Woman lost $8,800 in lottery ticket scam in Des Plaines, police say

Scammers who wanted a Des Plaines woman's help cashing what they claimed was a $1 million winning lottery ticket bilked her out of $8,800, police said Monday.

The crime occurred Thursday when two suspects approached the 69-year-old woman inside a supermarket on the 1500 block of South Lee Street in Des Plaines, police said in a news release.

The pair - a man and a woman - asked for help getting to Mount Prospect and then said they were trying to cash a lottery ticket, but that they needed money to verify income, police said.

The woman got about $8,800 from her home and bank. The couple said they had to go into the supermarket to buy something and then disappeared with the cash, police said.

Detailed descriptions of the thieves weren't available.