Grandma/Grandpa Scam

DATE & TIME: 09-06-2017

LOCATION: Beatrice, Nebraska

OFFENSE: Grandma/Grandpa Scam

CASE #: 2017-5002

A Beatrice resident called the Gage County Sheriff’s Office and informed an investigator that she had received a telephone call at about 12:45 pm from someone claiming to be her grandson. She states he said he was in a car accident and was now in jail and he needed $2,000.00 to get out of jail.  She was initially upset, however she told him to call back and after discussing the matter with her husband, they called their grandson who told them he was not injured, not in jail, and had not called them asking for money.

When the scammer called back the Beatrice residents did not provide him with any money, personal, confidential, or financial information and they did not suffer any monetary loss. The husband told the investigator he wanted law enforcement to be aware of the scam and that the suspects were back to trying to scam people out of money.  He told the investigator he had also notified the Beatrice Police Department of the scam.

The Gage County Sheriff’s Office urges people to use caution and discretion when dealing with financial matters over the telephone. This type of call, “The Grandma/Grandpa Scam”, involves a phone call, usually to a landline, with the caller asking, depending on the gender of the person who answers, “Grandma” (or “Grandpa”).  The victim usually says the name of one of their grandchildren and the caller answers “Yes”, and he now has the name of the grandchild.  The caller then goes into some type of story where they are in trouble, but it is not their fault and they need “X” amount of dollars, usually in the range of several hundred or several thousand.  They will then give the grandparent instructions on how to “bail them out”.

Do not fall prey to this type of scam. Hang up, call the grandchild in question at a phone number you know they have, such as their cell phone to verify they are not in trouble.  If you cannot verify it with the relative in question, call your local police department or call the Gage County Sheriff’s Office and ask to speak with an investigator.  Do not act impulsively, use caution, and verify with whom you are speaking.

Sheriff Millard “Gus” Gustafson #903

Investigator T. Hanson #90310