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SALT LAKE CITY -- It's an old scam targeting the elderly, but people keep falling for it. On Thursday, the Salt Lake City Police Department issued a warning about the scam.
Police say the callers are so convincing because they tug at the heartstrings of grandparents. Last month, two elderly women in Salt Lake fell for the scam and lost between $2,900 and $5,000.
A woman who asked KSL News not to identify her said she knows it can happen to anyone. In May, her 84-year-old mother, who lives in Sandy, was targeted twice. It started with a phone call.
The called her again the next day, thanked her for the money, and said he was in jail for the accident. He said he needed another $4,000 to settle the case. She gave him the money.
Police say in addition to the Sandy grandmother and the two elderly Salt Lake women, another Salt Lake woman almost fell for the scam.
"Any time they're asking for personal information and money and stuff like that, you really start thinking about, 'OK, is this a scam?'" said Salt Lake City police Sgt. Robin Snyder.
Police say it's difficult to track down the scammers because they're calling from outside the country.
E-mail: syi@ksl.com
