On Monday, February 6 th , 2012, my elderly mother was a victim of a variation of The Pocketbook Drop scam (mentioned in detail below from a pamphlet from the Manhattan District Attorney).  The difference was that the pocketbook was dropped and she was asked if it was hers.  She said no and tried to get away from the woman.  The woman’s accomplice, a man appeared and blocked my mother’s path of escape.  In the end, they took her into a car, she ended up giving them the money in her home, going to bank and taking a fairly large sum of money including her ATM.  These scoundrels took almost all the money that my mother had.  Luckily, I was able to give her most of the money back so she can pay her bills.  I wanted to bring this to everyone’s attention that this is happening.  The law enforcement was unsympathetic in the sense that she should have “fought back” or that it “was silly to fall for this”.  An elderly women in her seventies, that walks with a cane and has numerous health issues, is no match for assailants that all taller and younger.  Notice that this happened at the beginning of the month when most elderly people receive pensions and Social Security payments.  The police stressed that it has happened a number of times in the neighborhood and that my mother was able to put a face and name to the one of the accomplices that none of the previous victims were able to identify.  The police claim to also have the accomplice’s address too. Given that this is a non-violent crime, it is not very high in terms of seriousness.  Please be aware of your surroundings.  Pass this information on to any elderly persons or organizations that outreach to the elderly.   From the pamphlet from the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office “Protecting the Elderly from Financial Crimes”   Fraud Committed by Strangers – Common Scams   The Pocketbook Drop In a typical case, a con artist tells a victim that he has found an envelope of cash and that a lawyer has told him he may be able to keep the money if the lawyer goes through the proper channels. The con artist instructs the elderly victim to take out cash to pay for the lawyer’s fees. The con artist will take the money claiming that they will split the unclaimed money after thirty days and never contacts the victim again.   The Bank Examiner Con artists will call, posing as bank examiners, and tell the victim that a dishonest employee has made a large withdrawal from the victim’s account. The con artist will instruct the victim to withdraw money and give the cash to him in an envelope to help trap the thief. The victim is told that the money will be re-deposited the next day, but it never is.   The Fortune Teller Con artists act as “tellers of fortune” and claim they can ease problems and predict your future, for a large fee.   Predatory Lending Con artists convince victims to take out loans that are unnecessary or to refinance their mortgages at a high rate, often in hopes that the elderly borrowers will default and allow the lenders to acquire the property cheaply.
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