Wichita, KS – The Consumer Protection Division is warning Sedgwick County residents to be on the lookout for the “Grandparent Scam.”
The Office of the District Attorney received a report today that a citizen received two calls attempting to scam him out of $14,000. The first caller pretended to be his grandson who said he had just been in a wreck and was being threatened with arrest for looking at his cell phone while driving. The “grandson” said he was also sick and on his way to the doctor. This was apparently to explain why his voice was not recognized. A second caller called back shortly after the first call ended and pretended to be an attorney representing the grandson who stated a judge had approved a gag order on the case and set a $14,000 cash bond. The name the “lawyer” provided was not a lawyer licensed to practice law in Kansas. The name of the judge did not match any judge in Sedgwick County. Both calls came in from the same number. The area code associated with the calls appeared to be from a 236 area code that is used in British Columbia, Canada. Fortunately, the citizen did not give out any personal information and alerted our office. Scams like this attempt to prey on your fear and concern for family and seek to get you to act rashly without reflection. Once a scammer has your money it is very difficult to get it back.
The Office of the District Attorney reminds resident not to answer calls from numbers you don’t recognize. If a call seems suspicious, hang up. Never give out personal information including bank account numbers, credit card numbers, social security numbers or other identifying information in response to unexpected calls.
For more information on the Grand Parent scam visit https://www.fcc.gov/watch-out-grandparentscams
