Oct. 25—The Wickliffe Police Department is warning the public of several recent scam attempts targeting the elderly.
According to a post on the department’s Facebook page, in one instance, an individual called over the phone pretending to be the grandson of the victim. The caller claimed that they had been in a car accident and had been arrested. The caller said that cash was required for him to be released and the case against him dismissed.
The caller then said a courier would arrive to receive the cash. The victim explained to that the caller sounded like his grandson and was very believable.
According to the post, a second scam reported to the department was the victim’s computer became “locked up” with a message directing them to call a support number. Once the victim called this number, they were directed to allow access to their computer remotely and to purchase gift cards and provide the activation number to the individual claiming to be fixing their computer.
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They were also directed not to notify any family, bank employees, or law enforcement as this could jeopardize their computer. They were then instructed to withdraw money from their savings accounts and turn the money over to a courier that would be sent to pick it up and transfer it to a secure account.
The department stressed that these types of scams are not new nor are they uncommon. They have learned that this type of scam is being attempted all over the area recently and is likely being perpetrated by individuals from out of the country.
The department reminded residents not to provide personal account information to anyone over the phone if not absolutely certain to whom is speaking. Also, never turn over cash to a “courier service” as this is likely a scam.
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