ALPENA – The Michigan State Police Alpena Post would like to warn the public of a scam known as the ‘grandparents scam’ that has been reported in the area. The Alpena Post has received a number of calls recently from citizens who have been contacted by phone from someone claiming to be their grandchild, and they are in some type of trouble.
The caller will give just enough detail to make the story believable, but they don’t provide specific details and depend on the grandparent to fill them in. The caller then tells the grandparent they need money sent due to an injury or being in jail. However, the caller will beg the grandparent not to contact the child’s parents as he/she does not want to get into more trouble with them. The caller makes the grandparent believe this is a real incident when it’s actually a scam.
These scam callers then convince the grandparents to send them money through prepaid cards, such as Green Dot Money cards or even gift cards. The caller then gets the card numbers and pin number from the gift card and automatically transfers the money off the card. Grandparents should not send money to the caller via Green Dot MoneyPak cards or gift cards, because once you give the card information to the so called grandchild, the money is almost instantly gone.
If a citizen receives this type of call, do not give them any information. Be sure to contact the parent of your grandchild to confirm the story the caller is telling. If you receive another call after the initial call, tell the caller you know it is a scam and you have notified law enforcement.
CONTACT: MSP Alpena Post – Community Service Trooper Ashely Simpson – 989-354-4101
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