Greenwich Police are warning local senior citizens, especially grandparents, to be wary of phone scammers who purport to be a grandchild in trouble and in need of money.
According to police, a Greenwich resident and a grandmother, was contacted by a man claiming to be her 16-year-old grandson on Aug. 6. "This male who alleged to be her grandson told her a story of how he had been out of state and that after a motor vehicle accident he had been arrested. That he now needed bail money," according to police.
The woman was suspicious because her alleged grandson used a generic term for “grandmother” and not the one commonly used by her family, police said. The woman realized it was a scam and hung up. She contacted the grandson and found he was safe with his mother, police said.
Greenwich Police receive many reports of these scams. And in July Greenwich police issued an alert about scammers resorting to using text messages in targeting potential victims who would wire money to them.
Here are some tips from GPD:
"Each scam includes some sort of the following:
- a loved one is in danger or in a hospital or under arrest
- the incident occurred overseas or where the subject attends school or where they had been on vacation
- the money needs to be wired immediately so assistance can be given
- and the call back numbers given to the victim originate out of country.
If you receive a call similar to the incident mentioned above or receives a letter stating you have won the lottery and need to send money to collect the prize, don’t send any money. You should initiate a call to the love one directly. Be mindful that any call or letter stating you need to act NOW or if you're directed to go to a certain location to wire the money are all red flags and you should be wary. Almost always you are being scammed and will never see the money again and there is little chance of an arrest being made.
Scams wherein the perpetrator takes advantage of the trusting nature of an elderly grandparent are not new and are very common. These thieves are praying on your compassion and trustworthiness. Please verify the facts before sending anyone a wire large sum of money.
The Greenwich Police Department asks that everyone share this information with any seniors they know before they become the victim of a similar type scam."
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