MARANA, Ariz (KGUN9-TV) - They flashed a badge, convinced a Marana man to hand over 50 thousand dollars, then disappeared.
It turns out the man opened his door to fake police convincing enough to take him for some real money.
What would you do if someone came up to you, flashed a badge and said he's with the police. A man in this neighborhood let him and his partner in and they walked away with 50 thousand dollars.
The couple come to the door in civilian clothes. Ring the bell, and wait several minutes. Marana Police say being willing to wait suggests this was not a random hit and that thieves knew the victim had something valuable.
Marana Police Sergeant Chris Warren says, "They identify themselves as police officers and they tell him they're there to serve a search warrant on the house and that they’re searching for counterfeit monies.
It was convincing enough that the victim let them in right away.
Inside the house, surveillance shows the man wearing a badge on his belt, as a detective would. The couple flashed some paper they said was a search warrant but never gave the victim a good look.
KGUN9 reporter Craig Smith asked Sergeant Warren, “What are some ways they would know this house would be a good target?
Sergeant Warren: “That's what we're looking into just to see what connections whether they'd be through family, through acquaintances, was there any cleaning crews, was there anybody else that may have been at that house or did the victim end up telling somebody that he had a large amount of money in his house and it made its way back to these two suspects."
Sergeant Warren says if someone shows up and claims they're police don't be afraid to ask for I-D as well as a badge, and don't hesitate to call 911 and confirm police really have sent someone to your house.
The first suspect is described as an African American man, 30 to 40-years-old, 6’0” to 6’2”, 250-275 pounds, shaved head.
The second suspect is described as an African American or Hispanic woman, 30 to 40-years-old, medium build, 5’4” to 5’7”, short brown hair.
If you have any information that can help identify them, please call the Marana Police Department at (520) 382-2000, 9-1-1 or 88-CRIME.
