96-year-old woman helps police catch suspects after being targeted in $10,000 phone scam
YARMOUTH – A bank employee and Cape Cod police officers helped thwart alleged scammers who were trying to get $10,000 from a 96-year-old woman.
Bail bondsman scam
Yarmouth police said the woman attempted to withdraw the money from a bank after receiving a call from a man who claimed to be a bail bondsman.
"The caller told her that her son was in jail, and she needed to withdraw the money to bail him out," police said.
Police flagged the transaction as fraudulent to the bank, determining it was similar to other scams reported around the country.
Yarmouth Police Officer Jefferson Willis found that the alleged scammer had told the woman to put the money in a box to be picked up by a ride-share driver, who police said was not involved in the scam.
Officers set up surveillance and tracked the package delivery to Worcester.
Scam suspects arrested
They arrested Carlos Santos of Methuen and Maria Ayala of Lawrence. Both were charged with conspiracy and larceny by a single scheme over $1,200.
After searching the suspects' car, police found another $30,000 from a scam they had successfully stolen from western Massachusetts.
"The Yarmouth Police Department commends the actions of the bank employee who noticed the transaction and alerted police as well as the Police Officers and Detectives who worked together to successfully prevent a substantial loss of money and recovered thousands of dollars that had already been sent by people who were scammed," Yarmouth police said.
Police warned anyone who receives a call from an unknown person requesting large sums of money to contact local police.
