Scammers use heartfelt appeal to deceive Modesto grandma and drain savings account
By the time adults are 75 years old, they might have avoided a number of the criminal scams that target seniors.
One Modesto woman thought she was immune to fraud but finally fell for an elaborate ruse that involved a phone call from a person claiming to be her grandson.
The 75-year-old grandmother asked to remain anonymous to avoid being a target again, but told the story as educational presentations on elder abuse are planned this week in Modesto.
According to the National Council on Aging, an estimated $3 billion is taken from seniors every year through elder abuse fraud. The number is expected to grow as the senior population increases and scammers develop more fraudulent schemes.
The first person who called the Modesto woman last month was a man posing as a defense attorney at the Santa Clara County courthouse.
The supposed lawyer said he was assigned to her grandson’s probation case and the young man had been involved in a car crash that injured a pregnant woman. The grandson was now in jail and would need thousands of dollars to bail him out, the caller said.
Soon after, a young man posing as the grandson called the Modesto woman, saying he was in trouble and needed help. He urged her to cooperate with his trusted attorney, whom he identified as “Chad Reid”.
The woman said it did not sound like her grandson, but every time she asked a question, he had an answer for it.
After the suspicious phone call, the woman tried to call her grandson but could not reach him. “I got nervous; I got so upset,” the woman said.
“Chad Reid”, the fake attorney, called her again and said her grandson in jail needed $9,300 to post bond.
Reid explained why the grandson sounded different: He had a broken nose from the car crash and stitches in his mouth. The attorney also relayed a message from the grandson saying “I love you, grandma,” and thanks so much for helping him.
The woman said that sounded suspicious, too. She said her real grandson always calls her “grammy.”
Still, she was worried about the young man and concerned he would not get needed medical care for his injuries in jail. She went to the credit union the next day to withdraw $9,300. She said the bank employees expressed their skepticism and allowed only a $5,000 withdrawal.
When she got home, she called Reid’s number and told him she couldn’t get the entire $9,300.
Reid gave her instructions for putting the $5,000 in a small box, and placing that in a larger box. She was told to wrap it in paper and write the grandson’s name and supposed case number on the package, and then have United Parcel Service ship the package for delivery the next day.
The grandmother complied and took the package to UPS. The next day, a friend took her to the credit union to get the remaining $4,300.
She said the credit union employees were concerned it was a scam and tried to dissuade her, even taking her to a back room to talk. But she was insistent.
“They would not believe me. I said, ‘It’s my money. Give me my money,’” said the grandmother, who later apologized to them.
The bank staff tried to reason with her, asking why a cashier’s check was not acceptable to the supposed attorney. Why cash? The grandmother finally left the bank with the $4,300.
This time, the scam artist instructed her to use Federal Express for shipping the cash but follow the same procedure with the two boxes, the name and case number.
Reid told a story that the grandson was being signed up for a special probation program with a main office in Providence, R.I. The woman paid FedEx to send the package containing the $4,300 to an address in Rhode Island.
Packages were not delivered
It turned out that neither package containing “bail money” reached the intended destination. In another call, Reid said the FedEx package did not arrive and told the woman to find out why.
She made numerous calls and, in time, she learned that a FedEx employee had questioned the validity of the package and did not deliver it. The package was held in a FedEx facility out-of-state.
She also kept trying to reach her grandson and finally talked to his mother. She was told he wasn’t in a car accident. It was all a scam.
When she called UPS about the first package, the grandmother said she was told it wasn’t delivered to the address. She said she had them return the parcel to the UPS office in Modesto, where she picked it up and then deposited the $5,000 back in her savings account.
Joyce Gandelman, director of the Senior Advocacy Network Senior Law Project in Modesto, said she got involved when the grandmother complained to the nonprofit agency about delays in getting the $4,300 back from FedEx. When the grandmother revealed more of the story, Gandelman realized the woman had been defrauded by scammers.
Gandelman, who’s an attorney, got on the phone with FedEx and prodded them to run down the location of the package. She said the package, tracked to the FedEx facility, was opened under the watchful eye of a video camera and the cash was found inside.
Because it’s against policy to deliver paper currency, FedEx had to convert the $4,300 to a check to return it to the grandmother.
In a statement Friday, the FedEx service suggested the package sent to the scammers was stopped by efforts to prevent the shipment of money through its system. The company said it does not permit the shipping of money including paper currency, coins, activated gift cards or debit cards.
“We do not tolerate the use of our network for illegal purposes,” FedEx spokesperson Shannon Davis said in the email. “We are grateful to our team members for their vigilance and happy we could assist this customer.”
The Modesto woman said she never got an explanation for nondelivery of the UPS parcel to the scammers and thought it might have been divine intervention. “They apologized for not delivering it,” she said.
Paper currency is one of the items prohibited by UPS, partly as a measure to keep drug dealers from shipping money through the service.
Amanda Catala, a spokesperson with UPS communications, said Friday the shipping service has resources dedicated to identifying and stopping fraudulent activity. Catala could not comment on this case and said that to maintain their effectiveness, UPS doesn’t disclose its security measures.
Gandelman said she thanked the credit union for trying to stop the grandmother from making a serious mistake. “What they did was perfect,” Gandelman said. “They kept asking what it was for. Eventually, they had to give the money to her.”
The Senior Advocacy Network will hold presentations on elder abuse and scams at 11 a.m. Wednesday at the Stanislaus Veterans Center, 3500 Coffee Road.
The Modesto Senior Center on Bodem Street will also offer elder abuse education at 11 a.m. Wednesday, and presentations are set for 1:30 p.m. Wednesday at Central Valley PACE, 2401 E. Orangeburg Ave.
County Behavioral Health and Recovery Services and adult protective services are involved in the education effort.
Grandparent scam is common
According to the National Council on Aging, the “grandparent scam” is one of the 10 most common ways of defrauding older adults because the deception tugs at the heart. An estimated $3 billion is taken from seniors every year through elder abuse fraud, the council says.
A scammer calls an older person and says “Hi, grandma, do you know who this is?” The grandparent tries to match the voice with one of her grandchildren and gives a name. Revealing the name of a grandchild by itself can assist the scammer.
The supposed grandchild on the phone usually asks for help with a financial hardship, such as rent, auto repairs or bail money. The grandmother is urged to keep it a secret. The grandparent scam that targeted the Modesto woman was a more elaborate series of lies.
Gandelman said seniors who get a call from someone unfamiliar posing as a grandchild should hang up. They should promptly call the grandchild or contact another family member.
Gandelman said there are always new ways invented by criminals to steal from the elderly.
“Their life savings are in jeopardy,” she said. “The scammers are people who don’t care how old you are. If you are 89 years old and only have a little money, they will take it.”
The Modesto woman, who filed a police report online, said she won’t fall for the scam again. “We have worked over the years to have something when we retire,” the grandmother said. “These people want to come and take what we worked for.”
This story was originally published June 13, 2022 at 7:00 AM.
