The scam is not a new one. A grandparent gets a call from someone pretending to be a grandchild who is traveling and in need of money, fast. But local seniors are still being conned.
A 76-year-old Wauwatosa man became the victim earlier this month when he wired more than $5,500 in hopes of helping his grandson get out of a Canadian jail.
According to the Wauwatosa police report:
The man received a call from a man claiming to be his grandson at 11 a.m. Dec. 8. He had supposedly traveled to Canada for a friend's funeral. Unfortunately he had befriended some guys and took a ride with them only to get pulled over by the cops for a busted taillight. Police found drugs in the car and all the occupants were arrested, the caller told him.
The caller asked grandpa to send money for bail to a Kmart in Atlantic City, N.J. He also provided contact information for a supposed police sergeant.
The teller at the Tosa man's bank found the story suspicious so she called the "sergeant" before processing the transaction.
Shortly after arriving home, the grandfather got a call saying his grandson had been released and there was a good chance the charges would be dropped, but another $5,800 would be required for an attorney. Again the man was ready to pay, but this time the teller convinced him not to go through with the transaction.
Instead, the man called his son and learned that his grandson had not been on a trip at all.
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