Lincoln County sheriffs investigators say they’re getting several calls a week about con-artists targeting the elderly with ‘the grandparents scam.’ It’s where a caller claims that the would-be victim’s grandchild is in jail and needs bail money.
W-S-A-W NewsChannel 7 is reporting one case where the con-artist put a younger female on the phone, posing as the actual grandchild. The victim couldn’t tell the difference, and was prepared to wire almost 900-dollars to Canada. She went to a payday loan store, when the manager told her it was probably a scam and called police.
Law enforcement says con artists have more information than ever before about who to target because of information on Facebook and MySpace. Information from the grandchild’s social media sites can make the con-artists phone calls seem more convincing.
Steve
