Couple gets scammed for $4,500 upon entering Chicago store, man thrown by car in confrontation
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A local couple lost thousands of dollars, and has a big hospital bill, after a scam that turned violent.
It all started at a Target store on the Near North Side of Chicago, where the couple—Drew and Leilani—were approached by some people who said they needed help. It ended with Drew suffering a fractured right rib and a punctured right lung.
When the couple walked into the Target store at Division and Larrabee streets last Saturday, they were greeted by two men who appeared to be panhandlers—but quickly turned out to be scammers.
"Just asking for donations because they were trying to help bury their baby little brother," said Drew. "We were feeling in a giving mood that day."
The couple agreed to donate $20, but there was a problem with that.
"They wouldn't take cash," Leilani said.
Drew and Leilani were skeptical. Nonetheless, Leilani tried using a credit card to donate—only for her bank to deny the transaction.
"I already had my phone out, so I just went to use my Apple card, so tapped to pay—and they said that would work," said Drew. "I looked down at my phone and realized that they took close to $5,000 instead of $20. I said to myself, 'Oh, hell no, ' and turned and started chasing them."
Drew attempted to hold down the scammers until police arrived. He began to wrestle with one of the men, who was getting into a car in the Target parking garage.
Drew said he managed to jump into the moving car.
"As they took off, they accelerated pretty quickly," Drew said. "They were swerving into the left lane of parked cars in the Target parking lot, and that ended up throwing me from the car—and that's when I skid about 20, 30 yards, and ended up coming to a halt when I hit the back of a truck."
So how did all this happen? It involved a feature in which iPhone users can set a price and accept payment from another phone with a quick tap.
Instead of setting the price at $20, the scammers punched in $4,500.
"You're hurting more people than you think you are. It's not worth hurting all those people," Leilani said.
But turning to Drew, she added, "I'm grateful that you're OK and that you're alive."
Drew was able to dispute the fraudulent charge and get his money back. So far, no arrests have been made.
CBS News Chicago reached out to Target, but had not received a response back yet as of Tuesday night.
The couple said the incident has definitely made them a bit more skeptical of anyone asking for money.
