North Castle Police Warn Of An Especially Elaborate 'Grandma Scam'

NORTH CASTLE, NY — An organized group of scammers targeted a local victim in an elaborate plot to separate her from her money, according to police.

North Castle police say that an 81-year-old town resident was the victim of a "Grandma scam" on Thursday. This type of scam is when criminals prey on elderly victims and con them into giving them large amounts of money.

In this particular incident, the victim clicked on a spam link online causing their iPad to freeze. After the resident was unable to unfreeze the iPad, a phone number popped up on the screen. The resident called the phone number and the person who answered convinced the resident that their bank accounts were compromised and in order to fix the problem, the victim had to withdraw a large sum of money from their bank, which was then picked up by an unknown individual.

The resident was kept on the phone for the entire day by the scammer. Police say this is a common tactic used by scammers so that the victim can't call a family member or police to seek advice on what to do.

The North Castle Police Department says it is still investigating the incident. They ask that everyone tell family members, especially the elderly, that these types of things can happen, and how to protect themselves.

North Castle police also recommend that if anyone is ever unsure about the legitimacy of a caller, end the call and call a family member, or police for assistance.