Police: Fake Cops Conning Streeterville Seniors
CHICAGO (STMW) -- Police are cautioning senior citizens who live in the Streeterville neighborhood after two men posed as police officers to con residents out of "large" amounts of money.
In the two reported incidents, a man posing as an officer called an elderly person and told them a relative of theirs was under arrest, according to a community alert issued by police. The man then claimed that, to help in the investigation, the elderly person had to withdraw "a large sum of money" from their bank. Then, a second man met the victim outside the bank or at "another designated location" to pick up the money.
The two men told their victims that no one can be told about the money in order to not jeopardize their investigation, police said. Sometimes, the two will contact their victims again to get more money.
According to police, both deceptive practices occurred in the Streeterville neighborhood near North Michigan Avenue. The first instance was reported in late November and the other occurred in the last week. Police said there may be other instances that have gone unreported.
The two suspects were both described as black men with medium complexions, with one between the ages of 40 and 55, standing between 5-foot-7 and 5-foot-10, weighing 170 to 180 pounds. The other man was described as 60 to 66 years old, standing 5-foot-10 with salt-and-pepper hair, police said.
The Chicago police, or any other police agency, will never ask for money for an investigation or for any other reason, the alert stated.
Anyone with information on the two men is asked to call the Financial Crimes Unit at (312) 746-9661.
(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2014. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
