Elderly woman reports odd incident
JANESVILLE — An elderly woman reported to police Thursday that she might have been the victim of an attempted scam.
Two women approached her at about 2 p.m. Thursday in the parking lot of Pick 'n Save, 1717 Center Ave., and showed her a bag they said they had found. They said it was full of money. They asked her if the bag was hers.
The woman said it wasn’t hers. She felt something was amiss, so she called police.
Janesville police Lt. Keith Lawver agreed there was probably something underhanded going on.
"It's a good idea that lady called us," Lawver said.
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Dec 23, 2009 at 11:50 a.m.
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Oh, I get it... the 2 women were odd......
Dec 23, 2009 at 11:24 a.m.
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how did they determine it was a odd incident, there were 2 women?
Dec 23, 2009 at 2:21 a.m.
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humerous-It's humorous
"So did my dogs crap in the yard this morning."
What do you know, a turd looking at a turd!
Dec 22, 2009 at 4:44 p.m.
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what kind of bag was this? was there a dollar sign on it?
Dec 22, 2009 at 4:17 p.m.
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JustGuy: Your last response was way funnier than vatoloco's original attempt at humour. It had me LOL!
Dec 22, 2009 at 1:02 p.m.
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frogger, the scam is as old as the hills, and as many variations as people who play it, but very often it does use at least some real money.
Dec 22, 2009 at 9:07 a.m.
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Justaguy-At least I got your attention.
Dec 22, 2009 at 8:30 a.m.
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Local law enforcement officials have uncovered a plot by Liberal Democrats of placing the 2,000 plus page healthcare reform bill in the bags of elderly people as they came out of the Pick and Save grocery stores. After interviewing some of the senior citizens, they claimed that the Liberals were telling these folks that the papers were merely coupons they could use to place in a healthcare rationing lottery to increase their chances of getting the healthcare they needed.
Dec 22, 2009 at 8:02 a.m.
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Not a scam? I'm a skeptic. The lady did the right thing. Didn't anyone notice that there was no report of any money found? Chances are they were going to try and ask for a finders fee up front and hand her a bag of garbage or something. Smart lady.
Dec 22, 2009 at 7:30 a.m.
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Napalm - Well aren't you just a ray of sunshine! It's a good thing they didn't approach you or you'd be singing a very different tune right now. Apparently that "old hag" has a whole lot more common sense than you have.
Dec 22, 2009 at 6:37 a.m.
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The problem isn't that it was a bag full of money. The problem is that they CLAIMED it was a bag full of money. From there, it could lead to a number of different scams. Or, it could have totally been legit - but that's the problem with being careful. Most of the time, what seems to be too good to be true, really is. Once in a great while, it's the deal of a lifetime.
Dec 21, 2009 at 8:01 p.m.
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crunch_munch: it sure gives a whole new meaning to being afraid of Grandma! Next time Grandma says to stop or she'll shoot, I'd be more than willing to listen to her for risk of more than soap in the mouth or a whippin with a belt!
Dec 21, 2009 at 7:56 p.m.
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Look forward to more details so that we can help look out for each other... you know, kind of like the good ole' days!
Dec 21, 2009 at 4:58 p.m.
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It's mine!!
Janesvillean. I don't get the scam here. If there is a bag full of money why would she need money from her account? I say yeah it is mine and leave. Well okay I wouldn't but it is strange.
Dec 21, 2009 at 4:49 p.m.
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Where are they?? It's my money,i'll take it LOL!
Dec 21, 2009 at 4:46 p.m.
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The elderly are often targeted by con artists because they tend to be more trusting and more easily confused. They need to be especially careful of the "bank examiner" fraud.
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This, however, is the classic "pigeon drop". They would have persuaded her to take money out of her own bank account to "buy in" to a supposed equal sharing of the proceeds. Then they disappear. (It is actually the same structure as the Nigerian scam we all get in e-mail.) Good for her for her presence of mind -- they would have been long gone by now.
http://www.crimes-of-persuasion.com/Crim...
Dec 21, 2009 at 4:29 p.m.
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Does it matter that she's elderly?
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