Omaha woman gives men $5,000 to show she trusted them; they split

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.omaha.com/news/crime/omaha-woman-gives-men-to-show-she-trusted-them-they/article_d9ce07d4-5bb6-11e5-8222-8f0f9ec56fa8.html

POSTED: TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2015 9:34 AM | UPDATED: 3:10 PM, TUE SEP 15, 2015.
By Kevin Cole / World-Herald staff writer

An Omaha woman found out the hard way that trusting strangers with $5,000 can be a huge mistake.

The 37-year-old woman told police that she was in the parking lot of a grocery store near 76th and Davenport Streets about 1 p.m. Saturday when a man asked her for assistance. He told a story about needing help making a charitable donation, and said he would pay the woman $10,000 for her trouble, according to an Omaha police report.

The woman drove the purported do-gooder to a fast-food restaurant at 76th and Dodge Streets, where they met a second man. All three then drove to a bank near 52nd Street and Ames Avenue, where the woman withdrew $5,000.

FULL story at link.

[Nye Bevan]

1. Never trust a stranger in a parking lot.

Especially when they want to drive you to your bank to withdraw $5000 from your account.

[yeoman6987]

2. They have video

But not sure if she will not only get the money back...no. But probably no arrest either.

[Kotya]

6. Arrest them for what?

She gave them the money.

[Kotya]

3. But they promised her $10,000!

Not only was she stupid, she was also greedy.

I particularly liked the part about convincing her to leave them not only the money but her cellphone as well "to establish trust."

[Warren DeMontague]

7. Those guys selling the speakers from the back of the white van arent legit, either.

Or so I hear.

[OriginalGeek]

11. You didn't hear it...

...from their crappy speakers.



Those guys always got mad when I laughed at them. Seems to me they should have thicker skin if they're gonna succeed at that "job."

[hobbit709]

4. Stupid is painful and expensive.

[Nay]

15. Yes, it is. This woman learned the hard way -- she's one of those people who

never reads anything about anything, which is why at age 38 she can be totally fooled like this. Normal 18 yr olds don't fall for this shit.

[hobbit709]

17. Greed makes you stupid. That's why cons work.

[maxsolomon]

5. Grifters suck, and this country is full of them, top to bottom.

Note that the woman thought she was going to make 10K in the deal - she was grifting, too.

[Warren DeMontague]

8. A fairly classic scam.

[Gormy Cuss]

10. And like all effective scams it keeps getting used on unsuspecting people.

That reminds me. Where is my 3 card Monte kit?

[Warren DeMontague]

16. They don't calle me Warren De Monte gue

for nothin'

[fasttense]

9. It was clearly a con game

She would have gotten $10,000.00 if the game was Not a con. She trusted them because she would get more money back. That's how cons work. They get the confidence of their victims by appealing to their greed. It's the same way that Capitalism works. It's a con.

[Takket]

12. People like this are the reason

Nigerian prince emails persist to this day.

[BlueJazz]

13. "How do you do? My name is Charlston Throckmorton. I am in charge of a very large bank here...

...in Sweeden. I have a very special offer for only you"
.

.
.

[Takket]

14. Hi! I'm listening.

What's you offer? Wait we should have a secret code in case anyone hears us. Give me your email and I'll send you my credit card and bank account numbers. That will be our code!

[Nye Bevan]

23. I'm a prestigious UK-based barrister and I swear this is on the up-and-up.

The fact that my official email address is [e-mail] is neither here nor there.

[Kotya]

19. Nigerian 419 Advance Fee Fraud (aka 419 scams)

Cost victims $12.7 billion in 2013.

And this number goes up each year.

http://www.geektime.com/2014/07/21/millions-of-victims-lost-12-7b-last-year-falling-for-nigerian-scams/

[Takket]

30. *spits mouthful of water all over computer*

Are you KIDDING ME?????????????? The Nigerian prince is more profitable than walmart!!!!!!!!!

[B Calm]

18. Omaha woman proves she has no common sense!

[lonestarnot]

24. A fool and her money are soon parted.

[Liberal_in_LA]

28. yes

[SheilaT]

20. The movie "The Sting" opens with a remarkably similar scene.

That poor woman has probably never seen it.

[onethatcares]

21. I like the one

where the perps have last nites lotto numbers on todays ticket and convince the duck to put money up front because they can't cash it in for some dumb bass reason.

It's one that goes on and on.

[AngryAmish]

22. Anyone ever see "The Spanish Prisoner"?

Watch that tomorrow instead of the gop dumpfest. I love David Mamet.

[REP]

25. The Pigeon Drop is one of the oldest con games around; cons are not eve being clever about it

When my mother explained the various con games to me when I was a child, I couldn't understand how anyone fell for them. The simple answer is greed: the mark thinks they'll get something for nothing.

[Egnever]

26. Yay! The Nigerian prince finally made it safely to America!

Hard to believe people actually fall for this stuff.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

27. That scam, or variations of it, is as old as the hills.

I can't believe anybody still falls for it.

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

29. Where's Jim Rockford when you need him? n/m