'Pigeon Drop' Scam at Clearwater Walmart?

Police are looking for a woman who they say may have tried to use a "pigeon drop" scam earlier this year at a Clearwater Walmart to try to defraud a senior citizen of her money.

In a pigeon drop, a victim is asked to put up a "good faith" sum of money in order
to secure a larger sum. The suspect then swaps a bag of money for one with
newspaper or something else of no value before leaving the victim.

Clearwater Police say an unknown woman might have tried such a scam Jan. 8 at the Walmart at 23106 U.S. 19 N.

According to detectives, the woman approached the victim as she loaded her groceries into her vehicle and asked if she had dropped a bag of money that the woman found. The woman claimed there was $100,000 in the bag.

The woman identified herself as a Walmart employee — she is not — and went inside the store, where she pretended to talk to a manager regarding the money she found, police said.

The woman came back out and told the victim that her manager told her she could keep the money. The woman offered to split it with the victim. When the victim told her she wanted to talk to police before taking any money, the woman left with the bag.

The suspect is described as a white woman in her 40s, about 5-foot-6 and 150 pounds, with strawberry blonde hair that goes below her shoulder. She used the name "Hilary Dixon," police said.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Clearwater Police Department Tip
Line at 727-562-4080, ext. 2. You can also remain anonymous by sending
information to 847411 (tip411). Anonymous web tips can also be submitted
through the department's website at www.clearwaterpolice.org or Facebook
page at www.facebook.com/ClearwaterPolice.

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