Hingham Police are telling residents to be aware after an elderly resident lost $14,000 to a phone scam.
Police Sergeant Steven Dearth says these scams are common. In a recent case, scammers told a 92-year-old woman that her son had been in a fight and was injured.
“They’re good at lying and scamming people. The people that fall victim to this aren’t somebody that’s necessary naïve,” said Dearth. “They’re just convinced, or the desire to help is strong.”
The woman was instructed by scammers to wire $8,000 to an account in New York. She was told that money would be used to help her son. She wired that amount, and more money after scammers said the transfer was delayed.
At her local bank, tellers said the transfer seemed suspicious. They urged her to check in with relatives before proceeding. The scammers told the woman to tell the bank that it was legitimate and she knew the people she was transferring money to.
“She was driven by the need to help and felt like she was being helpful wiring the money. At some point she made another transaction of $1,000 to the scammers,” said Dearth. “She learned later from relatives that it was in fact a scam and nobody was hurt. Her son was okay.”
Scammers will ask broad questions to get specific answers from residents. They’ll pry more information from would-be victims to convince them.
The scammers will tell the victims to keep the matter private – but people should hang up and slow down if it seems suspicious.
“Just take some time to make a phone call, reach out to another relative,” said Dearth. “Most times they’ll be at work and they’re fine. These people are good at what they do, and that’s why they’re successful at it. That’s why they continue to do these scams.”
Dearth says if people do not recognize a phone number, they should let the call go to message. Most scammers won’t leave one.
If people are unsure about a situation, they can always contact their local police department.
“Unfortunately once that money is gone, it’s really gone. That’s a shame for any victim, especially somebody who’s elderly on a fixed income. We would just encourage you to talk with your relatives or a good friend that might live alone that’s in charge of their finances,” said Dearth. “They may not have access to the internet and may not be aware of these scams. Just educate them about this, say this happens locally, it happens everywhere. If they’re educated, they’ll just hang the phone up.”
