A Portage-area resident is urging others to be cautious after receiving a phone call that nearly fooled her into believing her grandson was in serious trouble.
Anne Emberly says she got a call that sounded very real, and very familiar. The voice on the other end claimed to be her grandson, asking for help after being involved in a car accident and getting arrested.
“Apparently according to the call, he had gone out with a friend," explains Emberly. "His friend had been drinking too much that he couldn't drive himself home. So my grandson took him home.”
She continues, “He wasn't sure about the address, so he checked his GPS on his phone, glancing down and apparently rear-ended a car.”
Emberly says the caller told her both young men were arrested and needed bail money.
Red flags start to show
Despite the familiar voice, Emberly quickly begins to have doubts.
“My sister-in-law a couple of years ago had basically the same kind of call,” she notes. “So I said it's sort of starting to sound like, and that was as far as I got and they hung up.”
She adds that this is the first time she’s received this specific scam, but she regularly gets other suspicious calls.
Verifying the truth
After hanging up, Emberly decided to do what law enforcement often recommends; she checked in with her actual grandson.
“I phoned my grandson and I asked him how he was enjoying jail,” she says with a laugh.
“He laughed at me,” she adds.
She says the tone of the call and the way it played out could easily fool someone who isn’t aware of this type of scam.
“Yes, it did,” Emberly continues, when asked if the voice on the phone really sounded like her grandson. “Nowadays, it can sound pretty real.”
Emberly hopes her story will remind others to think twice before reacting emotionally to calls involving family emergencies.
The “grandparent scam” is a common tactic where fraudsters call seniors pretending to be a grandchild in trouble, often with a story involving a car accident, arrest, or injury, and then ask for money urgently.
Quick action makes a difference
Emberly's quick thinking helped her avoid becoming a victim, and she wants others to do the same.
She’s glad she didn’t fall for it and is able to help spread the word.
Police encourage anyone who receives a suspicious call like this to hang up, verify the story with a trusted family member, and report the incident to local authorities.
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