'Funeral Fund' Fraudsters Try To Scam Jewel Shopper Of $5K: New Lenox Police

NEW LENOX, IL — A woman was nearly scammed out of $5,000, after agreeing to donate to a purported funeral fund, according to New Lenox police reports.

New Lenox police were called just after 6 p.m. June 8 to the Jewel-Osco on Laraway Road. A woman told police that they had been approached by two men asking for money to finance a funeral.

The woman offered the men $20 cash, but the men refused it, stating it was illegal for them to receive cash. They told the victim they could accept a credit card transaction, to which the victim agreed. One of the men told the victim that he needed to enter a PIN to complete the transaction, and took the woman’s phone to do so.

When the phone was handed back, the woman noticed both the $20 charge and an unauthorized $5,000 transaction on their card, according to reports.

The men then fled to a nearby vehicle and left the area. The victim contacted the bank and the transactions were canceled, police said.

New Lenox police said a similar incident took place at a Jewel location in Frankfort just two hours later.