GRANDMA AND GRANDPA:BEWARE OF TELEPHONE SCAM ARTISTS!
From the Office of Sheriff Greg Munks

Redwood City, CA – October, 2011 – During the past two months the Sheriff's Office has received several reports of telephone scam artists who pretend to be a family member in trouble and asking for money to be transferred to them via Western Union.

In one case the scammer pretended to be the victim's grandson and told the victim that he was in Italy, he had been in a car accident, his nose was broken and he had two black eyes. He cautioned the victim not to contact his mother because she would be upset and he would tell her about the incident when he got home. The victim made a total of 8 wire transfers to what he believed to be Italy and Spain totaling over $20,000.00. After making the wire transfers the victim finally did contact his daughter and he was told that his grandson was never involved in an accident nor was he out of the country.

In another case the suspect again posed as the victim's grandson, said he was involved in an accident in Spain and he had a broken nose and arm. He asked his grandmother to wire him $2,300 so he could get out of the country. Grandma called her son and found out that her grandson was attending college in Sacramento.

In all of the reported cases the suspect is posing as a grandson who is saying he is out of the country, is injured and is requesting money. One of the scam artists persuaded the victim not to contact other family members to verify the suspect's story.

The Sheriff's Office wants to remind you that wire transfers are like bank accounts; they can be accessed anywhere. Just because the suspect says he is in Florence, Italy doesn't mean he cannot access the money from Redwood City, San Francisco or any other place in the world.

To prevent scam artists from taking advantage of your willingness to help a family member in distress always confirm everything about the story with family members and report the crime to your local law enforcement agency.

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