Elizabeth City, NC - She's tall, blonde and a scam artist. Pasquotank County Sheriff Randy Cartwright says a woman claiming to be from social services is targeting the elderly in Elizabeth City.
"It's sad," Sheriff Cartwright said. "They work hard all their life to make what they have to live off and then people come and take advantage of them."
Cartwright says the first victim was scammed on January 16th.
"It looks like she's pretty sharp in this and may have had this happen to her or someone in her family, because she knows some of the routine," Cartwright said.
NewsChannel 3 spoke with both victims, who didn't want to be identified. They said the woman was sweet and believable.
The 77-year-old who was targeted first told NewsChannel 3 the scammer said there was a complaint on how the victim was being treated. The victim said the woman seemed legitimate, with a legal pad and a big bag in her hand. The victim said she was so believable even her home health care worker was deceived.
Four days later, the Sheriff says the con artist came back. This time she targeted an elderly couple who lived just across the street from the first victim.
The couple told NewsChannel 3 the scammer said she was from Camden County's Department of Social Services and came by to see what their living conditions looked like.
The wife said the scammer asked for a glass of water and while the wife got it, the scammer went to the back of the room. The couple told NewsChannel 3 they thought nothing of it, because that would happen in a typical welfare check. However later that week, they realized a jewelry box filled with precious jewelry like wedding bands and an old class ring was missing.
In hindsight, the wife told NewsChannel 3 she should have known since she retired from social services and knew a social worker from Camden County wouldn't be checking on people in Pasquotank.
"They didn't think to check for any identification," Cartwright said. "The other questionable thing is normally a social worker from another county won't be coming to a county unless they are assisting."
A spokesperson from the Pasquotank County Department of Social Services says no social worker will come to your door without proper identification.
The Sheriff says they do have strong leads in this case, but warn residents still need to be on the lookout.
