FRANKFORT, Ky. – (CLARKSVILLENOW) – Three grandparents were robbed of nearly $18,000 recently after falling victim to a “grandparent scam,” according to Kentucky Attorney General Andy Beshear, who issued a scam alert today.
The victims say they received a phone call from someone claiming to be their grandchild who is in an out-of-state jail and injured after driving under the influence and wrecking. A second scammer joins the call pretending to be an attorney or law enforcement officer who confirms the story and requests the grandparent immediately wire money or send cash to pay the bail bond.
Beshear said the fake grandchild then pleads with the grandparent to not tell his or her parents or anyone else.
“Threatening and stealing from grandparents by exploiting the love they have for their grandchildren is a despicable crime,” said Beshear. “Sadly, the grandparent scam is a favorite among con artists and by simply taking time to talk with our grandparents about this scam, we can all play a part in stopping it.”
Beshear recommends sharing the following tips with grandparents to help them detect and avoid falling victim to the scam:
- Never trust anyone who randomly calls and asks you to send money via wire transfer, gift cards, cash, or other hard-to-trace methods of payment.
- Ask the caller questions that only the real grandchild could answer correctly.
- Ask the caller to confirm what state and county jail they are being held and independently contact the jail to confirm.
- Try to call the real grandchild to verify, or call a related family member at a known phone number to confirm the grandchild is traveling.
Staff in Beshear’s Office of Senior Protection and Mediation, which is working to review the reports and assist each victim, said two of the scam reports originated from the same Pennsylvania phone number.
Beshear asked anyone with information on the grandparent scam to report it to the Attorney General’s Consumer Protection hotline at (888) 432-9257 and complete an online report.