A man thought his granddaughter was calling for help but was instead scammed out of $2,000.
A White River Township man received a call Wednesday from a woman who claimed to be his granddaughter and said he needed to pay her fine to be released from jail in Missouri, where his granddaughter lives, according to the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office report.
But after sending more than $2,000, the man talked to his granddaughter, who said she was never in a jail or detention center, the report said.
The woman who called him used his granddaughter’s name and knew the man’s name, the report said. The scammer then handed the phone to another person, who said he was a police captain at the detention center, the report said. The police captain told the man to give him a credit card number over the phone, or buy four $500 pre-paid cards so his granddaughter could be released.
The man drove to a nearby store and purchased the pre-paid cards, then called the police captain back and read the numbers over the phone. Sheriff’s deputies said the money is most likely already spent, according to the report.
