Beverly Residents Victimized For $12K In 'Grandparents Scam'

Beverly MA

19 November, 2021

11:25 AM

Description

BEVERLY, MA — Beverly police are the latest on the North Shore to warn residents of an increase in telephone scams with scammers using numbers that appear to be coming from legitimate agencies like the IRS, Medicare, Social Security, the FBI and local police to target older residents. Police said one Beverly resident was recently contacted and told to pay $12,800 to secure a bond for a relative. Police said the victims called police after someone posing as a bail bondsman came to their residence and collected the money. Police said the man posing as a bondsman told the victims that the relative had been arrested. After collecting the money, the purported bondsman placed a phone call in front of the victims to someone he claimed was the "judge" and said everything was in order. "In recent weeks several departments throughout Massachusetts have seen this same scam reported," police said. Beverly police are investigating this scam. Anyone with information on it is asked to contact Detective Shawn Desmond at 978-720-7744. The so-called "grandparents scam" is one of the more common scams targeting older adults on the North Shore with incidents being reported in several communities in recent months. "The victim is told to gather up either cash, or gift cards and to either allow someone to come and pick up the items or wire the money or gift card numbers to an address," Beverly police said. "Residents are asked to be vigilant if they receive this type of call and to notify the department if you feel you've been a victim." Did you find this article useful? Invite a friend to subscribe to Patch. (Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at [email protected]. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)