Crime & Safety
Another Senior Falls Victim To Phone Scam
The Scarsdale grandmother is the second Westchester senior to fall victim to the hoax. A Port Chester grandfather was victimized just last week.
A Scarsdale grandmother is the latest senior citizen to fall victim to
On July 31, the Mamaroneck Road resident told police that she was the victim of what the FBI has dubbed "the grandparent scam."
According to the report, the 86-year-old sent $2,000 to a person identifying himself as her grandson.
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The Scarsdale woman–like by the same ruse last week–believed the man on the phone was her grandson.
The alleged grandson told her he was vacationing in Niagra Falls, "his car was stopped at the border and one of the occupants of the car had marijuana in his pocket, resulting in everyone in the car being arrested," according to the police report.
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The man asked the Scarsdale grandmother to send $2,000 for bail money, according to SPD.
She purchased two, $1,000 MoneyPak cards at CVS, called the phone number the "grandson" provided and gave him the serial numbers on the cards to access the money.
Police tried to get the resident's money back, by contacting MoneyPak, but were unsuccessful, according to the SPD report.
According to the FBI, the Scarsdale incident and the Port Chester incident from last week are examples of “the grandparent scam” — a fraud that preys on the elderly by taking advantage of their concern for their grandchildren.
The FBI reports it has been receiving complaints about the grandparent scam through its Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) since 2008.
Police and the FBI say the best way to avoid falling victim is to resist pressure to act immediately.
The FBI suggests:
- Try to contact your grandchild or another family member to determine whether or not the call is legitimate.
- Never wire money based on a request made over the phone or in an e-mail — especially overseas. The FBI says wiring money is like giving cash — once you send it, you can’t get it back.
If you've been victimized, law enforcement officials say to call local police or local consumer protection agencies. The FBI also suggests filing a complaint with its Internet Crime Complaint Center, which forwards complaints to the appropriate agencies and uses the information gathered to find clues that can identify scammers.
Police say that if you are concerned that you may be the target of scammers you should call police right away.
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