Victim Location 44118
Total money lost $1,000
Type of a scam Family/Friend Emergency
A bondswoman "Carla Harrison" called the victim’s home, saying that she was located in Columbus, MD. She told them that their oldest granddaughter had been texting while driving, side swiped a car, and crashed into a telephone pole. $1000 bail was needed from them immediately, she couldn’t leave until it was posted. A young woman identifying herself as their granddaughter spoke to them as well, apologizing from the poor connection (and thus difficulty of identifying her voice) resulting from the old police office landline, sounding freaked out and needing help urgently. The bondswoman stated that the money was to be sent via two $500 Target giftcards, and had the victim read the numbers of the cards over the phone before mailing them both to the aforementioned address – that the victim later realized was entirely fake.
In reality, their eldest granddaughter does live in Maryland and had recently received a traffic violation, which would have been available on public record. However, she did not have an accident and did not need money to Target to bail her out, but panic and distress for her well being overtook her grandparents’ ability to make rational choices in the stressful situation.