HOUSTON – An 81-year-old woman, who lives alone, said she was scammed by a man claiming to be an electric company worker.
"He knocked on the door and I let him in," said the woman, who doesn't want her identity revealed in fear she may become someone else's target. "He come in to fool me and told me I had to pay a fee, a connection fee."
The victim said this man visited her on several occasions. He was kind, gained her trust and claimed to be working for the electric company. She said together they would drive to the bank and withdrawal money from the ATM. She said she even showed him her bank statements because he claimed he needed them to set up automatic bill pay on her electric account.
She doesn't know exactly how much money was taken, but said it was in the thousands.
"I trusted him. He was real nice, ya know? He told me his name is Michael, but that's not his name," the victim said.
Houston police said the man's real name is Terrance Perrillioux. They arrested him on theft charges. Investigators also said there is more than one victim who fell for his scheme.
"I don't know what is the matter with me," said the elderly victim. "I know I have my mind. I got confused I guess."
The elderly victim said she is now working with her bank's fraud department to try and get some of her money back.