Phone Scammers Making Waves

Nassau County Police are warning locals about two phone scams that are making waves throughout the confines of the Seventh Precinct.

According to detectives, the "old scam", nicknamed by cops as the "Granny Gram", involves the perpetrator calling random numbers until an elderly person is on the line. Police said that these people will address the senior citizens as if they were a grandchild, and they will lie about being in prison or being in an accident, which leads to their requesting money for help.

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The perpetrators then request the "bail money" or "repair money" to be wire transfered.

"By the time they realize that they have been scammed, they can’t get the money back," police said.

The other scam is the "hostage scam", in which police say a Hispanic male calls from a blocked number and says that a family member has been kidnapped, held hostage or involved in an accident. The caller then tells people that he's holding the hostage until he's reimbursed for medical expenses or automobile damage. Cops said that the man may even make it sound like the victim is being assaulted or threatened with a gun.

"The kidnapped relative will be released only after the victim wire transfers money to the scammer," police added. "Of course the relative is safe, but the victim is out of a few thousand dollars."

If you are the victim of one of these scams, please call 911 immediately. Anyone with information that could lead to the arrest of the individual(s) responsible are asked to call Nassau County Crime Stoppers at 1-800-244-TIPS (8477). All calls will remain anonymous.

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