CROWN HEIGHTS — He’s making an offer you should refuse.
Police in Brooklyn are looking for a man they say is scamming older people out of cash by pretending to gather donations for a church, officials said.
The suspect approached at least three separate victims in Crown Heights in the past two weeks, walking up to his victims on the street and asking them for between $200 and $500 as a donation for a church, police said. The suspect vowed to give all of the victims their money back eventually. When the victims handed over the cash, the man ran away.
The suspect approached one victim at Troy and East New York avenues on Oct. 25, then struck again at Schenectady and Lefferts avenues on Oct. 28, police said.
He carried out the scam yet again on Nov. 5 at Carroll Street and Rogers Avenue, police said. The victims of the scam were between the ages of 58 and 78.
Police in the 71st Precinct in Crown Heights said they are aware of half a dozen other similar incidents around the borough. An email alert was sent out by the 71st Precinct Community Affairs Office in August warning of a similar scam in Brownsville and East New York.
The precinct sent out another community notification Thursday night, asking the Crown Heights community to make their neighbors aware of the scam, especially members of local churches.
Anyone with information about this crime is encouraged to call the 71st Precinct Community Affairs department at (718) 735-0527.
