GV woman victim of 'Grandparents Scam'

A Green Valley woman lost $4,500 when she wired the money to a fraud artist who claimed to be her grandson.

The woman told Pima County Sheriff’s deputies that a man called her last week claiming to be her husband’s grandson.

According to the report, the man told her he was in Toronto with friends for a concert, had gotten into trouble and needed help. He had too much to drink the night before, wrecked a rental car and was in jail, he told her. A judge was holding his passport, driver’s license, cell phone and the rest of his personal belongings in Canada until he paid $4,500.

The man then handed the phone to a woman who said she was a court clerk, and proceeded to give the Green Valley woman directions on how to send the money order to Canada. She reportedly told her to send the money through Money Gram at Wal-Mart.

The next day, the man called again and told her someone had been hurt in an accident and that he needed another $4,000, according to the Sheriff’s report. The Green Valley woman became suspicious, and when she asked him to her tell her his birthday, he hung up the phone.

She told Sheriff’s deputies she decided to go to authorities when she was contacted by her husband’s real grandson, who attends college in a different part of Canada.

The scam is common, has been around a long time, and usually targets the elderly with similar tales of woe from foreign countries.

In February, the Green Valley News reported on a Tucson woman who received a call from somebody claiming to be her grandson.

The caller said he had been arrested after an auto accident in Canada and needed $5,200 to get out of jail. The caller blamed a change in his voice on a cold. He handed the phone to a man who claimed to be an attorney, and gave the woman wiring instructions for the cash.

The woman’s family uncovered the fraud by calling police in Canada. A Wal-Mart employee also recognized the scam when a member of the family tried to purchase a money order. No cash was wired. jrichardson@gvnews.com