Victim Location 80501
Type of a scam Family/Friend Emergency
My 90 year old mom was contacted by someone claiming to be her grandson, Mason. He said he was in big trouble, had been arrested in Las Vegas. He said his friend, arrested along with him, had been raped in jail, and it was a horrible situation. The caller said he was embarrassed, played on her sympathies, and wanted to be sure no one could hear what she was saying. He said he had been released, but he needed to have $3000 to bail out his friend. He put her on the phone with an official sounding man, who said he was a detective at the jail. He said the boy would have to remain in the jail for 29 days unless they got the money right then. The man claiming to be her grandson returned, and asked if she had the money, and not to wire it through Western Union as they ask a lot of questions. He said to get iTunes cards from King Soopers, and call him back with the numbers. She is very savvy — early on, she began asking many questions. When she suspected it wasn’t her grandson, she asked more. The caller began talking fast, pressuring her. He said, "my friend is in bad shape. Please grandma." She abruptly told him where he could "put" his tall tale, and that she was going the police. She hung up, but he called back in about an hour. She hung up again, and went to the police department in Longmont. The next day, my daughter who is a senior at a localHigh School, came home and told us the same thing had happened to her friend’s grandpa that day. It ended, sadly, with him losing $3000 – he sent the money to the scammer.