VPD Warns Grandparents To be Wary of Callers Posing as Grandchildren

VICTORIA – The Victoria Police Department noted that a local citizen was recently contacted in what has become known as the “Grandparents Scam.”

In this most recent scam in the area, con artists attempt to contact grandparents and collect thousands of dollars by posing as grandchildren in distress.  In the recent scenario in Victoria, the callers received a frantic phone call from someone pretending to be a grandchild. The caller says that they have been wrongfully arrested by law enforcement authorities in an area away from where the call is being made and need money wired or gift debit cards  with money on them in order to obtain a lawyer and get out of jail. Unfortunately in many cases such as this, the grandparents are looking to do anything they can to help out a family member and fall for this scam.

In this scam, the grandparent is asked to immediately wire money to post bail or pay for a lawyer. The scammer typically asks for several thousand dollars, and may even call back again several hours or days later asking for more money. He or she may claim embarrassment about the alleged trouble and ask the grandparent to keep it a secret.

A variation of the scam may involve two scammers — the first scammer calls and poses as a grandchild under arrest. The second scammer, posing as some type of law enforcement officer, then gets on the phone with the grandparent and explains what fines need to be paid. Alternatively, the scammer may pretend to be a family friend or neighbor.

It is possible that the scammers are finding their targets on the Internet. Names, addresses, birth dates, and telephone numbers are easily ascertained online. Scammers may also check Facebook or other social networking websites to learn about someone, and then contact that person’s grandparent pretending to be the real grandchild.

Victoria Police Department officials noted that there are hundreds of these scams with new ones hitting the area each week. While most people recognize what is going on and do not participate, there are times where people can be fooled by these tactics. Chief Keith Phillips stated, “Remember to never give out personal information to anyone that calls you on the phone and asks for money.”