Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Caller Posing As Grandson Tries To Dupe Grandmother Out Of $3K
Law enforcement officials are working to identify the individual who posed as the grandson of a local resident, then attempted to dupe her out of $3,000.
The victim, age 76, reported the matter to Lawrence County Sheriff’s Deputies on Friday. She said that she had received a call from a blocked number around 11:30 a.m. from a male caller who claimed to be her grandson.
The caller identified himself as “Michael” and told the victim that he had been involved in a crash and broken his nose. He said that police officers took him to jail and that he needed $3,000 before going to court in two hours, or else he was going to jail.
The victim told deputies that she does have a grandson named Michael, but that he is only fifteen years old. She said that she told the caller she could get in touch with someone to get him the money, but that it “would take a bit.”
The caller than asked for the number of the person from whom she planned to get the money so that he “could have his public defender call and get it.” He told her that his insurance would repay her in forty-eight hours.
The victim reported that she contacted family members and learned that the caller was not her grandson. Her daughter urged her to file a police report.
The incident is under continued investigation by detectives with the department’s Criminal Investigation Division.
