The Miami-Dade Police Department is looking for two apparent con artists who allegedly scammed $17,000 from an elderly woman.
The woman and her family spoke to NBC 6 about the incident that began at a Big Lots store on SW 27th Avenue when a man and a woman approached Ana Del Rio in October.
They first asked Del Rio for directions. The man then crafted an elaborate lie about winning the lottery, telling Del Rio he could not claim the cash prize because he was an undocumented immigrant, police said.
“From there they sort of convinced her to come home," Del Rio's son said. “She’s very ashamed of what happened ... it took her a long time to make that money, if not most of her life.”
While at her home, she gave the pair money, police said. As the woman collected thousands of dollars for alleged con artists, they also stole several watches from her home, the family said.
To make matters worse, the pair further took advantage of Del Rio and told her they knew a place that would allow an undocumented immigrant to claim a lottery prize for a price.
They then went to a bank, where Del Rio withdrew more money for the alleged scammers who promised to give the money back once they picked up the lottery prize. In total, they took $17,000 from Del Rio, police said.
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After going to the bank, the man told Del Rio he was sick and asked her to drop by a pharmacy for some medicine. When she returned, the pair were nowhere to be found.
“She’s having flashbacks on what happened," her son said.
