A woman has filed a report with the Boardman Police Department claiming her 85-year-old victim fell victim to what’s become a common scam targeting people with loved ones.

The police report says the alleged victim got a call from someone purporting to be the man’s grandson.

"Gramps, I'm in trouble. I was riding with a buddy who went through a red light and got picked up. The police searched the car and found some dope that wasn't mine and I got arrested and need money to get out of jail,” the caller told the victim.

A second person who claimed he was an attorney got on the phone and told the victim to send him $9,500 “to make everything go away quickly.”  The caller also told the grandfather not to tell anyone else because it would get on social media and ruin his grandson’s reputation.

The grandfather withdrew the money from his bank, put the cash in a box, and took it to UPS to be shipped to the Stamford, Connecticut address given to him by the “attorney”.

When the victim’s daughter found out, she called UPS hoping to stop the cash shipment before it got to its destination. The report doesn’t say if she succeeded in stopping the delivery.

The woman told police she called her 25-year-old son who is away at school.  He said he hadn’t been arrested and was fine.

In November, the FBI issued a warning about scammers targeting senior citizen victims in grandparent scams and demanding funds by wire, mail, or couriers.

How it works:

A scammer calls a senior citizen victim and poses as the victim's grandchild, who is purportedly in jail after causing an automobile accident. In some cases, the accident involves a diplomat or a pregnant woman.

Another scammer contacts the victim, posing as the grandchild's attorney, and requests payment for legal fees, bond money, or medical expenses for a purportedly injured person involved in the accident.

Scammers instruct victims to maintain secrecy, sometimes referring to a judge-imposed gag order, which, if broken, will result in the grandchild going to jail or incurring more fines. Scammers may also request additional money because of a serious injury or a fatality resulting from the purported accident.

Victims are instructed to send funds via wire transfer; cash, packaged in magazines or books, and sent through the US mail; or to provide the money to witting or unwitting couriers, such as rideshare drivers, who retrieve the money in person at the victim's residence.

From January through September 2023, the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center received more than 195 victim complaints regarding grandparent scams, resulting in at least $1.9 million in victim losses.

How to protect yourself:

Do not answer telephone calls from telephone numbers you do not recognize.

If you receive an unsolicited or suspicious call from someone claiming to be a family member and urgently requesting money, hang up. Verify the story with your family members by calling them directly. If you cannot reach them, call someone else in your family, even if scammers told you to keep it secret.

Limit the personally identifiable information you post on social media and dating websites. Scammers may use this information to create a convincing story.

If an unknown individual contacts you online or telephonically, do not release financial or personally identifiable information and do not send money.

The FBI requests victims report these fraudulent or suspicious activities to the FBI IC3 at www.ic3.gov.