Full Notification

We at Crescenta Valley Station have noticed a recent uptick of a fraud scheme known as the, "Grandparent Scam."

Con artists have targeted the most vulnerable victims, grandparents. How this scam works is thieves call or email the victims posing to be a “relative” or someone posing as a representative of the relative, for example, a lawyer or law enforcement. The “fake relative” of the grandparents will explain that they are in trouble criminally or financially and need money to pay off the police, court, hospital bills or any fictitious loans. The suspects then send someone to the victim's home and pick up the money or check. Another way the scammers obtain the money is to ask the victim to wire the funds. Once the money gets wired, grandparents won’t find out the call was a scam for weeks.

To avoid becoming a victim to the “#GrandparentScam,” look for these red flags:
• Solicitation of funds specifically requests to pay for unexpected bills, for example, bail money, lawyer’s fees, or doctor bills. The Sheriff’s Department will NEVER call to tell you about your warrant, ask for payment over the phone, or state we will drive to your home to pick up bail money.
• Before sending funds, contact the relative to verify if the call is real. Most scam artists payment method is a wire transfer. Any request to wire money should automatically be a red flag warning.
• Fraudsters attempting the “Grandparent Scam” may call late at night to confuse potential victims.
• People who become victims of this scam should call their local police department and report the incident.

Scammers will target anyone. Please pass information on to friend and family, so they don’t become their next victim.