Look Out For “Pigeon Drop” Scam In Amarillo

An Amarillo man was a victim of what is known as the "pigeon drop" scam and Amarillo Police warn citizens not to be a victim.  Know the signs of the pigeon drop, and avoid the scam at all cost!

Basically, someone will tell you they have a large sum of money and want to give it to the poor or some other charity.  They'll then ask you to withdraw a small amount of money to prove you are the trustworthy one, when in fact, they plan on stealing that money from you!

Amarillo Police:

"APD is investigating a scam often called a “pigeon drop” that started today near the Walgreen’s at Hillside and Bell in Amarillo. The suspects, two black males, located an elderly male on a parking lot of the store. They told him that they had $50,000 and were from S. Africa. They claimed that they were going back to S. Africa but could not take the money with them, so they were “giving the money to the poor.” They told the man that if he would withdraw a sum of money from his bank to prove he was trustworthy, they would give their money to him. He withdrew money from the bank near Civic and Georgia and gave it to them. They then left without giving him the $50,000. The suspects were both black males. Both were wearing white shirts, and one was wearing a tie. One of them may have acted like he worked at the Walgreens. They may have been in an older model white mini-van. There is an unconfirmed report that two men matching this description tried this same scam on another person later in the day at the Wal-Mart on IH-27. This type of criminal commonly targets elderly people, and may use a second or third person that appears to not know the person with the money to help convince the victim to withdraw money from a bank or give them money. Usually, the victim hands the money to the suspects, and they leave him with some type of package that does not contain the “money” that they showed him earlier in the transaction. There have been no arrests at this time and remains under investigation."

If you saw any part of this crime, you are asked to call the Amarillo Police Department or Amarillo Crime Stoppers at (806) 374-4400.