Alert Best Buy Employee Saves Elderly Man from 'Grandparent' Phone Scam

PALOS PARK, IL -- An alert Best Buy employee stopped an elderly man who was about to send $4,000 worth of gift cards to a fake lawyer as part of a grandparent scam, Palos Park police said.

The 87-year-old resident was contacted several times Wednesday evening by a “lawyer” from Virginia named “Ben.” Ben told the senior his son was involved in an accident in Virginia, in which he was at fault. The senior was told his son had received several tickets.

The lawyer wanted to settle the matter out of court. He instructed the senior to go to Best Buy and buy $4,000 in gift cards. The lawyer didn’t want a wire transfer or money order, but told the elderly man to buy two Best Buy gift cards in increments of $2,000 each.

The senior was about to buy the cards and share the code numbers with the lawyer, when an alert Orland Park Best Buy employee noticed and warned the man of the scam. He urged the senior to call his son. When it turned out he had not been in an accident in Virginia, the senior realized it was a scam.