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WATERVILLE -- Police are investigating scams against elderly
women in which people posing as the women's grandchildren
call and convince them to send money.
In two recent cases, an 89-year-old Winslow woman sent $1,600
to someone she thought was her granddaughter, and a Waterville
woman, 86, wired her supposed grandson $5,740, according
to police.
The women are out the money and police say identifying the
culprits will be difficult. "It's extremely unfortunate
when elderly members of the community are targeted to be
the victims of these types of crimes," deputy police Chief
Charles Rumsey said Wednesday. "We would just urge everyone
to be as cautious as possible and if they get a phone call
like this, ask for a call-back number. Hang up the phone."
Detective David Caron said the Winslow woman on Nov. 12
was told by a girl posing as her granddaughter that she
had been in an accident and needed $2,300 wired to her in
Manchester, N.H.
The woman told the girl she did not have $2,300 but would
send what she could.
"She was able to get $1,600," Caron said. "She went to Wal-Mart
and sent the money by MoneyGram. She sent $1,600 down to
a person she believed was her granddaughter. The person
called back and asked for the reference number, which she
told her. With the reference number, she was able to pick
up the $1,600. She was also told to not tell anyone and
keep it a secret, so she did -- for about a month."
When the woman eventually spoke to her real granddaughter
on Sunday and asked when she would get the money back, the
granddaughter told her she had no idea what she was talking
about, Caron said.
Officer Steve Brame got in touch with MoneyGram Corp. and
learned that the money was picked up at an unknown MoneyGram
location in Brooklyn, N.Y., Caron said. He said that having
a reference number allows someone to pick up the money at
any MoneyGram station.
Caron said police will try their best to find out who scammed
the Winslow woman, but the prospect does not look good.
"The chances of getting that money back are going to be
slim to none at this point," he said.
The case involving the 86-year-old Waterville woman was
very similar.
Officer Jennifer Brickey said the woman got a call Monday
from a boy she thought was her grandson, and he said he
had been in an accident and needed money to get his vehicle
fixed. He asked her to wire $5,740 to him in Niagara Falls,
Canada, which she did, Brickey said.
When the woman got another phone call from the boy saying
he needed another $6,000, she became suspicious, Brickey
said.
She tried to reach her grandson and learned he had not traveled
or been out of the state.
"That's when she called the police department," Brickey
said.
She said the caller knew the woman's grandson's name, and
called her "Grammie," the name her real grandson calls her.
In the case involving the Winslow woman, the girl claiming
to be her granddaughter knew to call her "Meme," which is
the name her real granddaughter uses, Caron said.
Rumsey said police are investigating to see if the two cases
are related.
"It's difficult when it's a phone call from someone claiming
to be someone else and the money is transferred out of the
state," he said.
Rumsey said this particular scam has not been used before
with people in Waterville. However, Caron, the Police Department's
officer for elder services, said it is a growing trend across
the country.
"They specifically target the elderly and say they are a
relative and unfortunately, without asking too many more
questions, they just hand over the money and later they
realize they've been duped," he said. Rumsey said that those
being scammed are good people inclined to rush out to help
someone they think is a youth in crisis. |
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