Phone Scam Targets Florham Park Grandparents

FLORHAM PARK, NJ— A recent scam has targeted a Florham Park grandmother, and police want to make sure others know the warning signs.

A township grandmother received a call on Jan. 26 that her grandson had been arrested in Massachusetts and needed $7,000 for bail. She was told to make three wire transfers from three separate locations to ensure his release.

Only after writing the money did the woman learn that her grandson had not been arrested, and that she had just been scammed.

"This incident is a typical grandparent scam in which a con artist calls or emails the victim posing as a relative in distress or someone claiming to represent the relative, such as a lawyer or law enforcement agent," Detective Sergeant Scott Bartell said. "The 'relative' of the grandparent explains he or she is in trouble and needs their grandparent to wire them funds that will be used for bail money, lawyer’s fees, hospital bills, or another fictitious expense."

Often times, the scammer will tell the victim to keep quiet about the payment, to avoid getting the grandchild in trouble with their parents for the fake crime.

Once money is wired it cannot be retrieved again, making this scam a hard one to recover from.

Residents can protect themselves by using extreme caution before wiring money. If someone asks you, over the phone, to wire money, pay with gift cards or prepaid debit cards, it should raise a red flag.

This current incident is still under investigation. Anyone with information is asked to call Detective Sergeant Scott Bartell of the Florham Park Police Department at (973) 410-5441 or Morris County Crime Stoppers at 973-COP-CALL.

Image via Connie Ma, Flickr