Albany thief preys on 94-year-old woman

ALBANY — A 94-year-old woman lost about $30,000 to someone using her ATM card in the course of about a year, Dougherty County Sheriff’s Office Capt. Craig Dodd said.

“We’re not releasing her name,” Dodd said of the victim. “Someone took her money in $2,000 to $5,000 increments. It was reported to us last week.”

Dodd released a picture of a woman in wide, round sunglasses driving a gold-colored car that pulled up to an ATM at the Regions Bank on South Slappey Boulevard recently. Dodd said the woman was using the elderly victim’s debit card to withdraw cash.

The driver was described as a “person of interest.” Dodd said he would like the community to call the sheriff’s office or Crime Stoppers if anyone recognizes her.

The DSO captain also warned citizens with elderly relatives to pay attention to their relative’s finances. The case came to investigators’ attention when the elderly woman’s niece began to suspect something was going on.

The crime follows a national trend of rising crime against the elderly, Dodd said. Usually it is identity theft, he added.

“She had no idea the card was missing,” Dodd said. “I don’t know of any elderly people who can afford a loss like that.”

Anyone with additional information is asked to call investigations at (229) 431-3222 or Crime Stoppers at (229) 436-TIPS (8477). If Crime Stoppers is called, officials recommend that the caller reference the case as a sheriff’s case.