The latest Okaloosa County victim of the so-called “Grandparent Scam” is an 83-year old Destin woman who was conned out of nearly $1000.
The senior citizen got a phone call on the morning of April 13th from an individual claiming to be her grandson, and saying he had been arrested in Greece and needed $900 to be released to fly home.
A second person got on the phone saying he was “Officer James”. He instructed the woman to go to the Western Union and wire the money and then call 1-514-431-4485 for the American Embassy in Greece. (That phone number comes back to a cell phone out of Montreal Canada.)
The grandmother tried to contact her grandson in Orlando to see if he had been released and he informed her he had not been to Greece, nor arrested. She went back to Western Union to try to retrieve her money but it had already been picked up on the other end.
In February, a 77-year old Mary Esther resident lost $2500 in a similar scam.
This “family member in distress” scam or similar variations routinely resurface and the OCSO has had other
reports of recent attempts.
Please share this information and the following tips with senior citizens, who are most often the targets of these con
artists:
*Ask a question only your grandchild or family member would know.
*Resist pressure to act quickly until you can verify the legitimacy.
*Never wire money based on requests made over a phone or email, especially overseas. Once you send it, you can’t get it back.
