A County Sheriff’s Detective was able to prevent an Atascadero man from being ripped off after he fell prey to the old “grandparents scam.”
According to SLO County Sheriff’s spokesman, Tony Cipolla, on Sept. 29, Det. David Marquez was able to successfully return $55,000 to an 84-year-old man after he twice fell for the phone scam.
This case began on July 2, Cipolla said, when the victim received a phone call from a man who claimed to be an attorney representing his grandson.
“The man claimed the grandson had been in a car accident and needed $5,000 to bail him out of custody,” Cipolla explained. “This is known as the ‘grandparent scam,’ which typically targets elderly residents. In this scam, someone poses as a grandchild in jail or in the hospital in a foreign country and requesting money for bail or emergency medical treatment.”
This potential victim did the right thing before sending the money and tried contacting his grandson to confirm the story, but was unable to do so.
Cipolla said he also went online to check on the attorney and found one whose name matched that given to him by the caller.
That was apparently the detail that led to his being duped. “Thinking this was legitimate,” Cipolla said, “the victim placed the money into a bank account given to him by the caller. Once this transaction took place, the scammer called the victim again and told him there was a law enforcement officer involved in the alleged accident with his grandson and the officer had died from his injuries. The caller now told the victim to deposit $50,000 to another bank account to keep his grandson out of trouble.”
After that transfer, the victim’s grandson called and said there was no accident. That’s when the Sheriff’s Department was called in.
“Det. Marquez was able to trace the bank accounts to Las Vegas and Texas,” Cipolla said. “With the evidence he had collected, he was able to convince the banks to place a hold on the deposited money and as a result was able to return all $55,000 to the victim.”
While this man was lucky, many, mostly elderly folks, who fall for this scam never see their money again. Cipolla gave some tips to avoid being victimized by such scams.
“Verify the caller’s identity by contacting your grandchild or another family member to determine whether or not the call is legitimate,” Cipolla said. “Be suspicious if you’re told not to contact law enforcement. Resist the pressure to act quickly. Never wire money based on a request made over the phone or in an email. Wiring money is like giving cash, once you send it, you cannot get it back.”
For more tips on avoiding scams contact the Sheriff’s Crime Prevention Unit at (805) 781-4578.
