Crime

Hingham woman scammed out of nearly $10k in latest ‘grandparent scam’

Investigators said it's a common scam that has targeted senior citizens for years.

March 30, 2024

2 minutes to read

A Hingham senior citizen was swindled out of $9,500 in cash this week in what’s been dubbed a “grandparent scam.”

According to Hingham police, the 77-year-old woman fell victim to the scam on Monday after receiving a call from a man claiming to be her grandson. The person said he’d hit a pregnant woman with his car, and needed $9,500 to cover her medical expenses. The caller pleaded with her not to tell his parents. The woman agreed to hand over cash and withdrew the money from a local bank.

Police said that once she had the money, another man called her claiming to be a “federal agent who was monitoring her grandson’s case.” He said an agent would drive to her home soon to pick up the money, and instructed her to pack the cash in a paper bag, staple it shut, and hand it over to the agent. When the car arrived, the woman went to the car and gave the package to the female driver.

On Tuesday, the victim became suspicious when the same alleged “federal agent” called again and asked for more money. This time, he claimed the pregnant woman had suffered a miscarriage and needed $5,000 for additional medical bills. The woman called a relative, who instructed her to contact police.

The scammer called while officers were at the woman’s home. Investigators had her play along with the ploy — she told the scammer she had withdrawn the cash. Again, the person on the phone said they’d send a car to do the pickup.

Officers staked out nearby and saw a car arrive at the home about an hour after the phone call. When they confronted the driver, they learned he had been booked through a ride-share app and was told to pick up a package and drive it to an out-of-state address. Investigators said the driver appeared to not know about the scam and would not face charges.

“This is a very common scam that has been happening here and elsewhere for years,” Hingham police wrote on a Facebook post. “People continue to fall victim and lose money. The best way to prevent these scams from happening is by making our seniors aware.”

According to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), so-called grandparent scams are getting more sophisticated, with scam artists gaining access to consumers’ personal information by mining social media data or purchasing information from cyber thieves. Scammers then use that information to dupe senior citizens who “have a hard time saying no to their grandchildren,” according to the FCC.

Imposters often claim to have experienced a crisis, like an accident or an arrest, insist the grandparents not notify their parents, and hand the phone over to another person posing as a lawyer or another professional seeking immediate payment.

Lately, scammers are using artificial intelligence technology (AI) and a short audio or video clip to clone a loved one’s voice, the FCC said.

Hingham police said this most recent case remains under investigation. No arrests or charges were announced.