Crime & Safety

Palos Park Hit With Ruse Scams

Palos Park Police report that within the last week two different residents were approached with ruse scams. One lost $3,600 in the ruse.

residents have come face to face with a gang of ruse scammers over the past week and police are urging residents to stay vigilent. 

On Monday, May 7 a resident of the 12600 block of Rail Lane reported that several days earlier he had been the victim of a ruse scam. The elderly man reported that on May 3 a man approached his door around 1:30 p.m. 

The man told the resident that his crew had completed a job for his neighbor and had cement left over, police said. He offered to repair the man's porch for several hundred dollars. 

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The home's resident was then walked to the garage where he keeps several antique cars, police said. The olive-skinned man in his late 40s then distracted the resident with talk about his cars and attempted to convince him that he had completed work at the home years before, police said. 

While the two were talking, two other men began and completed the patch work on the porch, police said. When the work was finished the resident was told he owed $3,600 for the job and had to pay in cash, police said. The resident felt intimidated by the three men, police said.  

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The resident drove to the bank to withdraw the money and became confused and pulled into a parking lot on LaGrange Road after visiting a bank. The ruse artist then approached the man's car and took the envelope containing the money without counting it, police said. 

He told the resident a receipt was left back at tho house, police said. Investigators are hoping to attain footage from the bank's camera that would help identify a suspect, police said. 

Also on May 3, three men in their 40s knocked on the door of a homoewoner on the 11800 block of 86th Avenue around 3 p.m., police said. The men tried to convince the homeowner that they had previously done work on the home and wanted to help clear his shrubbery, police said.

The resident refused and picked up the phone to call police. The men then fled in a charcoal gray minivan, police said. 

Police urge residents to immediately report all similar incidents. 

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