Woman, 87, scammed out of $4,000, diamond rings in ‘pigeon drop'

By Fran Jeffries

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

It was a classic pigeon drop.

The age-old scam cost an eldery Athens woman $4,000 cash and a diamond ring her husband gave her 30 years ago, according to police.

The scam began Tuesday morning outside a store near an Athens mall off of Atlanta Highway. That's when the 87-year-old woman was approached by a woman who showed her a bag of $100 bills, said Oconee County Sheriff Scott Berry.

The crook offered to split the money with her elderly victim, but said she first needed to consult with her boss at a nearby store. The crook left and returned shortly and told the elderly victim that her boss had given her the go-ahead to split the money -- but only if the elderly woman would first provide the scammer with $6,000 cash.

The elderly woman fell for the scam, Berry said. She drove the suspect to a Bank of America branch off Epps Bridge Parkway in Oconee County. The suspect got out of the car and waited behind the bank while the victim withdrew the money, Berry said.

"The suspect did a good job of avoiding surveillance cameras," Berry said.

The elderly victim explained to the suspect that she was only able to withdraw $4,000, but the suspect insisted she needed an additional  $2,000.

She asked for the victim's two diamond rings, including the one that was a gift 30 years ago from her now-deceased husband.

When the suspect got the money and rings, she told the victim she would return and left, Berry said.

The suspect is described as a black woman, about 6-foot-1, and 150 pounds with red hair.

“They pick the elderly for a number of reasons. A lot of times they have some money and they are a little more susceptible to some fast talking,” Berry said.

Berry said he couldn't recall another case of such a successful pigeon drop in his 20 years of police work.

"The suspect had to gain this woman's confidence. They're usually smooth talkers who look good and sound like they know what they're talking about," Berry said.

Berry said police have no suspects or persons of interest in the incident at this point, but he thinks investigators may at least have a shot at locating the rings because of their distinctive markings.
He asks that anyone who has information to help with the investiagation to call Sgt. Jason Higgins at 706-769-3945.