Neillsville Resident Almost Falls Victim to the Grandparent Scam
Tuesday, March 24th, 2015 -- 11:51 AM
-Fake phone calls and scams continue to plague the area.During her service on Sunday, Pastor Jacoba Koppert, of the United Church of Christ, said that a Neillsville resident almost became a victim to the grandparent scam last week.
The grandparent scam is one that becomes very popular this time of year when kids are on spring break. In the scam, someone will call an elderly resident saying it's the resident's grandchild calling. They will not always give a name and, instead, fish for the name from the grandparent. They will make up a story stating they're in jail or they were mugged and they need money. They usually ask the grandparent not to tell because they don't want the rest of the family to know because they're embarrassed.
In the case of the Neillsville resident, they caller said, "Hi, grandpa. Can you guess who this is?" The grandparent said, "Oh, its Joey!" and the caller agreed. The caller then asked for $7,000 to be wired to him because he was in jail. Thankfully, by the time the resident got the money together, it was too late for him to wire it. He later called his grandson Joey and found out he was fine.
These scams are all too real and happen right here in Neillsville and not just big cities. Recently, a Marshfield business, The Back Porch, received a fake call stating they were recipients of a federal grant that they didn't have to pay back.
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