CHICAGO — A man who lost thousands of dollars to an electronic banking scam team suffered minor injuries when he was briefly dragged by their getaway car near Goose Island on Saturday afternoon.
Thefts and robberies by teams who hijack victims’ electronic payment accounts are a growing problem in Chicago and across the country. Culprits, often working in teams, offer a sob story or claim to be raising money for a charity and ask the victim to help them out. Once a benevolent mark agrees to transfer a small amount and unlocks their banking app, the thieves take control of the victim’s phone and transfer substantial amounts of money to themselves.
That’s what happened around 3:29 p.m. Saturday in the parking garage at Target, 1200 North Larrabee, according to a CPD report.
A CPD spokesperson said two men approached a 29-year-old man as he exited the store and asked him for money. The man agreed to send money via mobile cash exchange.
“The offenders scanned the victim’s card from his cellphone and took an unknown amount of [cash] from the victim’s account,” the spokesperson said. An officer at the scene said it appeared that the thieves transferred $5,100 out of the victim’s account.
After taking the man’s money, both offenders fled in a gray Nissan Altima. The victim grabbed onto the driver’s door as it drove away and sustained minor injuries, according to police.
Original reporting you’ll see nowhere else, paid for by our readers. Click here to support our work.
