On February 13th 2014, at around 1:00 PM, a South San Francisco resident from the 2300 Block of Tipperary Avenue called the Police Department and stated an unknown suspect called her saying her grandson was arrested in Port-Au Prince, Haiti. The suspect told the victim to buy a “MoneyGram” for $1950.00 and provide her with the serial number in order for her grandson to be released.
Another unknown suspect pretended to be the victim’s grandson and spoke with her over the phone. The victim did not realize she was the victim of a scam until she had already sent the suspect the serial number from the Money Gram.
This is a common scam, which the elderly are vulnerable to as the suspects concoct a convincing lie and are able to con large amounts of money over the phone. If you feel you have been the victim of a similar type of crime, please do not hesitate to call the South San Francisco Police Department at 877.8900.
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Please continue to help get the word out to those in our community, especially our seniors, that this type of scam is out there. We continue to have so many of our neighbors fall prey to this. Encourage family members to have this conversation with our elders. Tell them to double check with other family members prior to agreeing to give information or money to unknown strangers.