Desperate Call from 'Grandson' Leaves Muskego Man $2,600 Poorer

Muskego police were contacted by a 79-year-old man who said he was the victim of a phone scam that used family ties in desperate situations to bilk him out of $2,600.

According to police reports, the man was contacted by someone identifying himself as the man's 18-year-old grandson on the morning of Oct. 29. He said he was arrested "for being American" while in Mexico attending the funeral of a friend. When the man questioned his grandson's voice, the suspect on the other end of the line replied that he had a bad cold.

He asked the man for $2,600 to help release him from jail, which the man sent. By 3 p.m. the same day, a call came from someone identifying themselves as part of the American Embassy, saying the money had been received and that his grandson would be returning, according to police reports.

However, when the man received a third call later that afternoon from the impostor grandson asking for an additional $1,800 more to get home, the man became suspicious. When the victim asked for the man to identify himself by telling him who his sister was, police report the man became beligerent, using expletives, and hung up.

Police are still investigating the crime, but the warning stands to be on the alert for similar scams.