BANK TELLER FOILS CON ARTISTS' SCAM OF ELDERLY MAN.

Byline: Holly Edwards Staff Writer

NEWHALL - A suspicious bank teller thwarted two con artists' plan of swindling thousands of dollars from a 78-year-old Newhall man for unnecessary home repairs, authorities said Monday.

The teller contacted the elderly man's son after questioning his story about withdrawing $4,000 for house repairs while the suspects waited outside, said Sgt. Mitch Clark of the Santa Clarita sheriff's station. The suspects fled before the man's son arrived.

The attempted scam occurred May 16 when the suspects arrived at the elderly man's Ninth Street home, claiming they were sent by the landlord to do repair work, authorities said.

After moving around furniture, checking light switches and measuring areas with a tape measure, one suspect pretended to call the landlord on his cell phone about the repairs, officials said.

The suspects then told the man that the landlord wanted him to pay the bill and offered to give him several months of free rent in return, along with repayment of the bill, officials said.

The suspects are described as Latino, between 20 and 30 years old and driving a late model red pickup truck. So far, there have been no other reports of the scam.

Authorities urged seniors to be watchful for this scam and to notify law enforcement officials of suspicious activity.