SWATARA, TWP, Pa- Police in Swatara Township say a man was scammed out of 1,000 after trying to help another man.
According to police, on January 14 police received a report that a victim was approached by a black man in the parking lot of Petsmart along the 4200 block of Derry Street in Dauphin County.
The male, being described as a clean-shaven, approximately 5’8″ tall and with a medium build wearing a black sweater with white trim, black pants, white shirt and a white tie offered the victim $25 for a ride to a “Christian church.”
The suspect told the victim he was from Africa and that his family was in danger. He also told the victim that he had $200,000 and he needed to give it to charity.
The suspect then asked the victim if he would donate the money for him because he didn’t want to be identified as the person responsible for the donation.
The suspect then told the victim that he would have to provide $1,000.00 of his own money to prove that he could be trusted with the $200,000.00 to be donated to charity.
The victim then drove the suspect to his bank and withdrew $1,000.00 as requested and gave it to the suspect who appeared to wrap it in a handkerchief that also reportedly contained the $200,000.
The suspect taped the handkerchief and placed it in the trunk of the victims car telling him not to open it until he had returned home.
The victim later found that the handkerchief contained nothing but shredded paper.
The victim was unable to provide any additional information on the suspect or a potential vehicle that he was in.
