BUFFALO, N.Y. — The Buffalo FBI Field Office is warning Western New Yorkers about a recent spike in scams targeting the elderly, resulting in hundreds of thousands of dollars in losses locally.
Nationally, over 650 reports of "grandparent scams" were issued to the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center from January 2020 to June 2021, which resulted in more than $13 million in losses. In addition, the FBI says over 90 victims said money was picked up from their home during that time frame.
The version of the scam that has been reported here in Western New York involves an elderly person receiving a phone call from someone in distress who claims to be their grandchild. The alleged grandchild claims they have been in a serious car accident or says they have been arrested and are in need of bail money.
The caller then gives the phone to their attorney who tells the grandparent to go to the bank to withdraw money. From there, the grandparent is told to put cash in an envelope and wait for someone to arrive at their house to pick up the money.
In response to this scam, the Buffalo FBI is asking rideshare drivers to immediately contact police if they are called to an elderly person's home to pick up mail or envelopes.
In addition, the Buffalo FBI is asking the public to alert family members and elderly neighbors about these ongoing scams.
Anyone who receives a call they believe to be a grandparent scam, they're asked to immediately hang up and call their local police department and the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center.
In a press release, the Buffalo FBI said in part, "The Buffalo FBI is working with police departments and sheriffs’ offices throughout western New York to find and arrest the people involved in these crimes. We are also investigating those who are orchestrating these scams from outside the region."