Police are asking for the public's help in tracking down two scammers in the Bronx who have targeted elderly residents in a fake get rich quick scheme.
Cops say that the two individuals have ripped off three elderly Bronx residents with the same con each time: in all three incidents this year, a female suspect approached an elderly victim and struck up a conversation with them. The second suspect, a man, then appeared on the scene with a bag that he claimed was full of money and bank notes, but was actually full of counterfeit money according to a police spokesperson. In each case, he offered to split the money in the bag in exchange for cash from the victim, and both suspects would flee the scene after the exchange.
In the first instance, on March 29th, the duo got away with $9500 after talking to a 68-year-old woman. In the second instance, on May 2nd, the two convinced an 80-year-old woman to give them $3500. And in the third instance, on May 24th, the pair got $1150 from a 71-year-old woman. No injuries were reported in any of the cases.
The female suspect was last seen wearing dark clothing, according to authorities, while the male suspect was last seen wearing a yellow hat, black suit jacket with a pink shirt underneath and sunglasses.
Anyone with information in regards to these incidents is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers website or by texting their tips to 274637 (CRIMES) then entering TIP577.
