A Whitehall Borough resident from the Steeplechase townhomes area contacted police at around 10 a.m. on Sunday to report a scam, Whitehall police Chief Donald R. Dolfi said.
The victim said that she received a call on Thursday from someone claiming to be her grandson. The supposed grandson said that he was in Brazil, where he had recently damaged a rental car, and that if his grandmother did not wire him $3,800, he would be taken to jail.
"Obviously, the victim was greatly concerned for the grandson," Dolfi said, and she decided to send the money.
Then, on Friday, the woman received a similar call asking for another $4,400. She did not send the money in that instance, contacting police instead, who told her that she had been victimized by an impersonator.
"This is a scam that has surfaced previously," Dolfi said, "and we want to make people aware.
"It is out there."
Read through other Whitehall police items here.
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It is a shame that people try to scam the elderly this way!
I'm glad PATCH and the local tv stations are covering these events, so that everyone will be informed. Don't send any money to anyone without checking. These grandkids all have cell phones nowadays, call your grandchild's cell # and ask them where they are. Odds are good that it's not Brazil or Mexico!
easy meaning more trusting
This scam is also going around in emails. I recieved a very simiar message from the owner of a business I am associated with. It had his name, business contact info, well written in English without the usual typographical errors associated with scams... but I just knew from experience it was a scam... so i called the business and let them know that their email was compromised.