A LaGrange woman is out $745 after falling victim to a phone scam.

The woman said a male contacted her last week and told her she qualified for a $9,000 grant. According to the police report, the male told the woman the grant was passed through the Obama administration to stimulate the economy, and she was randomly selected based on their criteria.

The victim was told to call a bank representative, and when she did, another male asked for her debit card number so the $9,000 could be transferred into her account, police said.

According to the woman, she would also need to pay a “transfer fee” before the grant could be processed and it must be in the form of a money order for $245. The victim said she completed the process Nov. 30.

When the grant money did not show up in her account, the woman told officers she called the representative back, and this time spoke with a female who told her the government needed another $500 to process the payment through the bank.

She was instructed to take out another money order, which she did on Dec. 1, the police report stated.

The victim said none of the money promised to her has shown up in her account.

LaGrange police also tried to call the phone numbers the victim provided, but received generic answering services.

Police are investigating.

Grinch steals Christmas decorations

Someone tried to damper a homeowner’s Christmas spirit by taking some of his outdoor holiday decorations in front of his home in the 800 block of Borton Street just before 10 p.m. Wednesday.

The man told LaGrange police he placed Star Shower laser lights in his yard.

He said he left his home and walked to his dad’s house a short distance away. When he came back, the decorations were gone.

Trespassing

A woman arrived home in the 200 block of Merrybrook Drive on Wednesday just before 2:30 p.m. and noticed the back door of the house was kicked in.

LaGrange police responded and cleared the residence.

The homeowner said nothing was taken but this was the second time an incident had occurred at her house. She told police her father had just recently replaced the door frame.

Estimated damage was about $150.