VAN BUREN COUNTY, MI (WKZO AM/FM) — Troopers from the Michigan State Police (MSP) are warning residents in Southwest Michigan of an uptick of fraudulent activity involving “grandparent” targeted scams.
Although recent reports are coming in from the Sault Ste. Marie and Grand Rapids areas, one has now been reported in Van Buren County as of last week.
According to the MSP, a Van Buren couple received a phone call from someone who they believed to be their granddaughter. This person was later determined to be an imposter. The imposter said she had been arrested following a traffic accident, and that she needed to contact her friend’s father who is a lawyer.
The couple contacted this lawyer, who advised them their granddaughter was in serious trouble and they would need $12,000 to bail her out. After agreeing to pay the said amount of bail in cash, the lawyer stated he would send a courier to their house to pick up the money.
The next day, Troopers say the so-called lawyer called the couple back, said there was an issue, and that they would now need to pay an additional $14,000 to help their granddaughter. However, this attempt was thwarted once their actual granddaughter stopped by their house and explained to them they had been scammed.
“MSP would like to remind citizens to contact law enforcement prior to acting on or sending any money if you ever feel you are being scammed either by phone, email, or other methods,” officials said in a statement. “Additionally, if you believe you are being targeted please remember to record as much of the caller’s information as possible.”
Police advise that if a resident receives phone calls, emails or a different communication where the caller says they are from the Treasury Department, or is offering COVID stimulus payments or some form of a grant in exchange for personal information, or they require you to purchase gift cards to obtain money, consider this a scam and hang up and report it to law enforcement.
Scams can also be filed with the FBI.
All suspected fraudulent activity can be reported to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) online at this link.
Anyone who has lost money to a phone scam or has information about the company or scammer can report it to ftc.gov/complaint. If you did not lose money but feel you should report a scam, residents can use their streamlined reporting form at donotcall.gov.
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