Gurnee - September 29, 2010 - At 3:39 PM on Tuesday, 09/28/2010, a confidence scam was reported to the Gurnee Police Department.

Around 3:00 PM, a lone, 83 year old man from Zion, was approached by a male suspect in the Sam’s Club parking lot at 6570 Grand Avenue. A conversation took place and to build confidence in the male’s story, a second person, a female, was introduced into the conversation. The two suspects convinced the victim to go to his bank to make a cash withdrawal. The victim later discovered that his cash was stolen by the offenders.

Suspect Descriptions:

#1: Male, possibly Middle-Eastern, approximately 50 years of age, 5’-5" to 5’-6" tall and weighing approximately 185 pounds. He was last seen wearing a brown coat and spoke with a Middle-Eastern accent. He may have had some facial hair.

#2: Female black, approximately 40 to 45 years of age, 5’-5" to 5’-6" tall and weighing approximately 150 pounds. She is described as having a "stocky" build and was last seen wearing a brown dress.

This type of crime tends to be perpetrated again within a short time frame. It appears that the victim was targeted in part because of his age and the fact that he was alone.

These types of scams usually involve an elderly victim who is approached by an individual claiming to have found an envelope, bag, etc. with a large amount of cash inside. Then typically another subject enters into the conversation and they speculate the money is from some illegal activity and won’t be claimed. One of the scammers will claim to work for or know someone, sometimes a lawyer, who will know what to do with the money. They make a call and come back to say that if they want to share in the money they must each provide "good faith" money.

The scammers appear to put their "good faith" money into the bag. The victim then goes to their bank and withdraws their "good faith" money and puts it into the bag.

At some point, the scammers say that the victim can hold onto the cash bag while they park the car and they drive off. Or they tell the victim to deliver it somewhere (a bogus address). After the two scammers leave, the victim later discovers that the cash in the bag has been switched for useless paper and the victim’s money is gone.

While there may be several variations of this scam, the scenario usually revolves around the discovery of a large amount of cash or an item of value.

Anyone experiencing a similar encounter or having information about this crime is asked to contact the Gurnee Police Department at 847-599-7000 or Lake County Crime Stoppers at 847-662-2222.

###