Elderly Resident Scammed Out of $4,400

Identity Theft Reported

A resident from the 100 block of Ann Street reported at 8:34 a.m. a fraudulent charge of $543.64 on his credit card account, police said. 

He needed to file the police report in order to have the charge removed by the credit card company.

SUNDAY, DEC. 22

Mexico Phone Scam Costs Resident Big

A 77-year-old resident from the 200 block of North Richmond Avenue reported at 1:31 p.m. that they had been the victim of a phone scam that resulted in the fraudulent wiring of $4,400 to unknown scammers in Mexico, police said.

According to police reports, the resident received a call on Dec. 19 from a male who posed as the resident's grandson and said he been jailed in Mexico and needed $1,600 for bail. The victim wired the money to Cancun through Western Union. 

On Dec. 20, the same male called, still posing as the resident's grandson, and said that he had missed his flight and needed $1,000 for a new one. Again, the money was wired. 

The final call came on Dec. 21, when the caller posing as the grandson said he had lost his passport and needed $1,800 for a new one. The victim wired the money once gain, but began to think it could be a scam. 

The child of the victim, who was the parent of the grandson the caller had been posing as, later told the victim that the grandson had been working 10-hour days and not been in Mexico, prompting the victim to call police and report the scam. 

The wired money had been picked up by men who police assume were using phony names. 

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