Elderly Stillwater Couple Scammed Out of $5K by Mexico City Fraudster

An elderly couple was scammed out of $5,000 this week after a fraudster scared them into thinking their grandson was incarcerated in a Mexico City jail.

The Stillwater couple, ages 82 and 83, received a phone call on just before 10 a.m. Wednesday saying their 23-year-old grandson was in a Mexico City jail and needed $5,000 for bail. They quickly reacted—fearing for his safety—and wired $5,000 to Mexico City.

According to the police report:

The incoming phone call asking for funds was blocked, and the person on the other end of the line sounded American. That person reportedly identified himself as “Sgt. Sam Roberts” from the U.S. Embassy and told the couple that “time was of the essence” and they needed to wire $5,000 via money gram immediately.

The couple told police they panicked and immediately went to their bank, withdrew $5,000 and then went across the street to Wal-Mart where they wired the cash to Mexico City.

After sending the money, the fraudster allegedly contacted the couple again, and said they needed to send another $2,500 to donate to “the charity.”

The couple, in fear for their grandson’s safety, went to the bank and withdrew another $2,500 from their account.

During that transaction, the teller asked what the money was for, and the couple gave a vague description of the happenings. The teller became concerned that it was a scam, notified his manager and called police to file a report.

When police arrived, the couple told the officers they had not yet sent the $2,500. The officer told the couple to call their grandson immediately to verify that he was OK. Their grandson told them he was in Wisconsin and had no idea what “Roberts” was talking about.

Police then explained identity fraud to the couple and told them to closely monitor their credit and bank account information to make sure additional funds aren’t stolen.

The officer told the couple this type of scam is difficult to investigate—or recover the lost funds—but a police report would be filed.

A list of common identity theft scams can be found here on the FBI’s website.