Good afternoon, Chicago.
Eliazar Rodriguez was running errands in Roscoe Village when he was stopped by two men with a laminated flyer outside a Starbucks. They said they were raising money for their little brother who was killed in a drive-by shooting and told Rodriguez that they were struggling to gather funeral funds.
He gave the men $15 through Apple Pay and wrote his name down on a sheet pledging his donation. One of the guys took Rodriguez’s phone to make the transaction, showed him the screen to confirm that Rodriguez donated $15 and the two men went on their way. Next thing Rodriguez knew, he got an instant notification from his bank telling him he had a $3,000 charge for a carpet purchase.
“I was just blinded by my naivety and my wanting to do good and be kind to others, only to be kind of slapped in the face,” Rodriguez said.
Rodriguez is not alone — he is one of dozens who have recently lost thousands of dollars to a scam going around Chicago where con artists will use a sad story to lure victims into paying them thousands of dollars when the victim thinks they are only paying a small amount of money.
Here’s what else is happening today. And remember, for the latest breaking news in Chicago, visit chicagotribune.com/latest-headlines and sign up to get our alerts on all your devices.
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