Patrol Officer Kerrin D'Agnelli responded to a fraud complant at a Burlingame Road home Sept. 3 underlining the danger of taking phone callers at their word.
The 78-year-old man told D'Agnelli he had received a phone call from a man who identified himself as "Attorney Williams," telling him he represented a Pakistani family involved in a car accident caused by his grandson in July. The elderly Smithfield man wired $2,400 via Western Union to Adam Sherif July 30 at the instruction of the caller, according to D'Agnelli's report.
On July 31, the Smithfield man wired $2,900 to "Sherif" again after receiving another call from the same man, who put a second person on the phone who said he was the man's grandson.
On Sept. 3, the man said, he saw his grandson and asked if the matter was resolved, but his grandson said he'd been in no car accident and didn't know what his grandfather was referring to.
The total amount the man sent to "Sherif" was $5,367. Smithfield Police advised him he had likely been the victim of a common scam, and warned him against sending money in such situations without confirming the information.
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