The latest victims of a "grandparent" phone scam are from Hackettstown. Here's how the con works. A man calls and identifies themselves as their grandson. He tells the grandparents he has been arrested and needs money for lawyers fees. He asks them not to tell his parents and gives an address to send a money order.
Last week the couple from Hackettstown were scammed out of 850 dollars. In that case a second person even got on the phone and gave them an address in Florida to mail the money to. The calls usually come late at night which could add to the confusion because the seniors are half asleep. Sometimes the caller asks his "grandparents" to wire money.
Police are advising people to warn elderly family members about the scam. Seniors should always call another family member before they send money to anyone they don't know. This scam seems to pray on older people who are easily confused and have limited knowledge of the legal system.
Source: NJ Herald
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