Friday, November 20, 1998
UCLA students fall victim to confidence scam in Westwood
CRIME: Suspicious acts near campus hit home, cost victims near
$13,000
By Ann Hawkey
Daily Bruin Staff
University police have issued a crime-alert warning local
residents of two women attempting to con students out of their
money in Westwood.
"I didn’t know what they were after, but I knew it wasn’t
right," said Sabrina Kwan, a third-year business and economics
student.
Kwan nearly became another victim in a scheme in which two women
turn a lost wallet into a major profit.
The first victim of this crime allegedly lost $2,850 to the
suspects on Nov. 10, when she was approached on Le Conte Avenue.
The second victim was conned out of $8,000 on Nov. 12 near Lot
31.
Also on Nov. 12, the same suspects allegedly tried the scam on
two other victims, one who reported a loss of $2,000 to LAPD, and
another, Kwan, who realized she was being conned before it was too
late.
The scam begins when one suspect approaches a victim on the
street and asks if she dropped a wallet. When the other suspect
walks by, the first suspect then asks the second suspect if it was
her wallet.
The suspects appear not to know each other, and are both very
friendly and dressed in business suits, so they do not seem
suspicious, victims said.
"Because we’re in the Westwood community and we’re all students
I tend to trust people," said the first victim to report this
crime, who wished to remain anonymous.
"They can really pull a fast one on you," she said.
When no one claims the wallet, the three agree to open it and
look for identification.
"It was a little strange that other people were passing by, but
they didn’t stop to ask any of them if it was their wallet," Kwan
said.
The wallet holds no identification, but the women do find what
seems to be a large sum of money, as well as a note giving vague
instructions to the owner of the wallet as to what to do with the
cash.
The apparent stack of money is wrapped in a rubber band, with a
hundred dollar bill on top, but the other bills are not visible,
Kwan said.
The first victim and Kwan both said the note in the wallet gave
them the impression that the money was earned through some type of
illegal activity, such as gambling.
The suspects use this to convince the victim not to turn the
money into the police.
"They convince you it’s bad money, like it’s supposed to be
smuggled out of the country or something," said the first
victim.
The two suspects convince the victim to split the money three
ways, but because they are not sure how the money was earned, they
first need to make sure the money cannot be traced back to
them.
One of the suspects claims to work for a bank, and says she will
go ask her manager what they should do with the money.
It was at this point that Kwan said she knew she was being
scammed.
"It was just too much of a coincidence to have somebody find a
whole lot of money, and then they happen to work at the bank," she
said.
When the suspect returns, she tells the victim that they can
exchange the "dirty money" in the wallet for cash from the bank,
but only if they have different serial numbers to give her manager
for bank records.
The first victim said the suspects used financial terms that
would be confusing to someone not familiar with bank policies.
"Typically, this is more of a crime (con artists) do to senior
(citizens), who can get a little more confused," said Nancy
Greenstein, director of the UCPD community services division.
After explaining what they need to do in order to keep the money
in the wallet, the suspects then ask the victim to loan them cash
to use the serial numbers, promising to return the money, as well
as giving her a third of the cash in the wallet.
The first victim said the suspects suggested she take a cash
advance out on her credit card, if she could not get enough money
from the ATM.
The suspects convince the victim to give them as much cash as
possible, which the suspect who claims to work at the bank then
leaves with.
When the suspect returns, she tells the victim her manager at
the bank is entering the serial numbers into the computer, and to
wait in the bank for him to return her money, along with her share
of cash from the wallet.
When the victim enters the bank to wait for the manager, the
suspects disappear with her money, leaving the victim waiting in
the bank.
One suspect is described as an African American female, 35 to 40
years old, 5 feet 7 inches tall and about 130 pounds with black
hair.
The other suspect is also an African American female, 35 to 40
years old, 5 feet 5 inches and 140 pounds, with black hair and
brown eyes. Victims also said she speaks with what may be a
Jamaican accent.
Following the four reported incidents in the area, police
officers said they cannot predict whether the suspects will return
to try again.
"In some cases, the suspects are come and go – the really hit
you hard and then they’re gone," said Sergio Guzman, LAPD’s senior
lead officer for the Westwood area.
"Any smart suspect would say, let’s hit this spot a few times
and then move on," he said.
If the suspects do return to Westwood, officers said it is
important to report anything that looks suspicious.
"Even if you see someone walking by and finding a wallet, then
you should just call it in," Greenstein said.
"We have descriptions of the women and we’ll know what to
do."
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