News Item - 419 going local in Seattle area

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Hello I'm New here! Joined: 22 Jul 2004 Posts: 2

It's been a while since I've posted anything although I continue with my straight baits semi-regularly. I thought this story was interesting in that instead of email it was done in person - something I've never read about locally. It's also just a reminder to me that people are actually still tricked out of their money.

Classic scam costs Mukilteo woman $60,000

A woman who said she needed to give away $180,000 and fly home to Africa to save her family from being killed — all in one day — bilked a Mukilteo women of $60,000 in a classic pigeon-drop scam, Lynnwood police said.

By Leslie Anne Jones

Seattle Times staff reporter

A woman who said she needed to give away $180,000 and fly home to Africa to save her family from being killed bilked a Mukilteo woman of $60,000 in a classic scam, Lynnwood police said.

The victim, 63, was approached in the parking lot of the Lynnwood Costco on July 2 by a woman who spoke with a thick accent and claimed she was from Africa, according to a police news release. The woman said she wanted to donate $180,000, bequeathed to her by an uncle, to charity, police said.

The woman told the victim she needed two honest people to help her give away the money. According to police, she said she couldn't do it herself because she had to fly back to Africa that day or her family, who were being held hostage, would be killed.

The woman revealed a roll of money, with $100 bills on the outside, and legal-looking paperwork to support her story, Lynnwood police spokeswoman Shannon Sessions said.

The woman phoned her "attorney" and then told the victim they must go to a McDonald's in Lynnwood to find a second person, police said.

When they arrived, the woman approached a man she pretended not to know who introduced himself as Frank, and proceeded to tell him the same story she had told the victim, Sessions said.

The woman said she needed proof Frank and the victim were honest. She also said she needed proof the pair weren't poor because poor people would likely keep the money rather than donate it to charity, police said.

Frank left and returned with a bag of jewelry and cash. The victim watched the woman give the man what looked like $90,000 in cash, police said.

The woman then persuaded the victim to withdraw money.

The victim withdrew $60,000 from her bank while the woman and Frank waited in a nearby parking lot.

Police said the victim wanted to withdraw more, but the bank wouldn't let her. Employees sat down with the victim to consult with her on the withdrawal before a manager signed off on it, police said.

The victim handed over the money to the woman who was waiting with Frank. The woman then asked the victim to drive away and leave Frank and her with the money — proving her reliability. The victim did. When she returned, the scammers and her savings were gone, police said.

Police didn't release the victim's name.

"If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is," Sessions said. "If people have any family members who've been contacted with something like this, they need to call 911."

Police said more people may be involved, because the security photos from the bank where Frank and the woman waited appeared to show them getting into the back of the car, indicating someone else could have been driving.

A police news release described the woman as black, between 5-feet-1 and 5-feet-3, and probably in her 30s or 40s.

She was wearing a wig. The man identified as Frank was a Hispanic male, about 5-feet-8, 35 or 40 years old, and about 225 pounds.

He was wearing a multicolored shirt and a flat hat with a snap button in front. Their car was a newer black Ford Expedition.

Anyone with information on the pair is asked to call Detective Scott Dilworth at 425-670-5619.

Posted: Wed Jul 16, 2008 3:16 pm

AMG wrote:

Police didn't release the victim's name.

Mrs Martha Dipshit.

Posted: Fri Jul 18, 2008 11:05 am

Let's not blame the victim. The advantage these scammers had over someone scamming via email is that the victim didn't have much time to think. If she'd slept on it/discussed it with another person, she probably would have changed her mind. Thus, the scammer's claim that she was leaving for Africa.

Posted: Fri Jul 18, 2008 2:17 pm

You used the correct word - "Victim".
So in my opinion, she can't be blamed for being scammed. The onus of the crime lands squarely on the shoulders of the scammer/s.

But the victim can be accused of being a dipshit. There is no doubt about that whatsoever.

Posted: Fri Jul 18, 2008 2:45 pm

Koffi T or Me wrote:

If she'd slept on it/discussed it with another person, she probably would have changed her mind. .

Possibly not. It sounds as if at least two bank employees couldn't deter her.

Posted: Fri Jul 18, 2008 4:54 pm

Wow, she had $60,000.00 in savings! Shocked

It is a shame that she got taken for the funds. I hope the police have withheld her name so that she doesn't become a victim of a recovery scam too.

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