Surveillance photo
A senior man from the Northeast is out $14,000 after a group of scam artists tricked him into withdrawing the cash from his credit card account, suburban police say.
The set-up is commonly known in the law enforcement community as the “pigeon drop scam,” said Bensalem Township police, who are leading the investigation and have released photos of four suspects and their vehicle.
The rip-off occurred on Friday after two crooks approached the victim at the Wawa at Grant Avenue and Bluegrass Road in the Northeast shortly after noon. Police described the victim only as “an elder male.” The thieves spoke with “African accents” and convinced the victim to drive them to two banks, one in the Northeast and another in Parx casino in Bensalem, police said. They persuaded the victim to take a large cash advance on his credit card, reportedly with the promise that he would receive a much greater sum in return.
Once the victim obtained $14,000 cash, the suspects convinced him to drive them to the Dunkin’ Donuts at 3401 Street Road in Bensalem, where they distracted him and stole envelopes containing his money. Police believe the crooks fled in a white minivan driven by another accomplice.
Bensalem police released surveillance images of four men, but did not specify the role of the fourth suspect in the theft. No suspect descriptions were released. Call Detective John Gohl to report information. ••
Surveillance photo
Surveillance photo
Surveillance photo
Surveillance photo
