:45 p.m. on Wednesday, a 22-year-old Quincy man embraced the holiday spirit and agreed to let a fellow commuter borrow his phone to make “a quick call” at the MBTA’s JFK/UMass station, authorities said in a release.

The man received his phone back and stepped onto a Red Line train when a notification popped up, alerting him that a Cash app transaction of $100 to an unknown person had been completed, Transit police said.

The suspect who had borrowed his phone had already fled the scene, so the victim reported the incident to Transit Police.

The suspect is described as a white man, likely in his early 30s, with a medium build, authorities said.

An investigation remains ongoing.