A woman lost $11,000 in a scam when a caller claimed her grandson, son and his wife all had been arrested in Florida.
The woman got a call from a man claiming to be with the Miami Police Department. The man put another person on the phone, who claimed to be the woman’s grandson, according to the report from the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office.
The man who claimed to be an officer told the woman her grandson and his parents had all been arrested with marijuana in the vehicle in Miami. He then told her she needed to get $4,000 in gift cards to pay their bonds. She did and called the man back with the gift card information. The man then told her she needed another $3,000 in gift cards for lawyer fees. The woman returned to the store and bought another gift card, the report said.
The next day, the man called her again and said they had found a gun inside the vehicle and she needed to pay another $4,000. The woman returned to the store and bought another gift card and gave the man the information, the report said.
He then told her she needed to pay another $3,000 for lawyer fees. The woman went to her bank to get the money, where staff began questioning her about why she needed the money.
Bank employees called the woman’s son and had him come to the bank and explained the woman had been scammed, the report said.
The woman and her son reported the scam to the sheriff’s office. And while there, the woman got another call from the scammers. The deputy answered, and the caller didn’t call back, the report said. The deputy also suggested the woman change her phone numbers, the report said.
