Kankakee County Sheriff issued the following announcement on Sept. 17.
SCAM ALERT: There have been reports of the ‘Grandparent’ scam in our area. Reports suggest that the caller, who portrays to be an attorney representing a grandchild, requests thousands of dollars to get the grandchild out of jail.
The scam victims have reportedly been told to pay the bond money by acquiring pre-paid debit cards and sharing the card information over the phone with the attorney.
As a reminder, we always encourage area residents to remain extremely skeptical whenever they receive an unsolicited call where someone is demanding immediate payment for anything over the phone.
Whenever you receive an unsolicited call that you feel could be a scam, or where someone demands you make an immediate payment with some sort of corresponding threat, we always suggest that you hang up, and verify the validity of the caller by finding the phone number of the agency he/she claims to be on your own. You can always contact your local police department also.
As a general rule of thumb, any government agency that threatens arrest (or any other sort of threat) for failing to make an immediate payment is most likely a scam. Additionally, anyone that requires a payment from iTunes gift cards, Green-Dot MoneyPak or any other sort of gift card or pre-paid Debit Card is absolutely a scam. Always verify that the caller is who he/she claims to be and, remember, if they're calling you, they should already have all of your information (including your SSN) before they contact you.
If you feel you may have fell victim to this scam, or something similar, please contact your local law enforcement agency.
Original source can be found here.
Source: Kankakee County Sheriff
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