LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The Lake County Sheriff’s Office is warning county residents to be on their guard against a scam that targets senior citizens.

Capt. James Bauman said the agency has received reports of a fraud scheme in which elderly victims are getting phone calls from suspects impersonating relatives who have supposedly been arrested outside of the country.

Perpetrators are asking for money to either bail them out of jail or to pay fines, he said. The recent reports appear to be very similar to a trend seen in early 2009, in which elderly victims were sending money to persons they thought were grandchildren in need.

An elderly Lakeport couple has reported getting a call from someone claiming to be a friend of their grandson. Bauman said the scammer told them their grandson had been arrested in Canada and needed money.

Unfortunately in this case, the couple did in fact wire several hundred dollars to a specified address. Shortly after wiring the money, they called the father of their grandson and learned the grandson had not been in Canada at all and was home safe in Southern California, Bauman said.

An elderly Kelseyville woman also reported getting a call from someone claiming to be her grandson, Bauman said. The man claimed to have been arrested in Canada for DUI. The suspect talked the woman into wiring $2,800.00 via Western Union to Madrid, Spain, so he could pay his fines.

After returning home from wiring the $2,800, the woman got another call from the suspect asking for another $2,500 for attorney fees. Bauman said the woman again wired money to Spain and after sending the $2,500, she was called a third time asking for another $2,000. This time the woman refused and later contacted her son and found out her grandson had been in Redding the whole time.

In another case, an elderly Upper Lake woman received a call that her grandson was being held in jail in Madrid, Spain, Bauman said. She was told she needed to wire $2,000 to get her grandson out.

Fortunately in this case, the woman called her daughter who lived out of state as she was leaving to wire the money. Her daughter called the sheriff’s office who intervened before the $2,000 was sent to the suspect, Bauman said.

Bauman said those were some examples of cases reported to the sheriff’s office.

He said there is no telling how many others have gone unreported. The suspects in these cases usually have detailed information about the actual grandchild who is supposedly in trouble. They are often able to convince the victims they are in fact their grandchild.

 

 

There isn’t nearly as much advice on preventing fraud and scams as there are ways to be defrauded, he said.

However, aside from protecting one’s personal information, Bauman said members of the public are encouraged to always carefully scrutinize unsolicited request of any kind before acting on them.

Additionally, phone calls from supposed relatives asking for money in this manner should always be verified by contacting relatives or the Lake County Sheriff’s Office before sending any money, he said.

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