Last Saturday morning, an elderly member of our community — who wished to remain anonymous for fear she’d be contacted again — was phoned with a wire scam attempt. The man who called her said that her grandson had been involved in a hit and run accident in Manhattan and was locked up. In order to get him out, the man said, she would have to go immediately to the Rite Aid on Cross Bay Boulevard and wire $1290 plus a $100 transaction fee via Western Union. She was told to transfer the money to Denise Globe. Shaken by concern over her grandson, she managed to tell the man that she didn’t have the money, whereupon he abruptly hung up.
After the woman calmed down, she realized that her grandson, who lives out of state, could not have been in Manhattan. She called the The Forum and other newspapers and community organizations to get the word out so that other seniors don’t fall for the scam.
