The Moscow Police Department has heard numerous complaints concerning a telephone scam in recent weeks.
“What has been happening is people get a phone call from a grandchild overseas who have gotten into trouble and are somewhat embarrassed about it and they ask the specific person for money,” Lt. Paul Kwiatkowski of MPD said.
The money is then sent overseas, but Kwiatkowski said so far only one person has actually sent money.
The MPD warns people to ask questions and verify that the caller is actually a family relative to avoid becoming a fraud victim.
Kwiatkowski said this scam is similar to the popular Nigerian scam, in that it starts overseas and then occurs locally.
“If it’s too good to be true, it usually is,” Kwiatkowski said.
Because of the execution of the scam, Kwiatkowski said it is hard to track who is actually committing the fraud.
“We are not in a situation where we can track down the phone number.” Kwiatkowski said. “What usually happens is an unsuspecting person sends money overseas, and the Moscow Police Department doesn’t have the capability to track that.”
To report a fraud case or ask any questions, contact the police department at 208.882.2677.
Katy Sword can be reached at [email protected]