Springfield police warn of telephone scammers preying on the elderly

Published: Wednesday, August 18, 2010, 4:56 PM    

Updated: Wednesday, August 18, 2010, 5:26 PM

SPRINGFIELD – Police are warning people to be aware of a telephone scam after an 85-year-old city woman on Monday was duped out of $3,000 that she thought she had wired to Colorado to bail her grandson out of jail, police said.

Her grandson had not been arrested and the money had been transferred by Western Union not to Colorado but to a location in Spain, said Sgt. John M. Delaney, aide to Police Commissioner William J. Fitchet.

It was the third such report made to police in the last two weeks, although the other two were stopped before the money was actually transferred, he said.

The woman, whose name was not released, told police she received a call from someone claiming to be her grandson. He said he was in trouble in Colorado and needed $3,000 right away to get out of jail. Delaney said the caller identified himself by her grandson’s first name and seemed knowledgeable enough about the family be convincing, Delaney said.

When the woman asked to speak to a police officer, “another man got on the phone and said ‘This is officer so-and-so and you need to wire us the money,’” Delaney said.

The woman went to the Western Union booth at Rite Aid Pharmacy at Allen and Cooley streets and transferred the money. The woman later found out that her grandson had never been arrested.

Police traced the money to a location in Spain, Delaney said. He said it is unlikely the money will be able to be tracked any further, although Springfield police have contacted the regional FBI office.

In the last two weeks, there have been two other attempts, one involving $4,000 and the other $5,000, and each involving elderly victims who had been told a relative was under arrest somewhere far away, Delaney said.

In each case, it was thwarted only after the Western Union clerk became suspicious when told the reason for such a large transfer, and called the police to verify the relative was indeed in jail, Delaney said.

Delaney said it is a fairly common scam that people need to be wary about.

Westfield police reported a similar case recently where two elderly people were bilked out of $15,000

Delaney said if anyone is knows of similar scams, they should contact the police Detective Bureau at (413) 787-6355.

Anyone receiving a call from a relative in a far-off location claiming to need bail money should contact the Springfield police before transferring the money, Delaney said. The police will be able to contact the other police department to verify the information, he said.