New twist on old ‘grandchild in jail’ scheme

An Indian Hills couple was bilked out of $3,000 in a sophisticated twist to the “grandchild in jail” scheme.

The couple reported they received a call last Friday from someone claiming to be their granddaughter. The woman on the phone knew their granddaughter’s name and that she was in Las Vegas.

They told a deputy the woman was in tears and claimed to have been in a serious vehicle accident involving an off-duty officer and was in Clark County Jail.

She passed the phone to another woman who claimed to be a public defender, who told the couple to obtain four $500 gift cards and call back.

The man purchased four $500 Visa gift cards and called back, only to be told those wouldn’t work. She told him to purchase Apple iTunes cards. He did as she asked and read the numbers to her over the phone.

A few hours later, the “public defender” called back and said she would need another $1,000 for court fees and fine. The man bought more iTunes gift cards, called the number and gave the woman the number.

That evening, the couple contacted the granddaughter’s mother, who said the granddaughter, who was in Vegas for her honeymoon, had been at a concert. They learned the woman was fine.

The deputy advised the couple to contact their granddaughter and find out where she was staying in the hopes of finding out who had access to their information.