Libby Maurer says she should have known better.
A scammer tricked the 82-year-old woman into believing that her grandson was in jail and needed $8,000 in bail money.
It was the perfect “grandma scam.”
In this ruse, hucksters play on emotion by impersonating a grandchild or another loved one, with claims that they’re in jail or were in an accident and they need money. Sometimes the call comes from someone pretending to be law enforcement or a doctor, sharing details of the grandchild’s misfortunes to explain why they need the cash.
There were 7,276 so-called imposter scams reported by New Jerseyans alone to the Federal Trade Commission in the first six months of 2022, making it the largest fraud category for the state. The agency doesn’t break out how many were specifically the “grandma scam” as the data also includes scams perpetrated by people who claim to be government officials.
But as far as the “grandma scam” goes, Maurer’s example is a textbook case.
“I was the perfect patsy,” said Maurer, who lives in Deptford Township. “There were so many red flags. I just didn’t think about it. I was so emotional.”
It started when she received a phone call from an unknown number. She said she normally doesn’t answer calls she can’t identify, but she had been trying to reach her grandson the day before, so she was hoping it was him.
“He came on the phone crying hysterically. He said he had a broken nose and a split lip and he was in jail,” Maurer…
