Crime & Safety

Grandfather, 81, Swindled out of $4,500 in Phone Scam

A man claiming to be a Danbury police officer scammed an 81-year-old Darien man out of $4,500 by saying the man's grandson had been arrested.

Darien police gave this account of the matter:

At 11:22 a.m. Thursday, July 11, the Darien man received a call from a man who identified himself as "Detective Tyler James" of the Danbury police Department, who said a grandson of the Darien man had been arrested and needed $2,250 for bail.

The man on the phone said the money could be transferred through a Moneygram at Walmart, so the Darien man went to Walmart on Connecticut Avenue in Norwalk and sent the money.

At 2:19 p.m., the man called again to tell the grandfather his grandson needed another $2,250 was needed before his randson could be let out of jail, and the grandfather sent that money in the same way.

By the time the grandfather became suspicious and called the police, it was too late. The caller's cell phone turned out to be from Canada, and the money apparently was picked up in Georgia.


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