Cary Woman Falls Victim To Donation Scam: Police

SCHAUMBURG, IL — A Cary woman fell victim to a donation scam while shopping in Schaumburg last weekend.

Hannah Worcel, of Cary, said she was approached by a young man outside Nordstrom Rack, in the 1500 block of Golf Road at about noon on Sunday, who asked her for a donation for his high school basketball team, according to Worcel and a police report. He had a box of candy on the ground next to him.

Worcel offered a $3 donation, and he provided her with a portable ATM credit card machine to pay with.

She tried to tap her credit card on the screen but that didn't work. The man then took the card and turned the machine away as he typed an amount in, Worcel said.

"He typed in an amount I could not see, and he inserted my credit card in twice," Worcel said. "I knew something was wrong, but I did not want to argue with him. So, I went home and checked my credit card account."

She then learned the man attempted to charge $2,000 to her credit card twice but it was declined.

"I called my credit card company, and they said he tried to charge my card a second time I was there for another $2,000 but my card declined it," Worcel said. "So, they tried to steal $4,000 from me."

Joe Dugan, deputy chief for the Schaumburg Police Department, said Worcel reported the incident to police. A detective has been assigned to the case, and no one has been arrested in connection with the scam as of Wednesday, Dugan said.

Dugan said there's been no similar incidents reported in recent days.

A similar incident was reported in Elmhurst in October, police said. A customer at an Elmhurst grocery store was approached by suspects seeking donations, but they said they did not accept cash, local police said.

The incident happened at Jewel, 944 S. York St., police said.

According to police, the customer agreed to donate and provided his credit card. Later, the victim discovered that the suspects had charged a large amount on his card. They ran away, but were later found in Westmont while asking for donations, police said.

They were taken into custody and then released without charges, pending search warrants for financial records.

• Donation Scam At Elmhurst Grocery Store: Cops