Elderly Woman Scammed out of 10 Grand to Bail Out ‘Grandson’

Police are looking for this man who picked up $9,500 from an elderly woman. Cops said this was part of an elaborate scam to bilk the senior. -Photo by NYPD

By Dan Gesslein

Manhattan Voice

September 14, 2023

NEW YORK - An elderly woman was bilked out of nearly $10 grand by a scammer posing as her grandson who needed quick cash to pay bail, cops said. The scam is a popular one targeting the elderly but this time cops have a photo of the suspect and a license plate number when he went to pick up the cash in person. 

At around 10:30 am on August 23, a 78-year-old woman was in her Upper West Side apartment when she received a phone call from a man claiming to be her grandson. The caller said he was in jail and needed $9,500 for bail money. The victim said she would help him. 

Cops said instead of having the money wired, the caller told his victim that he would have the money picked up by a courier. An hour later the “courier" met the victim in the vicinity of West 62nd Street and Columbus Avenue. 

Cops said the victim handed over the money to the man who was driving a white Toyota with New York License plate T753385C. The victim also apparently snapped a photo of the driver which cops are hoping will lead to the man’s arrest. 

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This is just the latest scam targeting seniors. In a similar phone scam a young woman calls crying claiming to be the woman’s granddaughter. She claims she was badly hurt in an accident and needs grandma her wire money. 

In this case the suspect is between the ages of 25 and 35 with a medium complexion, mustache and somewhat bushy goatee.

Anyone with information in regard to this incident is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the CrimeStoppers website at https://crimestoppers.nypdonline.org/ or on Twitter @NYPDTips. 

All calls are strictly confidential.