HAMPTON -- Twice in six weeks, women have been persuaded to thousands of dollars in cash in a fraud, Hampton Police said.
On July 2, a 37-year-old woman gave a man and woman $19,000 to help pay for a lawyer who'd help legally split a wallet full of cash they said they'd found at Lowe's on Power Plant Parkway.
The woman went to her bank, got the cash then gave it to the couple. They told her they were taking the money to a third party and would be back. They never returned.
It was a similar scene on August 20 at the CVS Pharmacy on W. Mercury Blvd. This time, two women targeted an 81-year-old woman, saying they'd found an envelope full of cash and would split it with her if she'd help pay for a lawyer.
They convinced her to withdraw $9,000 from her bank account.
After the three went to the woman's bank, where she withdrew $9000.00, the women said they needed to stop at a fast food restaurant to use the bathroom. The women never returned.
While it's not the same women in these cases, police believe the incidents are connected because of the similarities.
Anyone with information that will assist police is encouraged to contact the Hampton Police Division at 727-6111 or Crime Line at 1-888-LOCK-U-UP.
Police stress the importance of not giving money to anyone you don't know and say if a deal sounds too good to be true, it likely is.
