Des Plaines woman, 89, scammed out of $3,800

An 89-year-old Des Plaines woman trying to help in what she thought was a theft investigation was scammed out of $3,800, police said.

The woman received a phone call around 10:30 a.m. Aug. 21 from a man claiming to work for her local bank. He told her someone had been taking money out of her account without her permission and asked if she would like to help capture the person.

She agreed and followed his instructions to take the money out of her account and drive to a currency exchange parking lot, where a “security guard” named “Mr. Rentals” would take the money and check for fingerprints. He told her she would receive a phone call from the bank to know the results of the fingerprints.

She handed the money to a man who walked up to her car and told her he was “Mr. Rentals.” When she did not receive a phone call, she went to the bank and discovered she had been scammed.