Elderly Woman Scammed a Second Time By Cop Imposters

Suspects posing as police officers on an undercover investigation allegedly scammed money from an elderly Paulding County woman who had been scammed before.

They told her they knew she was scammed the first time and needed her assistance to catch the people responsible. In return, she would be paid a $10,000 reward that never materialized.

The Paulding County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release that a man and woman came to the victim’s home on Oct. 28. Both were dressed in business attire and had gold badges on their belts. They said they were undercover cops and needed her help to catch the scammers, one of whom they said was a teller at a SunTrust Bank located inside the Publix at Lost Mountain (in Cobb County).

“The victim was instructed to withdraw a large sum of money from the bank,” the sheriff’s office said in the news release. “The suspects explained that the teller was involved in the initial scam and they would arrest her once the withdrawal was made.”

A third suspect, whose photos were released Friday, stayed in the store to watch the transaction. After the woman withdrew a large sum of money, the suspects took her home and told her they’d return in 45 minutes to give her the reward money. They never returned.

The woman told deputies she didn’t report the first scam “due to embarrassment,” the sheriff’s office said.

More from the PCSO:

If you have been a victim of a similar scam, please do not let embarrassment prevent you from contacting law enforcement to report the crime. Furthermore, if you suspect someone may be trying to scam you, call your local law enforcement agency immediately and make a report of the incident. If anyone recognizes the individual in the photograph or has information about these subjects, please contact the Paulding County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigations Division at (770) 443-3015.

(Photo: Suspect in Paulding County scam of elderly woman. Credit: PCSO)