An 87-year-old Hermitage woman was prayed over and preyed upon by two women who scammed her out of $1,000 Wednesday afternoon in the parking lot of Hermitage Towne Plaza, police said.

Police gave the following account:

Two women approached the elderly woman at about 2:30 p.m. and told her they had found a purse with no identification in it that also contained a winning lottery ticket. They said the lottery ticket was worth about $20,000.

One of the women said she worked at a store in the plaza but it was her day off and she would ask her manager what to do. The second woman said she was visiting from West Virginia.

The pair suggested they get into the elderly woman's car and pray about the situation. They held hands with her and prayed about the ticket.

After praying, one of the women went into a store and returned, saying the manager told her that if they each put up $1,000, the manager would cash the lottery ticket and give the winnings to the three women to split.

One of the scam artists then rode with the victim to a bank branch and she cashed a check for $1,000. When they returned to the parking lot, the victim gave the cash to them.

The women went separately into the store and came out, claiming they were each getting their share of the winnings. They then told the victim to go into the store and wait at the cafeteria until a manager approached her with the money.

After a while, a manager approached the elderly woman because she seemed to be confused and asked her if everything was OK, police said, adding she told the manager what happened and they reported it to the police.

She described one of the scam artists as a black woman in her 60s, with a medium build, about 5 feet, 3 inches tall, and wearing a hat. The second woman was a light-skinned black woman, tall and thin. Employees at the store did not know about the incident and no manager had been asked about a lost purse with a winning lottery ticket, police said.

Women of similar description scammed an 82-year-old Hubbard woman out of $1,022 on Oct. 25 in Liberty Township, Trumbull County, Hubbard police said. In that case the victim was told they had found $60,000, and needed more than $1,000 each to give to a lawyer to trace the serial numbers of the bills, police said. The pair told the woman to wait in her car at a Belmont Avenue restaurant while they gave the money to the lawyer, police said.

A similar incident happened Oct. 16 at another retail store in Hermitage, when a 66-year-old Hermitage woman was approached by two women about a lost container with money. That woman questioned the pair and asked them if they were trying to scam her and they walked away, police said.

"It's a common scam," said Hermitage Deputy Police Chief Larry Matchak. "Don't believe any get-rich-quick scheme, especially the elderly. If they tell you to put up money -- don't put up the money."

Police are asking that anyone with information call them at (724) 983-6780.