An incident of fraud in which a citizen was conned out of a large sum of money by someone purporting to be her grandchild, is under investigation by the Waynesboro Police Department. This is a common type of fraud committed against senior citizens and has been dubbed the “Grandparent Scam” by the FBI. The Police Department is urging citizens to be aware of this scam and to report it to local law enforcement agencies should you feel you have been victimized.
In the Waynesboro incident, which happened June 19 and 20, a grandmother was contacted by phone by someone claiming to be her grandson. The caller indicated that he was in Spain and had been in a traffic crash involving his rental car and needed money wired to him to cover the damages to the vehicles. The victim stated that her grandson is currently serving in the United States military and did not dispute the identity of the caller as her grandson. She reported the caller even sounded like her grandson. By the time she had realized the claim was false, the victim had wired more than $5,200 to her “grandson.”
A phone calls from bogus family members is the most believeable form of this con, but perpertrators also use email, social media or other forms of communication to swindle victims. Perpertrators have also notified prospective victims identifying themselves as arresting officers, physicians, attorneys, doctors or other person representing their family member.