Elderly Jackson Man Scammed Out of $12,000

Last a Thursday evening a woman called the 75-year-old man and claimed to be his daughter-in-law. She told him she’d been in an accident.  According to her story, she was on her phone at the time of the accident, so she’d been arrested.  Then she told the man she was only allowed one phone call and put a man she claimed was her attorney “Walter Dent” on the phone.

“Walter Dent” told the victim he could get the judge to issue a gag order to keep the daughter-in-law’s mugshot offline,  but that the victim needed to pay $12,000 to bond her out first. The fake attorney claimed a municipal court employee would stop by his house in a U-Haul vehicle to pick up the money in order to conceal their identity.  The victim spoke to the fake attorney three more times about the incident. A man in his 20’s showed up around 4:30 pm to collect the money.

The fake court employee was a white, 5′ 10″ and wore a mask. The victim said he only said a couple of words to him.

This kind of scam is so common, it has a name: the Grandparent Scam.

 Scammers target people with phone calls, emails, or Facebook messages saying that a loved one is in trouble. Sometimes they say the loved one is in jail and needs money for bail or an attorney.  Other times, they’ll claim the loved one is injured and needs money for medical treatment or an ambulance trip home.

Most often, they say the victim is a grandchild. It’s part of a process to make sure that the victim is elderly and more vulnerable. In this case, the scammers used a daughter-in-law but it’s the same principle.

One thing these scammers have in common is that you are never allowed to speak to your alleged loved one for long or ask any questions. Sometimes the victim only gets to hear “Grandma!” on the other in.  Then the victim will say, “Is that you Billy?” and give the scammer a name to use.

In this case, the crook came to the house. That’s unusual. Most of these scams happen entirely over the phone or the Internet. Crooks often ask callers to pay with gift cards or wire transfers.

Don’t Give Them Money

Sheriff Frazier said the case is under investigation. Anyone with information should call the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office at 740-286-6464.

The sheriff reminded everyone that, “Court officials nor law enforcement officers will come to your home requesting bail money for someone incarcerated. This is a scam. Do not give them money.”

If someone calls you claiming a loved one has been arrested or is in the hospital. Ask for the name of the arresting agency or hospital. Look the place up yourself and call them to verify the information.  Never give out the name of the loved one. Always try to get in touch with the person they claim is in trouble.

And never, ever pay bail money, attorney fees, or medical bills with gift cards or wire transfers.