SANTA MONICA—Police are seeking information relating to elder abuse cases in which senior citizens are targeted in traffic accident scams.
The Santa Monica Police Department (SMPD) has received “several reports” of elderly persons falling victim to similar scam scenarios. Investigators believe there may be other victims who unwittingly gave money to the suspect(s) and asks that they come forward and report the incident to law enforcement.
The scam involves one, sometimes two suspects that stage a minor traffic accident in a store parking lot. As the victim is leaving the parking lot, the suspect(s) approach the victim and claim that the victim’s vehicle hit their vehicle. The suspect(s) assert that the damage to their vehicle is less than their insurance deductible and demand that the victim pay them money.
The one male suspect and one female suspect are described as being in the 40-year-old age range. The two suspects sometimes work together and sometimes by themselves and have used a red, four-door vehicle before when enacting their parking lot scheme.
Anyone who has been victim of this scam or has information regarding these crimes is asked to contact Detective Dean Hodges of the Santa Monica Police Department by calling (310) 458-8928 or sending an email tosidney.hodges@smgov.net.
