Local Senior Nearly Falls Victim To Statewide "Grandparent's Scam"

Darren Doyle, story:
Bank of Edmonson County CEO Michelle Coleman is warning the public about a statewide scam that has now hit Edmonson County, better known as the "Grandparent's Scam."

Coleman said a bank customer came in to withdraw a large amount of cash today as a result of a very troubling phone call they received explaining that the customer's family member was in jail in a nearby county and needed money to make bond.

Various reports from across the state and through the Kentucky Attorney General's Office have described the exact same scenario as Coleman described today. The victims reported a phone call from someone claiming to be their grandchild who is in jail. A second scammer joins the call pretending to be some sort of official or bond agent who confirms the story and requests the grandparent immediately wire money or send cash to pay the bail bond.

"This customer was extremely upset and was in the process of getting the cash as demanded by the phone call," Coleman said. "Luckily, we were able to help the customer understand that this was nothing more than a scam."

The following tips were recently shared from the KY Attorney General's Office that can help avoid scams:

• Never trust anyone who randomly calls and asks you to send money via wire transfer, gift cards, cash or other hard to trace methods of payment. 
  
  
• Ask the caller questions that only the real grandchild could answer correctly.
  
  
• Ask the caller to confirm what state and county jail they are being held and independently contact the jail to confirm. 
  
  
• Try to call the real grandchild to verify, or call a related family member at a known phone number to confirm the grandchild is traveling.

Anyone with information on the grandparent scam is encouraged to report it to the Attorney General's Consumer Protection hotline at 888-432-9257 and complete an online report, or contact the Edmonson County Sheriff's Office at 270-597-2157. Sheriff Shane Doyle also released additional information today regarding holiday scams.

Kentuckians can also sign up to receive Scam Alerts from the KY AG's office. To receive text message alerts, text the words KYOAG Scam to GOV311 (468-311) or enroll online at ag.ky.gov/scams and select either text message or email alerts.