Crime & Safety

Local Grandmother Reports Being Scammed Out of $6,500

Inside the police reports: An 80-year-old woman tells DeKalb Police says she was told her grandson was in an accident overseas and had to pay medical bills before he could return to the U.S.

An 80-year-old woman in unincorporated Stone Mountain reported to DeKalb County police that she was scammed out of $6,500 last week.

The victim told police that on Feb. 17 around 12 p.m. she received a call from the suspect, identifying himself as Robert Wells, who said he was with the American Embassy in Barcelona, Spain.

According to the report, the victim told police that the suspect said her grandson had been in an accident and that he had some unpaid medical bills that needed to paid before he could return to the United States.

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The woman told police that the suspect transferred her to the grandson; it was later determined that someone was posing as her grandson, according to the report.

The victim told police that the man on the phone did not sound like her grandson, but she was told that his face was swollen "and it was hard to talk." The victim said she knew her grandson had been traveling out of the country and thought she was talking to him.

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She went to Western Union at 1232 Hairston Rd., at 1 p.m., and sent $2,115 to Barcelona in her grandson's name. When she returned home, the victim received another call from the suspect, saying that she had to make another payment to pay the full balance of the medical bills.

The victim returned to Western Union at 3 p.m. and sent another payment of $2,383 to Barcelona in her grandson's name.

The woman told police that the suspect called her again around 9 a.m. on Feb. 18 and said that her grandson needed a plane ticket home but would be reimbursed when he returned home to the U.S.

The victim went to Western Union a third time, at 10:30 a.m., and sent $2,015 to Barcelona - this time, in the name of the suspect, according to the report.

The victim told police that when she returned home her grandson contacted her; that's when she realized she had been scammed, according to the police report.

The victim told police that her grandson said he was in Georgia and had not been in an accident.

 

 

 

 

 


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