Bloomington – The Indiana State Police at the Bloomington Post has received information regarding a scam that has resurfaced from a victim living in the Bloomington area. The elderly victim received a phone call from a person identifying themselves as a representative from the American Consulate in Mexico. The phone was then given to a young man who said he was her grandson and was in trouble in Mexico. The victim indicated the connection was bad and she could not tell if it was her grandson’s voice. The “Grandson” caller then begged her to send 1200 dollars via Western Union to an address in Mexico. The original caller then told her that her grandson was caught with marijuana while on spring break in Mexico. Unfortunately, the victim wired the money. Once the money was wired, the victim received another call, indicating $50,000 dollars was needed for attorney fees. Knowing then she was being scammed, she contacted the Indiana State Police.
Before you wire money;
1) Ensure the money will be received by the proper person. Talk to your family! Call that person direct. If you cannot contact that person, call another family member. Find out directly if anything has happened.
2) A scammer will not give you a good call back number. Look up the number for the “agency” and call them direct. In this particular case the actual American Consulate in Mexico would have been able to direct the victim to the information she desired.
Remember, if you send money to someone who contacted you, that money is gone. You will not get it back. If you give money to a scammer once, you will probably get another call to send more money.
However, you can help other people by reporting the scam to the Federal Trade Commission at 1-877-382-4357 or online at www.ftc.gov/complaint. The FTC uses complaints to build cases against scammers.
Any information you can give will help investigators stop future scams from happening.
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