Grandparents Nearly Scammed Out Of Thousands: West Hartford PD

WEST HARTFORD, CT — West Hartford Police are warning residents of a “kidnapped grandchild” scam in which a resident was nearly scammed out of $3,000 on Sunday. Police said $700 was lost to perpetrators but officers were able to intervene before more money was sent. Police received a complaint from a resident at about 12:40 p.m. on Sept. 23 that their spouse left their home to pay people he believed had kidnapped his grandson.

The residents had received a call on their cellphone about an hour earlier that led them to believe that their grandson had been abducted, harmed and was being held for ransom and the man left to follow the instructions of the “kidnappers,” according to police. To sign up for West Hartford breaking news alerts and more, click here.

“The instructions led the victim to different stores to send money they believed was going to secure the release of their grandson,” police wrote in a news release. “It wasn't until approximately 1 hour into the call that police were notified. While the incident was actively occurring, police officers scoured multiple areas looking for the victim in this incident, before ultimately locating the victim in a shopping area parking lot.

“Prior to being located by police officers, the victim had sent the alleged kidnappers a few thousand dollars via electronic services (MoneyGram, RIA Financial Services, and Western Union). Fortunately, the timely intervention of responding officers allowed the victim time to cancel two of the transactions before they could be completed. In total, only one transaction for approximately $700 was lost to the perpetrators.”

Police are continuing to investigate the incident and preliminary efforts to identify the suspects have been unsuccessful.

“The public should be skeptical of calls claiming that relatives are kidnapped and/or have been arrested in a remote state/country,” police said. “Such scams are not uncommon, and often times the victims themselves provide the perpetrators with enough information to make the threats seem legitimate. If possible, call/text the relatives in question to determine if the threats are at all credible. If similar calls are received, do not mention the names/genders/ages or other descriptive qualities of the relatives in question.”

Anyone who may have been victim of a similar scam is asked to contact the West Hartford Police Department at (860) 523-5203.

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