It was a way for potential victims of a growing type of crime to fight back by being aware of the con. Fayetteville detectives Mike Whitlow and Marvin Vinson last week conducted a presentation on various scams to two groups at Fayette Seniors Center. In all, more than 80 attended the two sessions held March 25.

“It was very productive. We had a mix of people. We gave information people hadn’t heard before and we got a lot of questions and feedback. Some were from the center, some saw it in the newspaper and some were from other counties,” said Whitlow. “And we learned about two more attempts to scam residents, but they didn’t fall for it.”

In one of those cases, a woman who was targeted was approached by a female who said she worked at Publix and asked if the woman had dropped her wallet, Whitlow said. But this lady did not fall for it. She left.

“And that was just two of the 80 people in the audience at the senior center last week,” Whitlow said. “So there’s probably many more out there that we don’t know of.”

Whitlow said the con showing up in Fayette County is the Pigeon Drop, a scam in which the victim is offered a sum of money but must have to put up some of their own to benefit.

A variation on that theme has shown up three times in Fayetteville since January, with the victims losing a total of $46,000 in the process, he said. In these scams, the victims were approached in grocery store or drug store parking lots.

Whitlow said the victim, often an elderly person, is targeted by the thief. The victim is approached by the con man (or woman) holding a wallet or bag containing cash. The con man shows the money to the victim and asks if it belongs to her, a way of breaking the ice to set up the scam, Whitlow said.

He or she is usually professionally dressed and well-spoken, which tends to lend believability to the presentation. The con man will often reference some type of hardship he is enduring to further ensnare the victim emotionally.

“They may sit there all day to identify the best mark. They are highly social, dressed neatly, articulate and outgoing,” Whitlow said. “They predominantly target older females, white and black, who are less likely to get into a physical altercation.”

Whitlow and Vinson explained that scammers often operate in groups of three, with several groups connected to one main individual. Their favorite target time is 11 a.m. until 3 p.m. on the weekdays that grocery stores offer special prices to seniors.

Another scam to show up locally is the Mystery Shopper or Secret Shopper letter with an attached check.

The letter tells the person they have been selected and should deposit the check and go shopping. The hook is that they must pay a fee for participating. By the time the false check fails to clear the bank the victim has already sent their own check to cover the fee, Whitlow said.

Whitlow said detectives plan to offer additional scam-training presentations in the future.

Commenting on the presentation, the Senior Center’s Susan Landis said the two presentations last week were both helpful and well-received.

“They were very worthwhile in helping seniors be aware of this mischief and how they can protect themselves,” she said.

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