Warsaw Police detectives have received several reports of a long running scam involving the wiring of money to others. Especially targeted in this phone scam are senior citizens.

The “grandparents scam” commonly involves the calling of mostly the elderly at their homes. After a short conversation, the caller is able to obtain enough information to acquire the grandchildren’s names. The callers will also have a younger sounding person ask for “grandma” or “grandpa” and the grandparent usually responds with the grandchild’s name, thinking it may be him/her.

The individuals who receive these calls sometimes are convinced this is a valid call because the persons knew their grandchildren’s name, but didn’t realize they had accidentally responded to the caller by providing the name.

The caller then informs the grandparent that their grandchild is in jail or stranded without money, many times out of the country, and have no way to get out of a situation, post bond or return home without their help. The caller says he or she is acting on the grandchild’s behalf and requests the grandparent wire transfer money to a third party.

Warsaw Police warn that this is a scam to steal money and should be verified with law enforcement or family. The requests to send or wire money, or give any personal information in any way will result in the person losing hundreds or even thousands of dollars.

Many of these calls originate from out of the country. Even though a Caller ID may indicate an in country identification, calls are immediately transferred several times to avoid the true origin of the caller.

Please do not respond to anyone by telephone (or e-mails) who may be inquiring in this manner, regardless of how sincere or valid you may think the caller is.

Senior citizens and their families should be aware of this common scam and that calls are being made in our area to attempt these thefts. Do not give any identification, send or wire transfer any money for these situations.