Atlantic Police Chief Dave Erickson is warning the public about some new twists on a couple of old “Grandchild in trouble, need money” phone scam. One is supposedly from a law enforcement person who has a bad voice due to a “cold.” The caller says the grandchild was in an accident and drugs and a weapon were found on them. They ask the potential victim to send an exorbitant amount of money [such as $5,000] to a post office box so the grandchild can get out of jail. They also say “But don’t tell anyone.” Erickson says “That’s a scam. We don’t call people to them their kids are in jail, that they need to bring money to us or anything like that. That’s up to the defendant.”

Atlantic Police Chief Dave Erickson (file photo)

The second scam has a person claiming to be a grandchild, and asks the potential victim “Do you know which one [their name] it is?” If the grandparent answers who they think it is, the caller says “It’s about time you recognized my voice. I’m in trouble. I’m in jail and need [a specific amount of] money to get out. You need to send it Fed Ex to a post office box. Erickson says it doesn’t work that way in real life. In real life, you have to deliver the funds to the jail or a bail bondsman must handle the funds. The scams have been around for a long time, but Erickson says the scammers are making changes to how the scams are carried out.

The Chief says they add different elements to the call to trick grandparents, and he’s getting the word out so people don’t fall for it. If you receive such a call, report it to the police department. Even if you’re not sure whether the call is real or not. Erickson says as far as he knows, no one locally has fallen for the phone scam, but they are being received by area residents. He said a lady called the the Police Department a few days ago after receiving a scam call. Authorities told her he was not on the jail roster and had never been arrested. Erickson said “We don’t want the public to be losing their money out there.”

In the past, he said some people have fallen for the scam in various forms. One person was even at the bank ready to send the money, but couldn’t figure out how to do so. Fortunately, the individual checked with local authorities and was informed about the scam. “Just be aware of what’s going on out there,” he said. “Watch the scams.” Erickson, who himself is a grandparent, says the scammers are betting on the kind hearts of the elderly to fall victim to the scheme.