New Scam Targets Grandparents

Boca Raton- A major scam warning for grand parents: con-artists from Canada are pretending to be their grand children and are scamming them of their hard-earned retirement dollars. That's what happened to 84 year old Evelyn Saunders of the Boca Raton Century Village.The person on the other line claimed he was her grandson David and he sounded like him too. He claimed he had been in an accident in Canada: "he said to me 'I don't have Canadian Insurance so they locked me up and can't let me out unless I give them $4,500 cash and then I asked my husband and said 'what do you think?' and he said 'if our grandson is in trouble we have to help him'".

The request was simple: wire $4,500 via Moneygram to Niagara Falls, Canada and he would be let out of the clink. One hour later..."I called my grandson and he was like.. what money?" At that instant she realized she had been scammed. "It's just terrible, I've been very upset about it," she said.

Florida's Attorney General says Florida grandparent's emotions and money are being preyed upon by a ring of Canadian con-artists who call up unsuspecting seniors and pretend to be their grand kids that have suddenly been in an accident or arrested in Canada.Any request to wire money via Moneygram or Western Union should be a red flag. In Evelyn's case she had to dip into her credit card to get a cash advance, money she has to pay and didn't even have to begin with. "All i can say is people, when you get a phone call think it out because you will loose everything you have," she said.

The Better Business Bureau says if you receive a call from someone claiming to be your grandchild in need of help, you should ask for a number and call them back or confirm their status with another family member before you send any money.