Scam artist preys on elderly woman in Tamarac

When a well-dressed man showed up at the home of an 86-year-old Tamarac woman saying he was from the “water

department,“ she let him in to check her water.

The trusting woman then fell prey to what Broward Sheriff’s Office detectives say is a common scam. The tall, slender visitor told her he needed to check her water for acid. He grabbed two of her cooking pots, filled one with water and added some cleaner from under her kitchen sink. He told her there was acid in the water and directed her to put her hand in the water to test it. When she got some of the solution on her jewelry, he poured milk and water in the second pot and directed her to put her rings and bracelets in the pot.

Then he said he had to go outside to test the jewelry, but he never came back. Witnesses said he drove a white Ford F-150 pickup with a loud exhaust and a work box behind the cab. BSO sketch artist John McMahon created a composite sketch of the suspect, who has light brown hair and wore beige clothing.

Anyone with information about this suspect can contact BSO Det. Michael Colantuno at (or report it anonymously to Crime Stoppers of Broward County at (954) 493-TIPS or online at www.browardcrimestoppers.org.

Related posts:

1. Bank robber foiled by Broward Sheriff’s Office in Tamarac
2. Tamarac to dedicate new public art, “Under the Shadow of a Big Tree”
3. Teen murders elderly neighbor in Lauderdale Lakes for $34
4. Two adults killed in Tamarac fire
5. Tamarac Certified a Gold Level Green Local Government

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Posted by Andrea Freygang on Jan 23 2010. Filed under Broward County, Crime, Fort Lauderdale, Local news, Tamarac. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry