CRIME Police warn residents of 'pigeon drop' scam

The victims have given up more than $2,000 in the fraud.
YOUNGSTOWN -- For the second time in a week, a victim has been conned out of money in what police call a "pigeon drop."
The scam works more or less like this: A female suspect approaches a potential victim in a public place, says she missed her cab and needs a ride to a church to make a donation. The scam artist then pulls out a wad of cash and says it's $100,000 from her late uncle's estate.
The scam artist, who claims to be from Africa, then asks the victim to look up the address of the church. By then, a male accomplice has approached and says the church burned down several months ago.
The female suspect then says she needs to get to the airport and needs to trust someone to donate her uncle's money to a good cause. She asks for money "in good faith" from the victim before turning over a large amount of cash -- $20,000 to $100,000 -- to be donated.
The man gives the woman what he claims is an envelope with $4,000 in it, which encourages the victim to give up some money. The female thief then hands the victim a handkerchief that is supposed to contain as much as $100,000 but really contains cut-up newspaper.
By the time the victim realizes he or she has been had, the con artists have left.
Recent cases
Lt. Robin Lees said today that the pigeon drop operating in the city could be a small crew of criminals passing through. So far, two victims have given up a total of $2,350.
Lees said anyone who encounters this scam should get a good description of the suspects and a license plate number if possible and call police.
The most recent case involved a 38-year-old Cornell Avenue woman who was approached Monday afternoon at a bank on Market Street. She turned over $2,000 to the woman claiming to be from Africa.
Last Wednesday, a 57-year-old Liberty woman was approached in the Union Square Plaza at Belmont Avenue and Gypsy Lane. She turned over $350 to a woman working a variation of the scam.