Press release
Scammers contacted an elderly village resident and advised them a grandchild had been seriously injured in a car accident. Scammers then proceeded to place a younger adult on the phone impersonating the grandchild begging for money to be treated. Scammers then again came on the line and told the elderly resident to go and obtain amounts, ranging from several thousand dollars to hundreds of dollars, in gift cards and to call the scammers back with the serial numbers from the cards.
When interviewing the victim, the victim reported the younger person sounded extremely similar to the victim’s grandchild. In the United States, hospitals cannot delay life threatening treatment, due to the patient can not immediately pay for treatment.
The victim then asked to talk to their grandchild again and the scammer disconnected the line.
This is not the first occasion scammers have used this to steal money from elderly people. However, they utilize compassion and very convincing facts to scare the elderly family members into believe the grandchild is in direr straights. A very similar scam used is one in which the scammer’s call family members and lead them to believe the grandchild or younger adult has been arrested on false charges in a location far away and need either bail money or money for an attorney.
If this occurs contact your nearest law enforcement agency and report this. ALWAYS, if you receive a similar phone call, contact family members and VERIFY the incident and NEVER purchase gift cards, pre-paid credit cards or give any banking information over the phone to anyone. Once the scammers have your information or the codes from the cards there is very little chance of you recovering any of the money. If you have any questions on how to deal with any suspected scams, again, contact your local law enforcement and ASK QUESTIONS.