LINCOLN PARK, Mich. – Thieves are once again feeding on the kind hearts of others, especially senior citizens. This time it involves a "search" for a lost pet in Lincoln Park.
Local 4's Shawn Ley spoke with the woman who fell victim to the ruse not once, but twice. She wants everyone else to be aware that this is happening.
The 78-year-old woman lives on Anne Avenue in Lincoln Park and says she was approached by a mom and a daughter who told her their cat had ran away. While she helped them look in the backyard for their cat, a man believed to be the husband and father of the two women who came to the door snuck inside her house from the front door and robbed her.
"A woman and her daughter came to the door and said that their grey cat ran away," the victim said.
The woman is scared after the man snuck into her home and went through her dresser drawers, stealing cash.
Two days later, all three came back for more.
"Which was a big mistake," the woman said.
The man tried to get even more money out of her when she suggested they look at the animal shelter, likely trying to slip her a counterfeit $100 bill.
"She said 'we saw the cat in the yard, can we go and see if he's still there?'" she said.
She locked her front door, shut her side door and then, when she walked back inside her home, the man was in her bedroom going through her drawers again.
"I says 'get out of the house,' I said 'you have no business in the house,'" she said.
She said all three are Hispanic and heavy-set. They drove off in a silver sedan. She can't believe the parents would use their child in a scam that targets seniors.
"I don't believe they have a cat, I think they just said that for him to get in the house and get the money," the woman said.
She wants to get the message out to seniors in the area so they can be on alert.
Police say they have no leads in the case, but the victim said she saw the woman at a nearby Walmart a few days after the incident and believes they are locals.