APD warns of ‘grandparent scams’

ALBANY, Ga. (WALB) - As technology advances, so are the number of ways that scammers are targeting older Georgians.

Albany Police Department Investigator Darryl Jones said he continues to see this happen time and time again, resulting in people losing thousands of dollars each year.

“There’s been an increasing number with this type of scam,” Jones said.

And now, there’s a new twist on what is called the “grandparent scam.”

“They’ve even went as far as to send people out to your house. The people may look official at first and in the end, they end up being an Uber or Lyft driver,” Jones said. “They’ve sent up to $30,000 to half a million dollars they’ve been scammed out of.”

Jones said once the money is gone, it can be challenging to get it back, but with enough proof, the person responsible can be found and charged.

“It depends on the amount that was taken. There is a charge, theft by deception, but in these cases, it’s really really hard when there is no traceability. Cash is not traceable or they’ve come from a number that is scrambled,” Jones said.

Besides coming to your home, Jones said they will create several other scenarios to seem trustworthy.

“In some cases, they’ll even have a person call and pose as a lawyer and stating that the grandchild is in jail or they need some money wired to them or sometimes they’ll ask them to go the store and get some gift cards and send the actual number from the gift cards so they can get the money,” Jones said.

Copyright 2021 WALB. All rights reserved.