Hingham Senior Couple Loses $24K In 'Arrested Relative' Phone Scam

HINGHAM, MA — A Hingham senior couple lost $24,000 Tuesday in a common phone scam known as the "Arrested Relative Scam," Hingham police said in a news release Wednesday.

The horror began to unfold when the couple, ages 82 and 78, received a call from a distraught woman who they believed was their daughter, according to police.

The woman then handed the phone to a man who said he was their daughter's lawyer. The man said that their daughter—who lives out of state—had been arrested after being in a car accident in which a pregnant woman was injured, police said.

The man told the elderly couple that they needed a $24,000 cash bail to be posted immediately or their daughter would be sent to prison, according to police.

He even went so far as to suggest to the couple that if their bank asked why they need such a large cash withdrawal they say they were purchasing a used car, police said.

After asking the couple for their address, the man said he would send a courier to pick up the cash, according to police. The couple placed the cash in a box and handed it to a man who arrived at their doorstep a short time later.

Police said the couple became suspicious later that day when they realized their daughter's "attorney" had to ask them for their address, which their actual daughter would have been able to tell her attorney.

Hingham Police offered the following tips to help other people spot scammers and avoid falling victim to the scam:

• Scammers can easily change the caller ID to display anything (courthouse, jail, lawyers, etc.)
• Scammers are skilled at extracting personal information from you without you realizing you're providing it, like a daughter's name.
• Scammers create a sense of urgency to create panic to gain your help.
• Scammers don’t want you to call anyone to find out it’s a scam. They often say they are under a gag order.
• Scammers often want you to have an excuse for bank staff who may ask questions.
• An actual attorney would not send a driver to you and direct you to put cash in a discreet box.