The "Grandparent Scam" is known nationwide, and at least five cases have been reported recently in Guilford County.
According to Detective Craig Cotten of the Guilford County Sheriff’s Office, the scam begins with a phone call to an older person. The scammer says "Grandmother?" or "Grandfather?", baiting the grandparent to say the name of a grandchild. The scammer responds with "yes, it's me," and claims to need money because of an arrest.
Cotten said another person posing as a judge or other official calls back and tells the grandparent where to wire the money. He said Guilford County residents have sent money to Lebanon, Peru and Mexico.
Some of the victims have paid anywhere from $3,000 to $9,000. Once the money leaves this country, U.S. law enforcement has no jurisdiction and it’s hard to track.
The initial callers also beg the grandparent not to tell mom or dad or anyone else about the trouble they’re in. Cotten said the culprits often get the victim’s contact information and location from mailing lists and Google Maps. He said word of mouth is the best way to prevent the scam.
“In retrospect, the victims feel that they completely missed the boat on this and should have caught on. Little things like he usually calls me Mama instead of grandmother. So they are extremely embarrassed by it and don’t want to tell anybody,” said Cotten. "There’s got to be many more that people are just too embarrassed to come forward and report. We are warning young people about it so they can tell their grandparents about it - and we are warning grandparents, so they can tell their peers about it."
Det. Cotten said the "Medical Emergency Scam" is also being used and uses a similar situation.
He advises that taking an extra 15 minutes to make some calls and find out where the grandchild really is could go a long way in preventing the scam. Anyone who has been a victim or thinks a scam is taking place should contact the local police department.
