The following is from the “Neighborhood Watch Newsletter” from the Maple Valley Police Department.

In a typical Grandparent Scam, a con artist calls or emails the victim posing as a relative in distress or someone claiming to represent the relative (such as a lawyer or law enforcement agent).

The “relative” of the grandparent explains he/she is in trouble and needs their grandparent to wire them funds that will be used for bail money, lawyer’s fees, hospital bills, or another fictitious expense. The victim is urged not to tell anyone, such as the parent of the “grandchild” because they do not want them to find out about the trouble they’ve gotten themselves into.

The grandparent never hears from their fake grandchild again and is tricked out of hundreds or even thousands of dollars.

Here are a few tips to help detect or avoid the Grandparent Scam:

• Beware of any urgent solicitation of funds, especially if it is needed to pay for unexpected bills, such as bail money, lawyer’s fees or doctor bills.
• Before sending funds, independently contact the relative (or parent of the relative) the scam artist is claiming to be (or represent) at a known phone number to verify the details of the story.
• Scam artist’s payment method of choice is the wire transfer, money order, or gift cards. Any urgent request to wire money should be treated suspiciously. In the gift card method, the grandchild is asking the grandparent to purchase gift cards then give the gift card number to them or the supposed attorney.
• Be aware that fraudsters attempting the Grandparent Scam may call late at night to confuse potential victims.
• Consumers who have been victims of this scam should immediately report it to local law enforcement, their state attorney general and NCL’s Fraud Center at Fraud.org.
• Your Maple Valley Police Department is also a great resource to get to the truth of the matter. Call 425-413-5158.