The Monrovia Police Department is warning residents not to fall for the "grandparent scam."
The department posted to following advisory on its website.
Grandparent Scam – Don’t Be a Victim
The suspects in this type of scam will call an elderly person and pretend to be a grandchild or young relative of the victim. They tell the elderly victim they are in some type of trouble and are in jail, and that they need bail money. They ask the elderly person not to tell their parents.
A second suspect then calls pretending to be the police and proceeds to give the victim instructions on were to wire the bail money. The suspects target older folks, hoping they can gain an emotional and quick response to the "need" to help out the young relative, and many times it works. The victims will quickly go to their bank, withdraw and transfer the money in an attempt to help, and by the time they realize the scam, the money has already been picked up by the suspects and is gone. It is so important to spread awareness and to educate those that we know in hopes of preventing this crime from happening.
If you have a loved one, a friend, or perhaps a neighbor that is older, share this information with them and help keep them from becoming a victim.
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