Buffalo Grove woman scammed out of $15,000

Buffalo Grove Police report that a 54-year-old Buffalo Grove woman was scammed out of $15,000 while shopping at a discount store Monday.

The woman was taken in by a man and woman who convinced her to withdraw the money from her bank account and give it to them between 11:50 a.m. and 2 p.m.

The man, pretending not to know his female accomplice, told both women he had a winning lottery ticket but could not redeem it because he was not a legal resident. The female accomplice convinced the victim to join her in a plan where they would borrow money to pay the taxes on the winnings and then split the money. The scammers pretended to call a lottery office, and the victim heard someone tell them the lottery ticket was indeed a winner.

The offenders drove the woman to two Bank of America branches, where she withdrew money and gave it to the man. At that point, the man said he was feeling sick and needed medicine, so he drove them to a grocery store. They asked the victim to go into the store to get the medicine. When she returned to the parking lot, the car and scammers were gone.