Scammer tried to trick grandma into paying $5,000 to save her grandson — he was beside her

For many grandparents, their relationship with their grandchildren can be the center of their universe. Cleveland native Crysta Willis' froze for a second when she got a call stating her grandson Eric had been involved in a car accident, according to Cleveland 19 News. 

'You need to pay his bond'

She recalled the dreaded call. "He says, ‘I’m the deputy somebody, and your grandson was in an accident. He’s at fault, and you need to pay his bond for him to get out," Willis said. What was the amount that the so-called deputy was asking? A whopping $5,000. While most of the elderly folks would've wired the money then and there, Willis wasn't going to fall for it. Well, because as it turns out, her grandson was upstairs and she knew it was a scam from the get-go. Still, she wanted to play along to teach these scammers a lesson. 

Willis, who is also a member of the Cuyahoga County Scam Squad, a financial fraud task force, turned the tables on the scammer. She questioned his morality and asked him whether this was the way he wanted to earn money, by stealing from the seniors? To which the scammer replied, "Well, you just don't understand, it's hard out there." That might be the case, but surely there are plenty of ways of earning a livelihood other than scamming senior citizens and playing with their emotions. 

Elderly lose $3 billion every year to scammers

Nonetheless, while this grandmother was able to avoid losing her money, scams like these are becoming a growing concern across the country. The FBI says that older adults (above 50) lose nearly $3 billion each year to scammers. Over 1 in 10 adults fall for requests for money and investments. However, what's more concerning is that only half of such crimes are reported. That's why the authorities constantly urge people not to act on any money requests right away and confirm with their loved ones first. 

Not just that, they also want people to report these crimes because only then can they track these offenders down. "It helps the FBI connect the dots all across the country because it's important to know that these criminal actors are usually not working alone. This is a criminal network," Susan Licate from the FBI's Cleveland office explains. So, as investigations continue, everyone must act promptly by reporting scams to IC3.gov, aiding in the fight against this pervasive crime.

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