PLAINFIELD, Ind. — It starts with a silent plea: a handwritten note claiming a family is starving, followed by a request for help with a few groceries. But shoppers across Plainfield, Avon, Camby, and Indianapolis are warning that what looks like a desperate cry for help is actually a coordinated “tag-team” scam.
Social media reports and local shoppers describe a sophisticated operation where individuals approach victims inside stores like Kroger, Meijer, Target, and Aldi. Once a shopper agrees to help, the “victim” often fills a cart with high-value items, hands the groceries off to a waiting accomplice in the parking lot and immediately returns to the store to find a new target.
One Plainfield shopper recently shared their experience after being approached at a local Kroger. After agreeing to help a woman buy “essentials,” (photographed in this article by the victim) the shopper watched the total climb to $80…