San Diego

Con artists posing as bank fraud investigators bilked a 78-year-old La Jolla woman of $4,000 earlier this week after enlisting her help, supposedly to catch a crooked teller, authorities said.

A man with a deep voice called the recently widowed woman and said he was a bank employee, San Diego police spokesman Bill Robinson said. The man reportedly asked her to help catch a bank teller suspected of stealing money by withdrawing cash from her account.

A woman who identified herself as a state police officer met the widow Tuesday and pointed out the teller under suspicion, Robinson said.

The widow withdrew the money and handed it to the woman so she could check serial numbers on the bills to see if the teller had withdrawn more than she should have while pocketing the excess, Sgt. Peter Zadorozny of the police forgery unit said.

The woman promised to redeposit the money and let the widow know the outcome of the investigation, authorities said. But she was never heard from again.

Another widow, a 79-year-old who lives near San Diego State University, was also asked to help catch a teller in this manner, Robinson said. But she became suspicious, and Wednesday talked with a bank manager, who notified police.