Woman tricked out of $4,000 in Des Plaines lottery ticket scam

Two women, using a fake winning lottery ticket, were able to trick another woman out of $4,000 in Des Plaines, police said.

Police gave this account: One woman approached the victim in a parking lot at 727 W. Golf Road about 10:30 a.m. July 20 to ask for help with a winning lottery ticket.

The victim said she did not know anything about lottery tickets. A third woman joined the conversation. That woman called a number on the back of the lottery ticket and said she was told that to get the winnings, they needed to pay $50,000 in fees and taxes.

The first woman asked the victim to loan her the money for a share of the prize. The victim said she only had $4,000. The third woman said she had $2,000 but could get more from the bank.

The victim drove them to her bank and withdrew her money, then drove to a second bank, leaving the third woman there to get money, while the victim and the first woman went to get stamps at a grocery store to mail the money.

The first woman said she would wait in the car while the victim purchased stamps; when the victim returned, the woman and the money in the glove box were both gone.