81-Year-Old Woman Too Smart for 'Grandson In Distress' Phone Scam

An 81-year-old woman did everything right when she received a call from her “grandson” asking her to wire him money.

Downers Grove police said the woman received a phone call at home around 11 a.m. on Sept. 2. The caller, posing as her grandson, said he’d been involved in a DUI accident and asked the woman to please send $4,500 in bail money.

The “grandson” then turned the phone over to his “attorney,” who instructed the woman to go to the nearest CVS Pharmacy or Dollar Tree store and purchase pre-paid Green Dot Money Pack Cards.

When the woman told the attorney she could not do that amount, the attorney suggested the amount of $2,500, but that was as low as he could go to get her grandson out of jail.

The woman immediately called some family members for assistance, suspecting the call was a scam.

Her daughter contacted Chicago police, who advised the daughter that it was a con and to report the call to Downers Grove police.

The woman did not complete the transaction but reported the call to police. The incoming call came from a 403-area code in the Canadian province of Alberta.

The officer tried to call the number back but not get through.