The Muscatine Police Department would like to alert the public about a potential scam situation which local residents have been falling victim to. It starts with the victim being approached in a parking lot, usually as they are leaving a business.

The individual/s approaching them offer some kind of story of how they are strapped for cash and need money urgently. The individual/s will offer to sell the victim some of their belongings for cash, in our local cases it has been gold jewelry. If the victim agrees, the individual/s will offer to follow them to an ATM and make the transaction. The jewelry being sold is fake, (not real gold), and the victim ends up paying a considerable amount of money for something that has little to no value. These scam artists can be very convincing as they work to gain their victim’s trust.

This scenario has played out at least twice in Muscatine within the past month and is also known to have happened in surrounding communities. During our two local incidents, the suspects worked as a pair and as a group. Both victims described the suspects as being of Middle Eastern descent.

The Muscatine Police Department is encouraging anyone who gets approached by these individuals to make mental notes on as much details about the suspects as possible; (race, age, identifying marks and/or characteristics, vehicle description, license plate, number of people in the group, and any other information that may be useful in helping to identify). Call 911 and report the encounter as soon as it is safe to do so. Although there has been no reports of any weapons being displayed, during one of local incidents the reference of a weapon was made. Please do not try to confront these individuals on your own.

Be a good witness and report it to the local authorities.