Seekonk police warn elderly of scammers pretending to be grandchildren

"Think before you act," Isabella urged residents. "You can save yourself  a lot of heartache and a lot of money."

SEEKONK, Mass. (WLNE)- Police in Seekonk are warning the elderly of phone scammers pretending to be their grandchildren, calling it the ‘grandparent bail scam.’

The department says there has been a large uptick in scam calls claiming to be grandchildren who have been involved in serious accidents, arrested, and need money for bail or help.

“Usually, there’s pressure for them to come up with money fairly quickly, and get it to them in one way shape or form,” Seekonk Police Chief Dean Isabella told ABC6. “Would never happen if it’s legit.”

“We’ve had people who have had tens of thousands of dollars taken from them on scams like this.”

The scammers tell the elderly victim how much money is needed for bail and set up a way for the money to be transferred in one of the following ways:

• Money is collected in person from victims by a courier – often times a receipt is provided
• Money is sent by the victim mainly through UPS and FedEx
• Money is sent by the victim through wire transfer

Seekonk police say many times the scammer will ask the victim to buy gift cards or debit cards, and read them the information over the phone. The department tells ABC6 no government agency such as a police department, the IRS, will ever ask anyone for a payment transaction over the phone.

“Whenever anybody is demanding money from you over the phone, that should be a huge red flag,” said Isabella.

The department is advising residents not to send any money to callers and to report any scam call to the police.

“Think before you act,” Isabella urged residents. “You can save yourself  a lot of heartache and a lot of money.”