Scam Artists Targeting Elderly in Central Tampa, Police Say

Tampa Police are asking for the public's help in finding up to four suspects who they say have scammed elderly victims around the area, including two in Central Tampa, out of about $60,000 in the past two months.

Detectives say a man and woman have been approaching elderly women and offering to split with them some money that they found. In each case, the couple convinced the victims to give them cash from their personal bank accounts in order to receive a portion of the found money.

"Once the transaction was completed, the suspects took the victim's money and fled," Tampa Police Officer Irene Thomas said in a news release.

There appear to be four different suspects, Thomas said, but the victims are always approached by one man and one woman. 

One incident occurred at the , 8831 N. Florida Ave., sometime on May 17, police said. Police released a surveillance photo from the incident Tuesday.

Another scam took place at 4:49 p.m. May 2 at , 9001 N. Florida Ave., investigators said, and another around 5:30 p.m. April 3 at a Sweetbay at 2903 N. Dale Mabry Highway in Tampa.

In one scheme, which took place on the afternoon of April 28 at Jo-Ann Fabrics, 6200 Commerce Palms Dr., in New Tampa, the male suspect claimed to be from another country and wanted to donate the found money to a church. The suspects convinced the elderly victim the only way to do this was for the victim to withdraw a large amount of money from her account "to show that she could be trusted with the found money," investigators said.

Surveillance video taken from a CVS Pharmacy in Daytona Beach shows one of the female suspects at the checkout counter with an elderly victim in what investigators believe is a similar scheme. The video can be viewed on the Tampa Police Department's Facebook page.

Detectives are also investigating similar crimes that have occurred in Daytona Beach, Polk County and Hillsborough County, all possibly involving the same suspects. 

Anyone with information about the suspects is asked to contact the Tampa Police Department at 813-231-6130.