Woodland Community News Alert!!!

FRAUD ALERT !!!!!

COUNTY OF YOLO
OFFICE OF THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY
JEFF W. REISIG, DISTRICT ATTORNEY

301 SECOND STREET - WOODLAND, CALIFORNIA 95695 - 530.666.8180 - FAX 530.666.8185

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Date: August 23, 2011 Contact: David Edwards, Enforcement Officer
Phone: (530) 666-8416

Fraud Alert
New Twist on “Grandma It’s Me” scam

(Woodland, CA) – August 23, 2011- In the past several weeks four older adults have contacted the Yolo County District Attorney reporting that they have been contacted by scam artists pretending to be grandchildren who are in some sort of trouble. In all instances, the caller asks for money to be wired out of the country. In this recent version of the Grandma It’s Me scam, the caller is asking that the money be sent to Mexico. In the past it was often Canada and sometimes England. One of the recent victims lost $6000 and another lost $4000 to this scam.

In a typical scenario, a grandparent receives a phone call from a con artist claiming to be a grandchild. The caller often tells a story about being out of the country and in some kind of trouble. Stories range from the caller getting arrested to being in a car accident. The caller tells the victim to “keep it a secret from mom and dad.” The caller then asks for money to be sent as soon as possible using a wire transfer service like Money Gram or Western Union. This is similar to sending cash and a refund cannot be obtained regardless of whether the money was taken fraudulently.

Yolo County District Attorney Jeff Reisig wants all potential victims to be aware of this scam. “I hope everyone will spread the word about this scam and be suspicious if anyone calls unexpectedly asking for you to wire money especially to Canada and Mexico,” said Reisig. “We suggest that you always verify that a request for money or personal information is legitimate…even if you are asked to keep it a secret.”

For more information on this and other types of scams, please contact Dave Edwards at the District Attorney Office at (530) 666-8416