Elderly man falls victim to scammer claiming grandson in trouble
MIAMI - A South Florida man who fell victim to a 'grandparent scam' is out thousands of dollars.
"They took my grandfather's money," said 20-year-old Ivan Suarez about a scam his grandfather was the victim of last Friday.
A 'grandparent scam' is when scammers call and impersonate a grandchild, or another close relative, in a crisis, asking for immediate financial assistance, according to the Federal Trade Commission.
"Someone called me, he heard a shaky voice saying it was his grandson, and he was in trouble," said 77-year-old Lazaro Suarez.
"Someone called him, kind of almost impersonating me saying I got into an accident (and crashed) with a pregnant woman," said Ivan Suarez.
When asked if he thought it was suspicious someone who supposedly sounded like him called his grandfather, Ivan Suarez said, "From my understanding, he (my grandfather) told me it was a nervous voice, I could imagine if I got into an accident with a pregnant woman I would not sound the same as I sound now."
The grandfather received a second phone call, a few minutes later from someone who said he was an attorney.
Hey look we need $8,000 dollars because in addition to the pregnant woman, there were two kids in the back of the car and the accident caused the mother to lose her unborn baby, said the alleged attorney.
According to Ivan Suarez, once the crooks knew his grandfather would be willing to pay $8,000, the subjects tried to get him to pay an additional $12,000.
The grandfather told them he only had $8,000 and they agreed on the price.
Lazaro Suarez went to his bank and took out the money, he received another call to confirm if the cash was ready. He said in less than ten minutes a man driving a burgundy Lexus SUV, who supposedly was a courier showed up at his house.
"The man did not say much, but he did ask about the (money) package," said Lazaro Suarez.
At this time, police are urging anybody who knows anything about the case to call Miami Dade Crime Stoppers at (305) 471-TIPS (8477).