We all do it — looking up someone you’ve just met on the Internet, whether it’s a first date or a job candidate — and in at least one case, Googling a new roommate helped one woman escape a potentially scammy relationship.

The Washington County Sheriff’s Office in Oregon says a woman accused of befriending people in a string of cities in Oregon and then stealing their cash or running up thousands of dollars on their credit cards was arrested in Los Angeles after her roommate checked her out online, reports the Statesman-Journal.

The tipster called police saying she’d met the suspect three weeks ago and become buddies quickly. The woman visited her apartment for a short stay that turned into a more permanent situation as the days went by.

That’s when the roommate noticed the woman’s stories about her background seemed off, and that she suddenly seemed “very manipulative and vindictive.”

This week while the suspect was out to dinner, her roommate decided to Google the suspect, and saw that she’d been in trouble with the law and police were looking for her. She called the cops, and LAPD arrested her when she came back to the apartment after dinner.

Authorities believe the 24-year-old has been scamming people for the last three years, including allegedly stealing a car from her sister. She was first reported in August to the county sheriff’s office, and was indicted by a grand jury in October on charges of first degree aggravated theft, first degree theft and three counts of identity theft.

Salem woman accused of statewide thefts arrested in L.A. [The Statesman-Journal]

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