ANAHEIM : Police Warn Elderly Drivers About Scam

Scam artists have used scare tactics to con at least four elderly drivers out of hundreds of dollars for phony emergency repairs in the past month, Anaheim police said.

According to authorities, the scam artists drove alongside the women as they sat in traffic or at a stop light. Then, the men yelled that the women’s cars were about to catch fire or that wheels were loose.

When the women pulled over, the scam artists looked under the hood, said there was a mechanical problem and offered to fix it for cash on the spot, said Sgt. Bob Whitehead, head of the department’s economic crimes detail. Mechanics who later examined the cars found that there was nothing wrong with them.

One woman was conned out of $760, Whitehead said.

He said two or three men seem to be involved in the scam. They are described as being between 18 and 35 years old, neatly dressed and may have Middle Eastern accents. They have been reported as driving a white, late-model Ford pickup truck and a black, two-door Nissan sedan.

“My suggestion to somebody who is approached would be to drive to the nearest open gas station and ask the attendant to check the car,” Whitehead said. “Also note the license plate number of the car that the person is driving.”

Anyone who has been approached by the men should call Whitehead at (714) 254-1951.

About a month ago, a woman in her 70s telephoned The Times Orange County Edition to say that within days she was waved down twice as she drove on Broadway near City Hall--first by someone yelling that fire was coming from her tailpipe and then by someone yelling that a wheel was loose.

She said she pulled over the first time, but refused to give the man any money when she could see no evidence of fire. The second time she was approached by a different man, but did not stop, she said. She said her mechanic had checked the car and found nothing wrong with it.

The woman said that she reported the incidents to police and that she had heard similar stories from friends.

However, when The Times contacted several Anaheim police supervisors at the time, they said they had not heard anything about the scam.