Two people outside a Jewel-Osco store in New Lenox almost stole more than $5,000 from a donor by requesting they could only receive money to finance a funeral by credit card, police said.
At 6:10 p.m. Sunday, an officer was sent to Jewel-Osco, 475 Nelson Road, for a report of a theft, according to a statement from the New Lenox Police Department.
A person reported two people were outside the entrance of the grocery store asking for money to finance a funeral, police said.
The person tried to give them $20 in cash but they refused by claiming it was “illegal for them to take cash” but they could accept money by credit card, police said.
After agreeing to pay by credit card, one of the alleged offenders requested the credit card PIN to complete the transaction, police said.
The alleged offender “took control” of the person’s cellphone to enter the PIN, police said.
When the offender handed the phone back, the person saw both a $20 transaction and an unauthorized $5,000 transaction on their credit card, police said.
The offenders then “fled to a nearby vehicle and left the area,” police said.
The person was able to contact their bank in time to cancel the transaction, police said.
A similar incident was reported the same evening at Jewel-Osco store in Frankfort.
The case is under review by the New Lenox Police Department.