QUEENS — A 74-year-old Forest Hills woman was swindled out of $13,000 worth of jewelry when two women approached her on the street and offered her a "winning lottery ticket” in exchange for cash or other valuables, police said.
The suspects approached the victim on April 2, around 3 p.m., near a Key Food store on the corner of Queens and Yellowstone boulevards, officials said.
The women told her that they had a “winning lottery ticket” worth $30,000, but they were not able to cash it because they didn't have green cards. They said they would give it to her in exchange for $20,000 cash.
The victim, police said, went with the women to her bank, and was trying to withdraw the money, but the bank found it suspicious and would not allow the transaction, police said.
The victim then offered them jewelry instead. She took the two women to her home and gave them items worth approximately $13,000, police said.
The suspects then told their victim that they had to go to the lottery office in Manhattan to cash the ticket, police said.
While on their way, the women stopped the car and asked the victim to go to a store and get a soda. When she got out of the vehicle, the suspects drove away, officials said.
"These women could have taken her somewhere, beat her, rob her, kill her," said Deputy Inspector Judith Harrison, the commanding officer of the 112th Precinct, during a recent community council meeting, as she warned residents about numerous scams circulating around the community.
"They know where she banks, they know where she lives," she added. “This sounds crazy, but these are reports that we take,” she said.
Harrison cited several other examples.
In March, she said, a 91-year-old Forest Hills resident received a phone call that she had won a lottery. She was asked to send a money order for $5,000 to a specific address in Las Vegas, police said.
Two weeks after sending the money, she was asked to send additional $3,000, which she did, police said.
Another 54-year-old Forest Hills woman applied for a job online. She received a check for nearly $2,000 and was asked to send a $1,800 deposit. The check never cleared, police said.
