Scammers Steals $5,000 From Elderly Hingham Woman

HINGHAM, MA — A 77-year-old Hingham woman was scammed out of $5,000 by three unknown caller, posing as a family member, a police officer, and a defense attorney, according to police. The woman reported the scam last Friday. She told police she received a call from a man claiming he was from the Miami Police Department and that her son had been arrested.

The scammer told the woman her son was being charged with drunken driving after crashing his car, police said. He said her son may sound different because he broke his nose in the crash. Police said another main got on the phone, claiming to be her son and told the woman he crashed his car after drinking too much at a wedding. Then another man, posing as her son's attorney, picked up the phone and told the woman she needed to give him $5,000 worth of Home Depot gift cards in order to get her son out of jail, police said.

The woman went to her bank and withdrew the cash. She then purchased $5,000 worth of gift cards. Police said the Home Depot cashier asked her if she was being scammed. The cashier explained that scammers will often target elderly people by telling them a relative has been arrested to get money. Police said the woman was aware of these types of scams, but continued to purchase the gift cards.

Police said the woman brought the gift cards home and called the scammers back. She relayed all the gift cards numbers over the phone. The callers told the woman to destroy the cards, which made her suspicious, so she called her son, police said. After talking with her son, the woman learned he wasn't in Florida and realized she was scammed.

A Hingham officer called the phone number, and a man answered saying, "Miami Police Department," police said. Police asked for the "attorney," and when he picked up the phone, the officer identified himself as a police officer from Massachusetts and explained that an elderly woman was scammed. Police said the man admitted the gift cards had already been used and he would not call the woman again.

Police said the caller identification was from Vancouver, Canada, but scammers can easily alter names and locations to anything.