Sleazy Phone Scam Targets Palos Park Senior Citizen

PALOS PARK, IL -- Family members stopped an elderly woman from forwarding thousands of dollars after being contacted by scammers informing that her social security number was being used to sell copious amounts of drugs. It’s the latest scam targeting seniors, Palos Park police said.

The woman was called on her home phone Oct. 6, in which the caller told her that her social security number was being used “to sell a large amount of drugs.” The scammer told the woman that “this needed to be cleared up.” She was instructed to empty her bank account and send the scammers money to take care of the problem. (SUBSCRIBE: Get Real-Time Alerts and a Daily Newsletter for Palos.)

Police said the woman provided her cell phone number. While driving to the bank to withdraw $15,000 from her account, she was in constant communication with the scammer on her cell phone. The scammer guided her through the process so she could get the money to the right people to rectify “this problem with your social security number.”

The woman did go to her bank to withdraw the funds. Luckily, she became suspicious and called her family before wiring the $15,000. She was able to abort contact with the scammers. The incident is under investigation.

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