Drivers, be aware of a “three-card monte” scam in the Joplin, Missouri, area. Two drivers were taken for a total of $5,300, after they were scammed out of their money at a game of cards.
Both drivers were at the I-44 Petro Truck Stop when they were separately approached by a group of men inviting them to play a game of cards.
The first driver, of Ashley, Nebraska, withdrew $300 for the store’s ATM and returned to the group to play cards. The group took the man’s cash but refused to let him join the game. The driver phoned the police.
Before the police could arrive, another driver fell victim to the scam.
A second driver, of East Peoria, Illionis, says he was approached in the same manner. The driver took $5,000 to the game, when he noticed the game was a three-card monte, an old swindler’s game involving the palming of a card, that the men were playing.
He didn’t want any part of that, Cpl. Chuck Niess, the officer called to the truck stop, said. But when he turned to leave, one of them grabbed him and held him while the other grabbed his money.
According to The Joplin Globe, the second driver told police that he fought with the two men and chased them across the parking lot, but they managed to get away.
One of the men is described as a 30 year old, “with that seemed older,” and the second is described as 20 and skinny. The men drove away in a black Chevrolet.