Rome, N.Y. — I’m in trouble, grandma, and I need help.
That’s the call a Rome woman got Tuesday from a girl who claimed to be her granddaughter. The caller told the woman she’d been arrested by troopers after a car accident and was in custody in a “holding facility,” according to the Rome Police Department.
A man who identified himself as the girl’s lawyer got on the phone and asked the woman for $9,000 to get her granddaughter out of custody, police said. Desperate to help, the grandmother obliged.
It was only after she’d handed over the cash that she discovered she’d been scammed, police said.
Rome police are asking the public for help finding the people who tricked the grandmother and stole her money. In particular, police have asked Rome residents in the neighborhood with security cameras to see if they captured images of the man who picked up the cash.
The scam used to steal from the woman is called the “grandparent scam” — a scheme where fraudsters pose as beloved grandchildren in desperate need of money to help with an emergency, according to the Federal Trade Commission. The scam has duped people across the country.
“They pull at your heartstrings so they can trick you into sending money before you realize it’s a scam,” the FTC said.
The scammers who targeted the Rome woman on Tuesday added compelling details to make their scheme seem real: The girl who called the woman used her real granddaughter’s first name, police said. The fake lawyer called himself Mr. Bateman, police said, and told the woman her granddaughter would have a hearing at 4:30 p.m. in Rome City Court.
The fake Mr. Bateman told the woman there was a “gag order” in place and urged her not to talk to anyone about the case, police said.
The woman withdrew $9,000 to bail out the girl she thought was her granddaughter. She then returned to her home, where Bateman sent a man he called a “courier from the court” to pick up the cash, police said.
The fake courier showed up at the woman’s home around 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, police said. He drove away in a car with its front and back license plates covered, police said.
When the courier left, the woman went to Rome City Court for her granddaughter’s hearing. But when she arrived, court staff gave her troubling news, police said: The case she’d come to watch did not exist.
The grandmother called her real granddaughter, who confirmed she wasn’t in trouble and had not asked for money.
Police described the man who posed as a courier as a thin Black man who appeared to be in his 20s. He had braided hair, police said, and was wearing tan work boots and a brown tracksuit.
The car driven by the fake courier was a black, newer-model Honda Accord with tinted windows and dark-colored rims.
Investigators believe he drove in the area of Laurel Street, Union Street and Massena Avenue. Police asked anyone in that area who has security cameras to review any footage taken between 4:15 p.m. and 5 p.m. Tuesday to see if they captured the suspect or the suspect’s vehicle on video.
Police encouraged anyone with information about the scam to call Patrolman James Richardson at (315) 838- 1902. Tipsters can also share information by calling the department’s tip line at (315) 339-7744 or submit tips through Mohawk Valley Crime Stoppers.
How to protect yourself from grandparent scams
If you get a call from someone claiming to be a loved one in desperate trouble, the FTC advises you to:
- Don’t act immediately.
- Test the caller’s identity by asking questions a stranger couldn’t answer.
- Call your loved one’s true phone number or run their story by another family member.
- Don’t send cash, gift cards or money transfers.
Staff writer Samantha House covers breaking news, crime and public safety. Have a tip, a story idea, a question or a comment? Reach her at shouse@syracuse.com.
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