Attempted Theft by Deception / Impersonating a Peace Officer

DATE & TIME: 02-01-2017 / 1137 

LOCATION: Rural Wymore, Nebraska          

OFFENSE: Attempted Theft by Deception; Impersonating a Peace Officer

CASE #: 2017-0611

A resident from rural Wymore, Nebraska called the Gage County Sheriff’s Office on 02-01-2017 to report they had received a telephone call from the phone number 604-655-0317 and the person calling initially stated they were their grandchild.  The resident became suspicious because the voice did not sound like their grandchild’s voice and when they questioned the caller, another male came on the line and stated he was an officer with the Beatrice Police Department, and he needed information from the grandparents because their grandchild had been involved in a traffic accident between Beatrice and Lincoln.

The resident was immediately suspicious because he was aware the Gage County Sheriff’s Office would handle accident reports outside the city limits of Beatrice, so he disconnected the telephone conversation.  The resident then called the Gage County Sheriff’s Office and spoke with an investigator to see if he was correct in assuming someone had attempted the “Grandma/Grandpa” scam on them.  This type of call is an attempt to elicit personal and financial information and funds from the people who answer the call.  The initial caller usually says, “Grandma” or “Grandpa”, depending on who answers the phone, and the victim, believing it is a relative, will respond with the name of a grandchild, and the scammer then says “Yes” and an attempt to defraud the grandparents begins.

The Gage County Sheriff’s Office encourages residents to not answer telephone calls from numbers they do not recognize and to not give out personal or financial information over the phone to unknown persons.  Anyone who receives a suspicious telephone call should not give out any information, hang up, and call the Gage County Sheriff’s Office or their local police department. 

Anyone who receives this type of scam call, can contact the Gage County Sheriff’s Office investigations unit at 402-223-5222 extension 224.  Further information and assistance can be obtained by visiting the Gage County Sheriff’s Office website at http://www.gagecountysheriff.us/index.jsp and clicking on the “Public Awareness” section.

Sheriff Millard “Gus” Gustafson #903

Investigator T. Hanson #90310